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Cats/mother cat rejecting sick older kitten?
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Question
Norman,
My family and I have six cats in total. The two older ones are from the same litter (about two years old)and the younger four are from a separate litter mothered by Cooper, one of the two older cats. Most, if not all, of our cats are indoor/outdoor.
The younger cats are six months old and were raised pretty well by Cooper. A few weeks ago, however, one of those kittens, a male named Socks, got in a cat fight outside and received an eye injury. We eventually had to take him to the vet to get his eye surgically removed. Other than being blind on one side, he is a healthy cat.
Since we have brought Socks back from the vet, Cooper has been acting weird around him. She will hiss at him, swat at him, and chases him (not playfully) around the house. I have heard that mother cats will shun sick kittens when they are newborns or very young, but does this usually happen when they are older?
Mindy,
Often when cats go to the vet and have surgery, they have the vet clinic smell on them which masks their normal scent. Cats tell one another by their scent., so Mama probably did not recognize her son. In a couple of weeks, when Socks' loses the vet clinic smell and smells like Socks, again, Mama should go back to treating him like she always did.
Please let me know if things calm down or not.
Best regards... Norm.
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Answers by Expert:
Norman Auspitz
Expertise
I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.
Experience
I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.
Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.
Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook
Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.
Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.
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