Expert: Tina - 6/13/2007

Question
My cat Ziki has just had her first litter and are now 4 days old. She had only two which was surprising but they are growing very quickly and are very healthy. Last night i noticed Ziki was biting one of them but couldn't tell if it was hard or softly telling them off. The kitten was squealing and at one point her face was in Ziki's mouth, can you tell me if this is normal behavior as i am worried?

Answer
Hi james,

At 4 days old the kittens will not be disciplined at all yet. Are you sure Ziki was biting the kitten or was she cleaning him? Mother cats have to do a lot of cleaning of faces and the other end, and often then kittens squeal. I would keep a very close eye on Ziki and how she behaves towards the kittens for a while.

At this age being taken from their mother is very dangerous and you'd have to take very careful care of them 24 hours a day including stimulating them to urinate and defecate. They are better off staying with their mother unless you have a reason to suspect she may harm them.