Expert: Christina A. Rallo, Esq. - 5/27/2007

Question
My daughter's cat got out and got preg.  She had her kittens about 6 weeks ago.  Tonight she tried hurting one of them really bad, not too sure what she was doing but it was evedent she was hurting it REALLY bad.  I put all the kittens in another room to be away from the mom.  The kittens eat wet food and are pottie trained.  Why did the mom cat try to hurt the kitten?  I am now scared to let the mommy around them again.  What should I do? Please help!

Answer
You say they are 6 weeks old and are self sufficient; it is not uncommon for mom-cat's at this point to become agressive in order to drive off the kittens. She is basically done raising them and doesn't want to be bothered with them looking to continue to nurse or other needs. Its sort of the idea of the mom-bird needs to push her babies out of the nest at some point. We even say that about humans sometimes. She is also ready to breed again and so in nature she would move on and leave the kittens on their own. You must get her spayed. Firstly this will take her out of the breeding mode and help with adjustment. And since she accidentally got out and pregnant, it could happen again so you really must get her spayed so she won't look to wander out and cannot come home pregnant again. Also give her space away from the kittens for a while until they become more fully independent. She doesn't mean to kill or seriously harm the kitties; she just means to push them away from her to start life on their own.