cat ate one of her babies after it dies and im scared she will eat the one thats alive

[valentine445]

a cat i cared for had a runt who passed away at 4-5 weeks and ate it and now whenever shes playing with her other kitten im scared she will eat it too. does this happen? should i keep an eye on her?

 

[di and bob]

I have never heard of a mama cat killing and eating a live, strong baby. It is common however for a cat to eat a deceased baby. It is an inborn instinct to clean up and get rid of smells that may attract a predator. Cats will observe their litters shortly after birth and will remove any weak or sickly kittens they sense are too weak to survive. To protect their nest and remaining babies they eat the kitten to remove its presence to give the remaining kittens a better chance of surviving. She does this out of love and an instinct to protect. I wouldn't worry about the remaining kitten unless you see that it is not gaining weight and not growing. you could then remove the baby and try to hand rear it, but most kittens removed from their mothers because of something wrong with them die in the future. If you could see that the deceased kitten was a runt, it was most likely premature or had a genetic problem. The prognosis for premature kittens is very poor. I'm so sorry you had to have this happen, I'm sorry mama felt she had to rid the nest of her baby. But she did so out of love and a fierce protectiveness for the remaining little one. She felt she had no choice.

 

[valentine445]

I have never heard of a mama cat killing and eating a live, strong baby. It is common however for a cat to eat a deceased baby. It is an inborn instinct to clean up and get rid of smells that may attract a predator. Cats will observe their litters shortly after birth and will remove any weak or sickly kittens they sense are too weak to survive. To protect their nest and remaining babies they eat the kitten to remove its presence to give the remaining kittens a better chance of surviving. She does this out of love and an instinct to protect. I wouldn't worry about the remaining kitten unless you see that it is not gaining weight and not growing. you could then remove the baby and try to hand rear it, but most kittens removed from their mothers because of something wrong with them die in the future. If you could see that the deceased kitten was a runt, it was most likely premature or had a genetic problem. The prognosis for premature kittens is very poor. I'm so sorry you had to have this happen, I'm sorry mama felt she had to rid the nest of her baby. But she did so out of love and a fierce protectiveness for the remaining little one. She felt she had no choice.

yeah i understand that, and now after observing the mother with her last kitten i have noticed thats shes even more protective of her than she once was. im just sad that i didn't bury the body before the mother ate it. however i know its normal. the remaining baby is doing alright, shes playing, eating, pooping, and gaining weight really quickly. so im not worried about her for now. thank you so much <3