Cat attacks me at feeding time

[FosterMom8383]

I am fostering a cat who was pregnant. She came into our house on March 12 and had her babies on April 24.

When she first arrived, she spent one night in the bathroom, to get acquainted with the smells of the house, where the litter box is, where her food is, etc. Following that, she was allowed out into the remainder of the house. Everything was going great until one evening when I was putting down her plate of canned food and she decided to attack my leg as I retreated from the bathroom - grabbing on with her claws. It kinda shocked me. Then it started happening more and more. I had to slowly back out of the bathroom keeping an eye on her - even then she sometimes attacked. Mind you, all other times she was perfectly sweet and very loving. She loves shin scratches and pets. When watching TV at night, she would sit on my chest while in the recliner, and when lying in bed, she would sit on my chest as well. No other aggressive times - only at feeding time. Then I started feeding her the canned food on the main level of the house, on my dining room table to keep the dog from getting it and from annoying her - and there was no aggression at all.

She also LOVES my dog - a dachshund - and snuggles with her, so I don't think it has anything to do with her. The dog also does not have access to the upper floor of the house except at bedtime, so mom is not threatened at all by her when it is feeding time in the bathroom.

Fast forward to Saturday when she had her five babies. I was there for much of the births and she was great. She is now confined to the bathroom at this point with her nest for her and the kids. She barely allows me into the bathroom and if I am going to feed her, I need to wear loose clothing that covers arms and legs if I want to come out intact. I know she just had her kittens and is being protective of them, but I need to be able to feed her and clean the litter box. Thoughts?? What do I do? Will she relax a bit?

 

[FLAMER3467]

" She is now confined to the bathroom at this point with her nest for her and the kids."

So if she is in the bathroom maybe try moving her to a bigger space. This way you can give her space while giving her food. Otherwise, I would just give her time to settle down.

 

[FosterMom8383]

FLAMER3467 That was my thought this morning, and I made a nice cozy space for them in the spare bedroom, but I cannot get into the bathroom safely to move the kitten crate. Hopefully she will indeed settle down with time.

I wish I knew her history.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am sure the mama can move the kittens from the crate if she is aware there is a bigger place for her to take them to - and, IF she is inclined to do so. It might not be possible, but if you could block off other places in the house so that mama has only the bathroom and the spare bedroom to move in between, she might venture there and then take the babies with her. If that is possible, leave food/water/litter box, and another kitten set up, in the spare bedroom and then just open the bathroom door and let her investigate. If she moves, then the temporary blockade can be removed, and you can close the door to the spare room. It's a lofty goal, but you just never know!

Make sure that the spare bedroom is pretty much devoid of furniture and/or other things that she can get into that would disable you from easily checking on them. In the meantime, set up a second litter box ready to swap out the dirty one so there is less 'going on' when you need to clean. Placing all of the 'stuff' close to the door but the new kitten set up further away from the door in the spare bedroom would help you get to the things you need to replace and clean without threatening her so much. She will relax overtime.

 

[susanm9006]

Maybe this cat was captured with food and so she gets fearful and lashes out when the food is brought to her? With a larger space you can just set the food down without getting close to her and she may be less stressed.

 

[FosterMom8383]

FeebysOwner that sounds like a great plan. I do have under the bed blocked off so she can’t take them under there. Other than that, there is only a dresser and she can’t fit under there. The babies will be blocked from getting to that space as they get older.

I will open the bathroom door and see what she does. Thanks for the reply.

 

[FosterMom8383]

susanm9006 that may very well be. Food is definitely the trigger for her.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I will open the bathroom door and see what she does.

Keep us posted!!

 

[FosterMom8383]

Well, she did not move the kids last night. She checked out the space, but I guess it did not meet her standards. I guess I am stuck with her in the bathroom.

I suited up with gloves and a jacket today when I fed her, and was able to remove the litter box so it could be cleaned. I keep the dry food under the bathroom sink and will have to take that out soon so I can refill her bowls. She is not a huge fan of wet food, but I keep trying with different varieties.

I have had several momma cats and never had one this protective. I sure hope the babies are doing well, because I can't get near them to check on them or weigh them.

 

[FosterMom8383]

I was able to change the bedding the morning after they were born at least!

 

[FosterMom8383]

Laying in the kennel with them, most likely nursing.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Well, she did not move the kids last night. She checked out the space, but I guess it did not meet her standards. I guess I am stuck with her in the bathroom.

Don't give up on this approach without a couple more tries at least. It might actually be that she isn't ready to move them yet given their age.

EDIT: When you set up the room, did you include water/food/litter box so she could check those things out as well? Keep some of the 'stuff' from the bathroom litter box to place in the spare litter box in the bedroom.

 

[FosterMom8383]

FeebysOwner I did put a litter box, but could not put food in there because the food is in the bathroom under the sink. I will take it out today, and I will keep trying each night.

 

[flybear]

a friend had a foster like this and it seemed that the cat was associating humans touching food more with taking it away than actually bringing it ... pregnant/ nursing mom that was like " don't touch my food ".. and she might consider the entire bathroom " her den " rather than just the kennel ... we had success with having a very large food dish that was always full and only needed topping off every few days... - free fed mom until she was done nursing ... and swapping out litter boxes instead of scooping ... her babies turned out very sweet and social and mom went back to being a sweet, predictable cat eventually

 

[FosterMom8383]

Thanks flybear What you are saying makes sense.

She did a little better this morning with allowing me to give her some food and I do have a very large bowl in there, but am also trying to give her some canned food.

Tomorrow we will be out of the house for most of the day, so I am hoping she will move them to the guest room.

 

[FosterMom8383]

Hi all,

Attack mom, Viola, had five kittens three and a half weeks ago. We lost one two weeks in with an upper respiratory infection (I was on vacation and it was awful for my house sitter, but I had other fosters into the house daily checking on everyone. She passed away the day I came home. Then a day or so later, Viola kicked poor little Hazel out of the nest two days in a row, and after losing weight, she was sent to another foster to be bottle fed exclusively. She had upper respiratory issues, but with some fluids and some antibiotics, she is now thriving! Yippee!!

That left me with the three boys. Should I be concerned with their weights? I have been supplementing two of them with Breeder's Edge formula, Dandelion more than Acorn because Dandelion never seemed to be nursing when the others were. My question is - how much do I supplement with so that they will still nurse with mom, but also still gain weight? I don't want them to stop nursing because that is so much better for them. But I don't want them to lose weight - they need to gain! Where is the balance?

They were born on 4/24. Mom would not let us near them for several days.

Weight history is as follows:
Dandelion:
4/30: 188g
5/2: 211g
5/4: 223g
5/6: 249g
5/8: 278g
Here is where things get dicey. Some weights were not accurate in between 5/8 and 5/16. I was out of town and different people were weighing the kittens and I think they mixed a few of them up. They looked so much alike!
5/16: 319g
5/17: 327g
5/18: 320g - here I started supplementing with formula because he was not nursing and was starting to fade. It took two hours to get anything into him, cleaning his nose, wiping eyes, using a heating pad, and karo syrup. Dripping formula into his mouth.
5/19: 340g - He got fluids and B12 today, and was supplemented several times. He was also started on Clavamox for his stuffy nose and goopy eyes.
5/20: 347g, then 360g after supplementing.

Am I supplementing too much? Do I need to be supplementing every three hours or should I go longer to give him time to nurse with mom?

Blackberry:
4/30: 183g
5/2: 226g
5/4: 256g
5/6: 293g
5/8: 343g
Vacation - different people weighing
5/16: 458g
5/17: 495g
5/18: 485g
5/19: 460g, then 475g later in the evening. He was also given fluids and B12. Eyes a little goopy, nose seems fine.
5/20: 480g

Have not supplemented him.

Acorn:
4/30: 157g
5/2: 192g
5/4: 221g
5/6: 245g
5/8: 290g - I question this value. Someone else weighed this day and they may have confused the kittens.
Vacation
5/16: 405g
5/17: 409g (420g later in the day)
5/18: 426g
5/19: 398g He was also given fluids and B12. Eyes a little goopy, nose seems fine.
5/20: 390g He was supplemented several hours before this weight was taken.

This guy clearly also needs supplementing. How often? How much do I aim for??

Writing all this down into this post, it seems they are not doing nearly as bad as I thought, but still need some help. Right?

They were three weeks old on 5/15 - so should be in the 250-350g range and they ARE in that range. Should I stop stressing about it?? But, they will be four weeks on 5/22 - a couple days from now and goal weight is 450-550g and it looks like only Blackberry will be there by then.

I really think I just need reassurance that I am doing the right thing - or I need to know what I should change.

Thank you for reading this long post! I look forward to your insight!

P.S. Viola is still salty - attacks my legs a little bit, but not nearly as much as she did and she is wonderful with allowing me to handle her kittens. Thank goodness!!

 

[Sarthur2]

Dandelion is 12.6 ounces and needs to get closer to 16 ounces, as the kittens will be 4 weeks on Saturday.

Blackberry is already at 16 ounces and doing fine.

Acorn is at 13.7 ounces, so needs to gain also.

I would supplement Dandelion and Acorn every 3 hours throughout the day, then let them nurse mom for 8 hours through the night. Give them as much as they want at each feeding since they are behind and need to grow. If they nurse mom in between and are less hungry at some of the feedings that’s fine. As long as they are gaining!

You are doing fine! It sounds like things maybe got a little bit off the track in your absence, and particularly while the kittens were sick.

They will be ready to try soft foods in a couple of weeks, so you’re getting there!

 

[FosterMom8383]

Thank you! I really needed the reassurance and second opinion.

 

[StefanZ]

Re the question; how much to supplement, so they will anyways suckle from momma....

The answer is easy: you do supplement them as much as you manage. Suckling from momma is very nice, so if they are able too, they will anyways suckle some from momma... (and yes, thus they may get more than necessary, but its no problem. )


When I began with advising a 20 years ago, we though it WAS an either or; ie, once you began with handfeeding, it would be difficult for them to return to momma. And thus, there was a difficult line of balance: how long to hope they will manage to suckle succesfully from momma, and when you must begin to handfeed to save them... Many a nervous wrecking situations! As far as I know, I usually managed to keep the balance... God must have been with me and these I did tried to advise...

But the discovery kittens DO prefer momma, and thus, do happily return to her if they are able, made everything much easier:
Supplement when you think you must, do supplement as much they need and manage.

If they have a momma, they will always suckle from her anyways. At least some. Even if not really hungry no more.

 

[FosterMom8383]