So I have a terrier and when my cat had her kittens we blockaded the dog door to our garage after a while he broke through. He found the kittens but he had a muzzle on just in case of this. He didnt deal any fatal damage but he managed to tear the ear of one of the kittens. It seemed to heal but the ear must have died because the mom bit it's ear off. She seems to take care of it but can ir should I do anything else to help? The dog door is now secure and the other kittens are unharmed.
These wounds often do heal by themselves if the kitten is healthy otherwise. But its really a vet errand - the vet could at least put on some antibiotic paste, or such.
If the kitten survives - which is should with any luck, being an inside only kitten this shouldnt handicap it too much.
And the terrier? Its clear if it wanted to kill the kitten for real, it would have entirely other damages, more serious. So whatever it wanted to do, it was probably not meant to harm for real. More probably some clumsy try to play a little.
Still, its of course necessary to separate them for time being.
So we have 4 six week old kittens and their mom. Yesterday she took one away and we searched for it for hours and when it started to get dark, she brought it back. She did this today and it started to rain and once again she brought it back. She stays under a bush which we have searched many times and no kitten. The kitten is very adventurous but wont go out the cat door yet. He is the first to do things in the litter so he is mentally sound. Is there a reason behind this? Is there any way I can find where she is taking it?
It's not safe for her to take a kitten outdoors right now. Kittens should not go out until they have been spayed and neutered, and had their shots, and are much older and bigger.
The kitten is much too young to defend itself from anything at this age, so I would lock the cat door and not allow this to continue. It's just not safe.
Also, she may get pregnant again, nurising is no protection in cats, unlike in humans... So another reason not to let her out before she is spayed. Its normally done when kittens are 8 weeks, but if necessary, may be done earlier.
Its the same kitten? ONE possible reason may be there are much fights when they nurse, and she taking one out, makes sure its calmer.
This is a rather common behavior if this is a different kitten every day, at least.