MOM! STOP IT!

[---ilovekitties]

Ok. My Kittens are 5 weeks old...Everytime they go to drink the water or use the litter box or are sleeping, the mother cat grabs them by the neck and pulls them away being a bully. How do I get her to stop??

 

[rad65]

I just wanted to point out that it is highly unlikely that a mother cat is being a bully to her kittens at that age. Usually the mother cat only bullies once her kittens have reached sexual maturity and she sees them as a threat to her territory. She most likely has a reason for pulling them away as cats are pretty good mothers as far a animals go.

 

[---ilovekitties]

Mind you... I was being sarcastic when saying she is being a bully... && not all mother cats are the greatest... I had A mother cat who didnt want anything to do with her kittens... so... 

 

[rad65]

I said it's highly unlikely because with the small amount of information you gave, it sounded like she was doing fine as a mother for the first 5 weeks and this was a sudden change. She's been a good mother for over a month and your kittens aren't nearly old enough for her to see them as a threat, so that tells me there's something else afoot other than her bullying or being a bad mother out of the blue.

 

[jezahb]

Sounds like she is being a very over protective mama kitty. When I worked at a vet there was one woman who came in who had a pretty hard story to hear, but may offer insight into your mama cats mind. This woman's cat had a litter, and when they kittens were 5 weeks old her 7 year old child jumped off the couch onto one of the kittens by accident...killing it. The mother cat witnessed this, and shortly after became so hyper protective of her babies she became aggressive to anyone who would get near them, turning a previously sweet cat into a raging monster. It worked out in the end, as when they kittens grew old enough to leave the nest so to say the mama kitty relaxed and returned to normal. However, what this is meant to show is that mama cats are usually protective for a reason, either because of some imagined or real threat. I would put yourself in her head for a moment, and consider what she is thinking. Is where her nest is safe from other cats and dogs? Is it away from noisy machinery? She obviously is being protective because something is making her feel she has to be. Or, she may also be stressed out. When I fostered a mama kitty a few years back we had set her up in a dog crate in the furnace room since it was isolated from my own cats and warm. However, being in that crate with her kittens 24/7 drove her nuts. She was stressed from their constant demands and so we eventually opened the crate but put a large plank in front of the opening so only mama could get out by jumping and the 4 week old kittens stayed in. That way she knew they were safe, but she could get away from needy children for a hour or so. Perhaps try putting the babies in a deep box in a safe quiet area, so deep that they can't get out but mama can, and quiet so mama feels safe. Good luck