Mother Rejecting 5-Month Old Kittens-HELP

[jararaca]

Hi,
I live in a rural area and have a cat door. My "house cat" is 22 years old and has renal failure, but not too feeble to contribute to what is becoming a living Hell. So--somebody dumped a pregnant female cat at my farm (a young cat less than a year old). We converted our workshop (inside the main barn) into a "cat sanctuary", ultimately installing a "cat door" with "walkways" along side of workshop when kittens were 8 weeks old. Momma was allowed out of course for supervised periods during this time. Found homes for 2 of the 4 kittens, ended up keeping a girl and a boy. Momma was taken for spaying,shots, etc. when kittens were weaned. EXCEPT for Susie (house cat) everything was fine up until that point. Then at 5 months the 2 kids started to reach sexual maturity. The little female came in heat and we whisked her off to be spayed. Momma and the male kitten got along fine during the female kitten's absence. It was noted however that she had been attempting to keep them apart, or so it seemed. We joked that she didn't want to raise grandkids. We aren't joking anymore!!! Upon returning with the spayed 5-month old kitten, Momma rejected BOTH kittens. Rejection consisted of hissing, acting aggressive, and leaving the farm for periods of 24 hours at a time. The male kitten was taken to be neutered yesterday and the 2 kids are bonded. The workshop (prepped for the winter with heated water bowl and heated pad for the house we prepared for the THREE of them inside the workshop is now occupied by the kittens only. Momma is gone for extended periods, comes back and rejects her children. My aged cat has attacked Momma numerous times, twice requiring antibiotics. Momma wants her home back, i.e., workshop. I didn't WANT to bring the kittens inside because of my elderly cat. Frankly the last 10 days have been too stressful for words. I am apologetic for the long post, just wanted anyone who can offer advice to have as many facts as possible. PLEASE ADVISE, ANYONE, EVERYONE!!!

 

[strange_wings]

It's normal for an adult cat to want the maturing kittens gone. They'll still smell like sexually mature kittens until their high hormone levels are gone (2-3 weeks). BUT you're also facing the problem that all of us with multiple cats face - the vet smell. No cat likes smelling this on another cat - it smells strange and reminds them of being at the vet themselves.

Here is an introduction thread. Read through it, you'll gain some insight on cat introductions and behaviors, as well as learn how to handle it a bit better.

Since these are outdoor cats, a feliway plug in diffuser isn't really a good suggestion (it might work in the workshop, but it would likely just blow out instead of building up inside if the building isn't very well insulated). However you can get the feliway spray and try it.

Take a clean cloth and rub momma cat down with it. Then rub her kittens. Do this once or twice a day - this is to get rid of the vet smell and get them to smelling alike again.

It's possible, though, that you may have to find a way to separate them for a few days and find a way to gradually reintroduce them.

 

[jennyr]

In the wild she would reject them about now, and they would go off to find their own way in the world in other colonies. Nature's way to stop inbreeding, though it doesn't always work, especially in crowded cities. So you will probably have to wait until they don't smell aggressive any more to her, and then they will in all likelihood accept each other again.

 

[hissy]

This is how it should be. They are not like human moms that cling to their children all their lives. This is the way of nature. She will continually drive them off and this is what you want. Since they are outdoor cats, they will soon find their way with each other but it takes time and no interference from you. It isn't going to help to swap scents because they are essentially barn cats and one roll in a dead animal found on the grass is going to wipe out all your good intentions. Best bet, get everyone neutered so no more kittens get introduced and provide food and water daily for them- a warm place to sleep and let them work it out. They will, with the alpha cat rising to the top.

 

[jararaca]

A big thanks for the kind responses and suggestions. Honestly, I have only recently went on line and read about how cats treat each other in the wild. I wasn't expecting Momma to just want them gone, gone, gone with sexual maturity. I knocked myself out finding homes (indoor homes) for two of the four kittens. Ironically I knew that a mother coon would run off the male baby to prevent inbreeding. I thought cats were indiscriminate and would stay a family. So enough. All are spayed and neutered at this point. It is still a nightmare, though. It will be a harsh winter and it is killing me that momma will have no where to go or will get killed going back and forth between farms. At this point I love all three. My house cat is also killing me slowly. Sigh. Thanks again.

 

[strange_wings]

Look up how to build outdoor shelters. Lots of things can be repurposed to work - from doghouses to large plastic storage containers (insulated of course). You could add a couple of these to the yard in a place that has a natural wind block just in case the cats don't want to share with each other.
Though.. cold is a good motivator for some cats. I've found my two outdoor cats snuggled together, normally the female cat does not like to be that close to other cats. (there are two shelters for the cats, though)

 

[ldg]

You may find these helpful:

Outdoor cats - Preparing for Winter

Quick and easy shelter: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178151

...but give it a few weeks to a month. Once all those hormones cycle out, they'll probably all get along again.

We care for a feral colony. we put out food at regular times in the morning and at night. We pick it up at night so it doesn't attract wildlife. The kitties know when to come.

 

[Willowy]

I also think that once all the hormones are out, they should be able to tolerate each other. I have a feral momma cat and her 4 babies....she never tried to drive them away, but then the kittens didn't mature sexually before they were fixed. I think the stress of her daughter going into heat and her son starting to smell like a tom might have set her off. And, yes, the cold can make almost any cats tolerate each other! Even sworn enemies will snuggle together when it's cold out. It's like winter is truce time

.

 

[jararaca]

Since my last post, Momma has been around the barn more often, and has been near the kittens, albeit still hissing when one of them gets too close. She has not been attempting to hurt them which had been an initial fear. Also—yesterday Momma was actually throwing herself down in the grass, playing with a corn shock, etc. like her “old self†(just a big kitten). We are working on trying to reunite the family. It is so difficult to be patient, remembering and watching video footage of her raising the kittens. We have decided not to attempt some kind of shelter outside the workshop. The self-contained workshop is 12 ft wide x 40 ft in length. There are two (2) additional lean-to buildings besides the barn, stacks of hay in the main barn, etc. The fact is, when my house cat succumbs (probably by spring) we want to introduce the “family†to the house and the commercial “cat door†leading from main deck into living room. Susie (elderly cat) hates them and Momma is terrified, having been attacked several times. Recently Susie has even entered the barn to set up an “ambushâ€.

The two kittens (Rush and Randi) are recovering from their last vet visits, Rush for his neutering and Randi for post-operative complications from spaying 8 days prior (seroma secondary to a reaction from the suture material). This presented as a herniation (vet agreed) but upon opening the incision found the true condition. So---got to pick both up in separate carriers Wednesday evening still loopy from the anesthetic when released in the workshop. Randi now has stainless steel staples and is antibiotics. We spent three grueling hours Wednesday building a “separate†elevated platform eating/sleeping area with water bowl, cat condo, etc. inside the workshop. We have ordered a separate heating cat bed to fit inside the enclosed cat condo on her new platform. Momma refuses to consider the new area we built for her inside the shop (so far). We have a coon mom and two babies who “raid†the horseâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s corn bucket every couple of nights. It took a long time, but the “coon clan†finally figured out about the “cat door†cut in the wall of the workshop. They gorged on dry cat food until they were sick I imagine, then washed their hands. Anyway, now all dry feed is pulled up at 10PM. So I now know about “attracting the wildlifeâ€. This is pertinent because Momma cannot dash in and out to eat 24/7 when the kids are out hunting or sleeping in the hay, etc.

Thanks for everyoneâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s kind help and suggestions. I am reviewing the info on the recommended links. I am crossing my fingers!

 

[eap617]

Thank you for this answer, our cat has four babies about a few months old.  She is hissing at them, and avoids them.  Sadly they still come to her.  Sadder still, she has gotten herself pregnant again!  Before I had the chance to get her spayed.  Now I worry the kittens (we are keeping) will get sexually active.

 

[vball91]

eap617, please get the kittens spayed/neutered as soon as possible. Otherwise you will soon have more kittens than you can handle. Also, if the mother cat is very early in her pregnancy it may still be possible to spay/abort. If not, then she needs to be kept inside/confined after giving birth until she can be spayed so that she does not get pregnant again. Being pregnant back to back like this is not healthy for momma cat or her next litter.

 

[Willowy]

Thank you for this answer, our cat has four babies about a few months old.  She is hissing at them, and avoids them.  Sadly they still come to her.  Sadder still, she has gotten herself pregnant again!  Before I had the chance to get her spayed.  Now I worry the kittens (we are keeping) will get sexually active.

Yes, the kittens WILL get sexually active, very soon, because that's how nature works. And the mother cat WILL keep getting pregnant until she's spayed. As a pet owner, it's your responsibility to control their reproduction. Keep the mama cat confined until she's spayed. If the pregnancy isn't very far along, you can still abort the kittens if you're comfortable with that. Get the kittens spayed/neutered as soon as possible, because females can get pregnant as early as 4 months, and you really don't need a ton of inbred kittens to deal with.