Hello, I'm looking for advice on how to solve this problem. The queen (her name is Baby), has 4 4-week old kittens. She has been beating them up for a couple of weeks now. (Holding them with her front paws while she bites their faces and necks and kicks with the back paws. Sometimes they just try to get away, other times they squeal, so I stop her from attacking them when I catch her.)
Sometimes she'll get ready to pounce on them, or walk by and just grab one, so it's not just a case of her trying to hold them still to clean them.
Anyway, I thought it might be because I was paying too much attention to them, given that she is the dominant cat. So for the past few days, I've been spoiling her and petting her more than the kittens, but it doesn't seem to stop the behaviour much.
For example, last night the kittens started to climb up my legs (aww!), and I decided to introduce them to toys to keep them from learning bad habits. So, I grabbed a feather and played with them for a minute or two. Immediately after, Baby grabbed one of them and starting attacking him very viciously. For the first time, he was able to swipe back at her. That pissed her off A LOT and she really started into him, so I snatched him away and hissed in her face. After that, she went over and started to play with the same toy, which has been in the house since she got here (5 weeks ago, I'm fostering her), and which she totally rejected on all other occasions! But, now that she's in her jelous rage, the toy is all of a sudden appealing!
So I don't know what to do! I want her to stop this behaviour because I worry about the kittens being injured, or growing up timid.
Please let me know if you've found any solutions!
Sometimes she'll get ready to pounce on them, or walk by and just grab one, so it's not just a case of her trying to hold them still to clean them.
Anyway, I thought it might be because I was paying too much attention to them, given that she is the dominant cat. So for the past few days, I've been spoiling her and petting her more than the kittens, but it doesn't seem to stop the behaviour much.
For example, last night the kittens started to climb up my legs (aww!), and I decided to introduce them to toys to keep them from learning bad habits. So, I grabbed a feather and played with them for a minute or two. Immediately after, Baby grabbed one of them and starting attacking him very viciously. For the first time, he was able to swipe back at her. That pissed her off A LOT and she really started into him, so I snatched him away and hissed in her face. After that, she went over and started to play with the same toy, which has been in the house since she got here (5 weeks ago, I'm fostering her), and which she totally rejected on all other occasions! But, now that she's in her jelous rage, the toy is all of a sudden appealing!
So I don't know what to do! I want her to stop this behaviour because I worry about the kittens being injured, or growing up timid.
Please let me know if you've found any solutions!