Why Is My Cat So Irresponsible?

Philippines
August 3, 2011 10:33am CST
I have a pet cat here who just gave birth to supposed to be four beautiful healthy kittens. This mother cat is already the fourth cat that I have adopted as pet since I started owning pet cats, a daughter of my previous cats. She just gave birth to four kittens, but sad to say, I cannot believe it and was shocked, unlike my previous pet cats, this one is so irresponsible. I don't if this is normal, but I have asked my brother-in-law who is a veterinarian, he told me that there are indeed some cats who are irresponsible with their new-born kittens. What happen yesterday was, the mother cat gave birth to the first kitten in the floor of my computer shop. Then she walk some distance and then gave birth with the second kitten in our kitchen. The third kitten was born in my sister's grocery store's aisle, and the third was born back in my computer shop with my customers watching it, dirty blood of her splattered all around the place! I am very disappointed with this cat. I was expecting new cute kittens, but look at what had happened, all them gone! Dead! I was really shocked, this is my very first time to see such kind of cat! Terrible. Soooo irresponsible. Criminal actually... She's so irresponsible with her new born babies, I can't believe she is capable of doing that, abandoning her babies after she gave birth to them. She's a "turn-off".. She didn't even mind cleaning or nursing her babies with milk, she just abandoned them to die. I used to love this cat because she's so sweet with us humans, but I hate her for committing crime to her kittens. This cat is now available again and I am expecting those ugly neighbors' male cats will come over again to impregnate her. Maybe in a few months from now, she will get pregnant again. Can you suggest some ways, or tips, on how to teach this cat become responsible mother?
1 person likes this
14 responses
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
3 Aug 11
Since she doesn't seem to be maternal, why not get her spayed?
1 person likes this
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
It's a possibility that when those four kittens were born, all four might be in a very poor condition. I'm no vet, but the least that I know about cats' behavior is that when they feel that the kitten(s) is/are not strong enough to walk, or at least have some kind of weakness, the mother cat sometimes tend to either leave them, or put them in a far away area. There was even this one time where the mother cat threw the kitten off the roof! It's a sad sight, but that's how they behave as animals. It's ecology.
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
Oh, that's a nice insight of yours. If only they can talk, I want to ask her why she did that. I am going to ask her, "What's your problem? What the hell you think you're doing?". If only... (sigh) But sometimes I wonder, is there a possibility that there's something like "unwanted pregnancies in cats"? That's why she hate those babies of her? I saw them make love, and it looked like my cat was raped by that ugly male cat of our neighbor!
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
When the first kitten came out, that was what I thought of. It looked like the kitten was underdeveloped. But when the 2nd to 4th came out, they all look so healthy and beautiful. But all them were abandoned altogether.
• Canada
4 Aug 11
Rather than worrying about the cat raising kittens, get her sterilized! Then there won't be any kittens to worry about.
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
That was what my mother suggested to me. Get the cat sterilized, so she won't be able to get pregnant again. But I don't know how, and I am now sure whether it is possible.
@wongchoiyee (7413)
• Malaysia
3 Aug 11
Actually, maybe she did not aware of these things. I used to have a female dog and when she born a puppy, she ate back the puppy when she lick them. So disgusting! Or maybe she felt pain in her ***so she kept on walking away giving birth.
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
My previous pet cats, the ones that existed before her, when they lost their kittens, they keep on meowing for days as a sign of missing them. But this one, you can hardly find any sign that she miss them. No sad emotion from her.
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
You have a point there. Maybe you are right. She's not to be blamed. Things happen for a reason. Sad to say, we cannot interview the mother cat why she did that, but sure, she has reason for it. We just don't know what it is. We're humans, and they are animals.
@katie0 (5203)
• Japan
4 Aug 11
No dear, there's surely a reason for what an Animal commit any action. They are not like us that plan crimes or do bad stuff with intention, even when Cats eat their own kids it's because the mom feels she doesn't stand a chance and her kids even less so she won't be able to protect so she kill them and be ready to die as well. Something happened to your Cat, be sure of that. It's not easy to be an Animal mommy and specially she could also don't know what she was doing and something went wrong.
• Brazil
4 Aug 11
That'is what i said in previus post... Sometime things happen that we dont know. In a neighboring town exist psychologist to animal. i dont know about it but i thing be interesting
@bouncybug (614)
• South Africa
3 Aug 11
Wow - this is a terrible story! Obviously your cat is just not fit to be a mother. I don't know how you could ever teach her to be a responsible mother - if she does not have the instincts to look after her kittens, she will probably never be able to look after them. I suggest that you have her spayed so she is unable to fall pregnant again!
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
I want to give this cat another chance. In a few months from now, she will get fertile again, the male cats from our neighbors will come over again, and she will get impregnated again. Then we'll see if she will make a difference next time around.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
17 Oct 11
Sorry that this had to happen to you, and I hope if this cat has had another litter by now, that she is more responsible. Is she a younger cat, or maybe too old? We had a cat that always liked to be a Mom until she got older. We had to make sure she was fixed because she could not nurse or take care of her kittens anymore and it was sad to try and nurse them all yourselves to save them.
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
5 Aug 11
The kindest thing for both your irresponsible cat and you would be to have your brother-in-law the vet fix her so that she will not have any more kittens.
• United States
3 Aug 11
There are thousands of cats dying each year in shelters due to the pet overpopulation. That is something to consider when you leave your cat un-spayed...
• Philippines
3 Aug 11
Can't say any tips on how your cat can be a responsible mother. If it was her first time to give birth and at her young age, I guess that is not the issue since we do have adopted cat too and she was young when she gave birth but she was so responsible to her kitties that even when they are already old,she still nurture them and even try to adopt other kittens in the neighbor and feed her own milk to them even if it wasn't her own. Your cat has an attitude. I do hope that kids did not touch her young ones because some pets really do abandon their young ones when they see people touching their babies. Ones she smelled her kitties that it has been touched, she won't feed them anymore. This is what we noticed on our old cat when I was still a young kid. Next time, keep the mother and kitties isolated on a box (privately) with no people peeping or looking at them. Some pets are jealous type and they also do crazy things that we don't understand.
• Philippines
4 Aug 11
Thanks for that good tip. This made me excited for her next pregnancy. I want to see if she will behave differently next time around.
@anil02 (24688)
• India
4 Aug 11
After all cat is a animal she don't know what she is doing is not good thing. It may be possible she have some health problem. You must be trained her to behave in good manner.
@kaylachan (71762)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Aug 11
If you don't want the cat pregnant again, get her fixed. It's that simple. However, I don't know what to say if she gets pregnant again. All I can really say is, time... cats just like all creatures need to learn to care for their young. Many litters die until the animal gets the hang of it. This was probably her first pregnancy, and as a result she just wanted the feeling to stop. The more litters animals have the more they learn to care for their young. When it comes to giving birth, it happens and sometimes the cat isn't really aware it's happening. There isn't a class they can take. It's all instinct that drives animals to do what they do. When I lived in South Daytona, one stray cat had her litter near a retention pond. Since she was a homless stray, she was looking for a dry well-hidden place to have her litter as nature ditctates. One of her kittens almost drowned in that pond, but was rescued and survived. However, someimes human intervention is needed. You can learn the signs of a cat ready to give birth. You can find a small safe enclosure for her to have her litters, and you can take-charge of the litter until she learns to do it herself. Cats who have their first few litters end up loosing one or all of the babies, and if humans around that's how they survive. It's not that she's irresponsible per say, but because she hasn't learned what to do.
• United States
3 Aug 11
The cat's age may have something to do with it too. Or her mentality. I know there are some animals that were too young to have a litter and they did not have that "mother" instinct built into them. Some animals, despite being old enough, may not be mentally efficient enough to care for a litter. Animals do not have the higher level of thoughts we do. What is wrong to you may not be wrong to her. It's just her nature that drives her to do what she does. It's not because she's being irresponsible. If you do not her want her to get pregnant again, have her spay. That is the sure and most effective way to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
@surekharathi (14146)
• India
4 Aug 11
Friend some reason may be behind this behavior of you cat do the checkup by animal's Dr. She cant tell anything so dont beat her. Take care of her. She wants more milk because already she gives 3 kittens so she is weak.