Do mother cats know their own?
By whatrow
@whatrow (792)
United States
February 29, 2012 5:41pm CST
I have two families of kittens. One was born a week ago Sunday and the mother nested behind the end table in my bedroom. The second family arrived yesterday and were born in a closet which adjoins my bathtub, a very difficult spot for me to see them. Last night, one of the newborns started crying. And she wouldn't stop. I thought the sound was coming from the closet. I knew the mother was nearby. So, I didn't worry. The crying continued throughout the night. This morning, I happened to go into my laundry room on the lower level and saw something moving. It was one of the newborns, freezing, frightened and hungry! I put her inside my sweater to warm her up, and carried her upstairs. Since I wasn't sure where her mother was, I decided to put her with the older kittens. After a minute of protest for waking the others, she quickly became part of the group. When lunchtime came, the mother had no problem with feeding a youngster that didn't belong to her. I thought each kitten had a different scent and this was how their mother recognized them. But it looks like a nursing mother will feed any kitten close to her. Do any of you have more information about this subject?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
29 Feb 12
Oh that is a lovely story, I think all animals know their own but I also think the famales of most species are very accepting of other babies, look at the animals that take on the babies of other types of animals even the ones they are supposed to be natural enemies with, animals are amazing.
@IrishGal77 (260)
• Ireland
1 Mar 12
Hi whatrow,
My younger sister is a huge cat lover and has previously told me that two 'mother' cats both had sets of kittens. One of the mothers rejected one of her kittens but the other mother stepped in and took care of it. I thought that was amazing because I truly didn't think that could happen. I have always thought that each mother must know her own. These two mother cats and their respective brood lived together so whether that had a part to play in how things transpired, I don't know.
IrishGal77 :)
