What countries eat cats. Do cats really eat their kittens?

By nature, every cat has a strong maternal instinct. They are responsible for the appearance of offspring. They become very gentle, affectionate, caring with their cubs. But sometimes the system fails, the animals start eating their kittens. Is cannibalism considered normal in the feline family?

Reasons for eating offspring

Cannibalism is the eating of one animal of a given species by another. It is distributed mainly among fish, insects, sometimes found in warm-blooded animals. Females are more aggressive than males. And the reasons are more often due to a change in range, the preservation of offspring, and hunger. In pets, it is much less common.

However, do not knit pets more than once a year. After giving birth, you need time to recover, otherwise the cat may eat the stronghold, as it will be exhausted and healthy offspring will not be able to come out.

Why does a cat eat kittens?

There are not so many reasons for the destruction of their cubs in cats. These include.

The main motivating factor may be the lack of sufficient milk supply. The mother feels responsible for her offspring. When he realizes that he will not be able to feed everyone, natural selection comes into play. The cat eats the weak babies in order to feed the stronger ones. Of course, the issue of lack of food can be solved by a person with his intervention, taking care of some cubs, but sometimes the mother manages to get rid of the kittens before the need for additional care comes. In animals, the basic instinct is especially well developed. The main thing, having selected a kitten from its mother, is not to bring them together later. This could end badly.
Second in the list, but not least, is the human being! As one modern poet noted: "Curiosity is a human vice, death is its fruit." Under no circumstances should you take a newborn kitten in your arms, stroke it, or carry it. Such reckless actions can cost the cub his life. It will leave a strange smell. The cat may refuse it, or feel threatened and kill. Particular attention should be paid to kittens born through a caesarean section. This method is unnatural; the female's maternal instinct may not wake up at all.
Genetics dictated that after giving birth, the cat must release the cubs from the placenta and eat the dead cubs. But sometimes, being in postpartum shock, the animal may not distinguish between a dead kitten and a living one.
The cat is a jealous, selfish creature. Sometimes, not wanting to share the owner's love, the pet gets rid of its own offspring, convicting it of a threat. Increased attention should be paid to animals giving birth for the first time.
Genetic failure in the nervous system of the animal. Zoopsychologists note that cats are also prone to deviations. It is worth observing the pet during pregnancy, in case of observation of mental disorders associated with a change in condition, the brood should be taken immediately after birth.
Also, by gnawing through the umbilical cord, the newly-minted mother can accidentally injure the kitten, deciding that the baby is too weak, "to save him from suffering." Kittens born with physical disabilities, in most cases, the same fate awaits.
Mastitis. Sometimes, due to the terrible pain caused by this phenomenon, the mother's attempts to eat kittens can be regarded as an attack. Defending itself, the animal can eat its stronghold.

cat with kittens

Why does daddy cat eat kittens?

Considering this topic, it must be emphasized that the father of the family has a predisposition to eating his own offspring. There are several reasons why this is happening.

Just like a woman in labor, the head of the family may show banal jealousy. Feeling the competition for the attention of the female, the owner or the threat in maintaining the boundaries of their territory, cats tend to get rid of opponents.
An additional reason may be estrus in the female. When a cat loses her offspring, she quickly recovers and is ready to be fertilized again. In this regard, cats sometimes eat newborns. The fact does not apply to cats living in the same territory as females.

Males in nature are less likely to exhibit cannibalism. This is due to the fact that only the female most often takes care of the offspring. It is on her shoulders that the responsibility for getting rid of sick and weak offspring lies.

Treatment

Why does a cat eat her kittens and does it need treatment?

Unfortunately, cannibalism is not a physical disease at all, so medical treatment is inappropriate. Eating your own offspring is caused by stress or a failure in the instinct system. The deviation is manifested most often at the first birth, subsequently it may never again make itself felt.

If a stable tendency to cat aggression towards offspring is revealed, it is worth blocking the possibility of reproduction. Since the probability of manifestation of this disorder in subsequent generations is high.

However, this reaction of the animal may be caused by a hormonal imbalance. In this case, prevention is prescribed. Progestins are used to correct disorders.

cat and kitten

Symptoms

The symptoms of possible cannibalism include only an unstable mental state of the pet. It can be manifested by excessive activity of the animal, irritability for no apparent reason, fussiness, lack of appetite, poor sleep and extreme fussiness.

How to understand if a cat can eat kittens?

It is impossible to be 100% sure whether a cat can eat its kittens or whether this attack will bypass a particular pet. There are several warning signs that are visible to the naked eye.

During pregnancy, the animal became very irritable.
Nervousness after childbirth. Runs away from kittens, cannot sit in one place.
Initially, the pet is hyperactive.
On its territory there are other animals with access to its offspring.

But what if the cat ate the kittens? In no case should she be scolded, beaten or even put out of the door. What has been done can no longer be corrected, and the animal will remain psychologically traumatized, which can affect subsequent births and attitudes towards motherhood.

Prevention measures

It is worth starting to prepare a pet for future motherhood during pregnancy. Especially if this is the first birth. You should be more attentive to her. Caress and show your love more often, then she will be able to trust, will allow her to become a true friend.

A few weeks before the expected birth, the pet should be provided with a secluded house. It is not necessary that there be a lot of light, it is better to give preference to its absence. For these purposes, a wooden box or box will do well. The shelter should have a small hole for the animal and a window so that you can watch how the birth takes place and care for the offspring is carried out. Inside must be soft and enough oxygen.

When childbirth begins, it is necessary to act very carefully. Don't be too pushy to help. but it is also not necessary to completely reject the animal. The main thing is to provide the pet with maximum peace of mind. If other animals are present in the house, their access to the place of birth should be limited.

When the firstborn appears, it is worth carefully observing and evaluating how the woman in labor reacts to it. Ideally, she should start licking him. However, here you need to be on the alert so that in the event of a change in the situation there is an opportunity to protect the cub from the sharp fangs of the mother.

If the pet shows aggression from the very beginning, hisses at the baby, do not rush to take the situation into your own hands. This is a manifestation of stress. It takes a little time to come to your senses. If the situation does not change within a few minutes and the reaction is repeated when the next cub appears, it is worth protecting the animal from offspring in order to avoid tragedy. The maternal instinct is already unlikely to manifest itself.

In this case, you will have to look for a nurse who recently had her own kittens. Cats are very caring and often take responsibility for other people's cubs. If a replacement cannot be found, you should consult with your veterinarian about which mixture is best to feed the kittens.

Sometimes it happens that cats later adopt their kittens. Such cases are rare, but it is worth giving the mother a chance to feel the taste of motherhood, if this does not threaten the life of the offspring.

The joyful event of the birth of offspring in a pet is often overshadowed by the inappropriate behavior of the mother cat. Instead of affection and care, the animal shows aggression towards the cubs and even eats them. There are many reasons why cats eat their kittens, and in each case it is necessary to find out and take measures to prevent the situation in the future.

Cannibalism is intraspecific predation, when animals of the same species are able to eat each other. This phenomenon is widespread among fish, insects, and is often found in mammals. At the same time, females are more prone to cannibalism than males. Causes in nature are associated with famine or its threat, a change in habitat. In the wild, eating her offspring is due to an adaptive type of behavior, when, in order to preserve all the offspring, the mother eats sick and weak cubs. In pets, the phenomenon of cannibalism is less common. Nevertheless, cases of eating their offspring are often observed in pigs, dogs, and cats.

Reasons why a cat eats its kittens	Rationale for Behavior
Exhaustion of the female during pregnancy	Growing embryos require a large amount of proteins from the mother. This leads to severe nutritional deficiencies in the cat. Protein starvation pushes the pet to eat its cubs, which are perceived by the animal as a source of protein food. The phenomenon is often observed in homeless malnourished animals. The period of gestation is accompanied by an intensive leaching of minerals and vitamins from the mother's body. Especially sharply decreases the level of calcium in the blood after childbirth. This causes inappropriate behavior, a mental disorder in the animal, and it can destroy its cubs.
Decreased maternal instincts	Unfortunately, not all fluffy mothers show tender maternal feelings for their offspring. For a number of reasons, many animals, especially primiparas, do not show due attention and care for the babies that have appeared. In an extreme manifestation, this can be expressed in the form of eating cubs. The weakening of maternal instincts is often observed during caesarean section. With such an unnatural resolution of pregnancy, animals often suffer from a lack of a developed maternal feeling and can eat their offspring. Postpartum eclampsia is often the reason why a cat kills her kittens
Psycho-emotional disorders as a result of experienced stress during childbirth can be the cause of cannibalism	Inadequate behavior of the pet in relation to the cubs can be provoked by dissatisfaction with the conditions of childbirth: the absence of a nest, its inadequacy for raising offspring, the presence of strangers and animals during childbirth, etc. The birth act itself is stressful, and unsatisfactory external conditions further exacerbate the psycho-emotional disorder, provoking inadequate perception of babies. In this regard, you should not take newborn kittens in your hands, as this can also lead to eating, since they no longer smell like mom
The reason why a cat eats newborn kittens is often a violation of lactation.	In the absence of milk, a cat turns on defense mechanisms in the form of cannibalism, associated with a powerful law of nature - natural selection. The female instinctively understands that she does not have food resources in the form of milk, the offspring is doomed to death and must be destroyed. The same mechanism is triggered in the case of the development of breast pathology.
Hidden health defects in a newborn at the level of instinct in the mother can lead to eating weak and non-viable offspring	The cat has the ability to identify hypothermic kittens - babies with low body temperature. Such cubs cannot survive, and in order to ensure the life of other kittens, the mother must destroy the weak one. This is an ancient mechanism of nature, which is not lost even by domestic animals.
A cat can eat a kitten and quite by accident	After the birth of each baby, the mother gnaws the umbilical cord and eats the afterbirth. This behavior is deeply rooted in the wild: this is how the female cleans her nest and does not attract scavengers and predators to the birthplace of offspring. In the process of cutting the umbilical cord and destroying the placenta, the animal can accidentally eat the kitten

Numerous causes of cannibalism in domestic cats testify to the complex mechanism of this phenomenon.

Reasons why dad cat destroys offspring

The cat drags the kitten to a secluded place

Cannibalism is inherent not only in domestic cats, but also in cats. As a rule, the female hides her nest from strangers. But often a cat finds it and destroys the offspring. At the same time, males kill not only strangers, but also their cubs. One of the likely reasons why cats eat kittens is to stimulate the female into estrus. In the event that a cat who has given birth feeds her offspring, her estrus begins in 3-4 months. If the cubs die, estrus occurs almost immediately after the death of the kittens. This pushes the males to destroy offspring and thereby stimulate the female in heat.

Another reason why cats kill kittens is competition, the struggle for existence. Adult males perceive small kittens as future competitors of food resources, territory, and females. That is why they can destroy both other people's cubs and their own. Also for this reason, at the level of natural instincts, the cat mother tries to place the future nest in a secluded place inaccessible to other animals.

Symptoms of cannibalism

The reason why cats eat their kittens is not always obvious to owners of fluffy pets. Knowing about the likelihood of cannibalism in domestic cats, both an experienced breeder and owner should be aware of the symptoms that are harbingers of this phenomenon. There are no clear signs indicating the propensity of the animal to destroy its offspring. The owner should be wary of excessive activity of the cat before and after childbirth, anxiety, fussiness, nervousness of the animal.

Is treatment possible?

Cannibalism refers to the pathological manifestation of natural instincts and cannot be treated. Breed affiliation does not affect the manifestation of pathological behavior.

Prevention measures

Experienced breeders, upon discovering such inappropriate behavior in a cat, remove it from further breeding, since cannibalism is inherited. The many reasons why a cat strangles her kittens make them difficult to identify. In this regard, the following preventive measures should be followed:

Balanced and complete nutrition of a pregnant female with the inclusion of vitamin and mineral supplements in food. A veterinary specialist will help you get recommendations on the preparation of the optimal diet during pregnancy and after childbirth. To control the level of calcium in the blood for the prevention of postpartum eclampsia should be by clinical analysis, since both high and low levels of the mineral in the body are dangerous;

Nest preparation in a secluded, quiet and safe place, inaccessible to strangers. For these purposes, a thick cardboard box or exhibition box is suitable. The nest should be placed in a dark place. It must be dry and warm. Such an organization maximally corresponds to the natural conditions laid down in the cat at the genetic level.

Observation of the birth process of the pet. The gentle help of the owner will calm the cat mother and allow the cat to be controlled. If aggressive and inappropriate behavior of the mother is detected, newborns should be isolated. On the recommendation of a veterinarian, an animal may be prescribed sedatives to calm the nervous system.

Availability of food and water after delivery. Food resources should not only be freely available to the cat, but also in the immediate vicinity of the nest. This will reduce the mother's nervousness about leaving the babies in the nest, allow the animal to quickly get enough and eliminate the protein deficiency.

Cannibalism in domestic cats is a serious mental disorder based on ancient natural instincts. An animal with a predisposition to eating its own offspring should be excluded from breeding and breeding. Cannibalism has no cure. However, the adoption of preventive measures will avoid such complex psychological deviations.

Pork - as an option

With regard to some types of meat, the owners also have persistent myths. We already wrote about them in the article "Pork in the diet of cats and dogs - an eternal anathema?" .

For example, many believe that pork is almost poison for cats. In fact, this is not true at all. Pork is not more likely than other types of meat to cause allergies, and a high fat content is also a myth, just do not give the cat fatty parts of the carcass.

Lean pork contains even less fat than lean chicken (7.1 and 10 g per 100 g, respectively), so you can safely introduce this type of meat into your cat's diet.

What grains and vegetables are acceptable?

Of the cereals, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, barley are allowed, but only in VERY small quantities. As a source of fiber, you can use carrots or other non-starchy vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, pumpkin. Moreover, if you use buckwheat as a “garnish”, then you can not add vegetables: buckwheat seeds themselves contain a lot of fiber.

Here is a simple recipe for a delicious and satisfying lunch for your pet, which can become basic:

100 g of thermally processed or raw chicken (with skin, fat and cartilage);
20 g boiled rice;
20 g raw or boiled carrots.

Prepared ingredients can either be chopped or mixed in a blender. Here, rather, you need to focus on the habits of the cat. In the future, this recipe can be customized to the desires of your pet and your own capabilities, replacing chicken with turkey, boiled fish, beef, pork or rabbit meat.

Feeding cats with homemade food has its own peculiarities, since it is quite difficult to calculate the need for your pet in certain substances (perhaps, on the advice of a veterinarian, you will have to use mineral and vitamin supplements). In addition, in recent years, more and more often domestic cats have allergic reactions to certain foods. Among meat, chicken is the leader in terms of the number of allergies caused.

And now about what is harmful. There is a list of foods that should not be given to our pets in any form. We will move on to it a little later, but first, general recommendations.

Use only freshly prepared food. It is acceptable to store excess food in the refrigerator for a short time between feedings, but it is strictly forbidden to leave uneaten food in a bowl. The cat is completely full in 5-7 minutes, and everything that remains in the bowl after this time is superfluous and at room temperature serves only as a breeding ground for bacteria.

Many owners make sure that they freeze it for several days, and then defrost it. In any case, no one has canceled the quarterly treatment of pets from worms, and it is simply necessary for mustachioed lovers of "raw food".

Products under the ban

And now, in fact, a list of foods that cats and cats should not eat, even if they love them:

bread, cookies, pastries and more;
sugar and sweets (chocolate - in no case);
pasta;
mushrooms;
garlic;
hot pepper and other spices;
salted, pickled, smoked products;
ketchup, mayonnaise and other sauces;
yoghurts with sugar and fillers.

Please note that most of the listed products are part of the products and treats we use, with which we strive to please our pet. Absolutely in vain: a piece of raw smoked sausage will not particularly amuse a cat, but it is quite capable of provoking an attack of pancreatitis.

Milk: to give or not?

Opinions about milk differ. Despite the generally recognized love of the feline tribe for dairy products, their presence in the diet of pets should be limited. And also refrain from giving unboiled or unpasteurized milk (in case its origin is unknown to you).

On the other hand, milk is a source of valuable protein, so if your cat occasionally indulges in this product and feels good at the same time, there is nothing to worry about. However, it is worth remembering that milk for a cat is not a drink, but liquid food, so you should not replace water with it in any case.

As for fermented milk products - low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream, yogurt, homemade unsalted cheese - their inclusion in the pet's diet is only welcome.

Many cats, accustomed to food from the owner's table, eat everything - soups, milk porridges, pasta, potatoes. Of course, this is not a poison that will kill on the spot, but a time bomb, since this is absolutely not the kind of food that a cat as a biological species needs.

What food can and cannot be given to a cat

The simplest option for feeding a pet is industrial feed. It's really convenient: produced in an all-in-one format, they contain:

proteins:
fats;
carbohydrates;
mineral components:
vitamins and other ingredients necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

It would seem that there is nothing simpler: he calculated the required amount of feed, gave out the daily allowance and everything is in order. However, this is not without pitfalls.

Unfortunately, only those in which the content of animal components is at least 50% can be called more or less acceptable feeds. The cost of such feed, especially from trusted and eminent manufacturers, is quite high.

As for industrial feeds, in which there is less than the indicated amount of meat, it can be said with certainty that they are not very suitable for feeding cats. The nutritional value of these foods comes from plant-derived fats and proteins that cats are not designed to consume.

And they eat them well, because the manufacturer adds various flavors and flavors to their products, which can hardly be called useful either.

By and large, dry and wet industrial feeds practically do not differ in composition (in one line), and when choosing one or another type, it is worth focusing on the quality of the feed and the individual taste preferences of the pet.

Undesirable ingredients in cat food

So, we will list which products in the composition of cat food are acceptable and which are not. We advise you not to buy food that contains ingredients that are named in general terms, such as "meat" or "fish", because this is not at all the wonderful fresh meat that you see in the market or in the store. This is an unknown raw material, of unknown quality.

Undesirable components are also cereals, especially wheat and corn, as well as soybeans. Hydrolysates (ingredients created as a result of deep industrial processing, including hydrolyzed proteins) can be classified as low-quality components.

The best feeds can be considered those in which we see a lot (more than 70%) of high-quality meat or fish - in fresh, raw or dry (dehydrated) form. The description of the ingredients should be as complete as possible, for example, “fresh chicken meat without bones”, preferably with an indication of the percentage in the feed.

Water quality is just as important

And finally, a few words about water. The structure of the feline excretory system is such that urine accumulates rather slowly and is very concentrated. But this does not mean that a cat can go without liquid for a long time.

The animal must have constant access to clean, fresh water. At the same time, the quality of water should be given no less attention than the quality of food. If the water from the tap (or well) can be fearlessly used for cooking (that is, it is transparent, has no pronounced taste or smell, including bleach), it will also suit pets.

In other cases, it is advisable to use bottled water (from trusted manufacturers) or filtered using household purification devices.

Most civilized people shudder in horror when they learn that Koreans, Vietnamese and Chinese eat cats with the same appetite with which Europeans eat beef or poultry meat. How can you? After all, a cat is a purely domestic creature, it is our companion, friend, it is a family pet! It's vile and disgusting. But for Asians, the question “Can I eat cats” has long been resolved: “Of course. It's not only delicious, but incredibly healthy." Let's take a closer look at the culinary preferences of cat lovers.

So, why and where do they eat cats consciously, knowing that it is cat meat on the plate? Of course, first of all, this is the birthplace of the four great inventions - Celestial China. Eating snakes, scorpions, cockroaches, beetle larvae and unfortunate iguanas, which are butchered alive right in front of the buyer, is already a little shocking. But the fact that cats are eaten in China causes either a twinge of pity for the underestimated rat-catchers or nausea (or more often both). From the Cantonese Cookbook, you can learn how to butcher cats properly, how to prepare soups, stir-fries and other cat meat dishes. The Chinese eat cats not as a special delicacy (although in recent years this wording has been increasingly common in the media), but as inexpensive and accessible meat for all segments of the population. Soup or fried cat meat can afford every Chinese, but dishes from the intestines and internal organs for some reason are much more expensive.

Of course, restaurateurs savor this phenomenon in a special way and make money “out of thin air”. In China, the popular dish is "The Battle of the Dragon and the Tiger" - snake meat plus cat meat with rice and vegetables. The "delicacy" costs quite decently at minimal cost. The snakes are harvested right in the swamps. Cats are captured all over the country, stuffed by the hundreds into bamboo cages and transported by train to southern China, where a large number of cat lovers live. No expenses for raising animals - everything is "natural".

If someone is indifferent to the fact that cats are eaten in China, then hardly anyone will remain indifferent to the method of killing animals. Cats, like dogs, are beaten to death with sticks hung around their necks. It is believed that due to the huge amount of adrenaline in the blood, the meat is put more tender and tasty ...

In addition to the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom, cats are eaten in Korea and Vietnam. Luckily for the barbels, Koreans eat cats much less often than dogs. However, tourists should be vigilant, because to this day in many restaurants in Korea you can taste this "exclusive". But the Vietnamese use cat meat for health purposes, believing that this meat helps with asthma, tuberculosis, heart and other diseases. In the backyard of Vietnamese restaurants, you can often see cages with cats of various colors - a clear sign that you should not order meat in this establishment.

Various animal rights organizations regularly hold actions against the consumption of cat and dog meat. Some provinces in China have banned the sale of cat meat. The authorities are especially harsh in relation to restaurateurs - from large monetary fines to imprisonment for violators. Fortunately, the new generation voluntarily abandons the creepy tradition: young people are embarrassed to admit that in childhood, out of ignorance, they ate the meat of cats or dogs, and promote a friendly attitude towards these animals.

It's scary to imagine, but there are countries where they eat cats out of ignorance. To the horror of compatriots, Russia is among them. The joke "buy three shawarmas - collect a cat" is only partly a joke. Cat meat can indeed be found in an appetizing mixture wrapped in pita bread (just like dog meat). Can you guess in which country they eat cats, mistaking a cat carcass for a rabbit carcass? That's right, in Russia. But we are not alone: for example, a Brazilian woman will never buy a rabbit whose legs have been cut off, since it is from them that one can determine whether the merchant is trying to slip a cat instead of a rabbit.

Is there any benefit?

Asian nutritionists and epidemiologists are regularly published in the media, telling why cats should not be eaten. They refute the myths that supposedly cat meat has medicinal properties and can somehow help in the fight against the disease. In part, the publication of scientific data is another way to prevent the decline in the number of cats in Asia. After all, the disappearance of cats means an increase in the population of rodents and huge losses associated with damage to the crop.

And you are with her? And finally, the long-awaited day has come when you will become a cat's grandmother or grandfather? The fact that tiny meowing lumps leave no one indifferent - no one will argue. That's just... waking up in the morning, you realize with horror that there are no kittens in the box, but there is your cat, which is full of licks... What happened? Where have the kittens gone? And, really, your sweet, affectionate and kind cat ... ate her babies?

Today, in our cat section, we decided to talk about one of the anomalous examples of cat behavior, this is a situation when a cat eats its offspring. Why is this happening? How can this be prevented? And, should a cat be punished for such a terrible offense?

Strong maternal instinct

Animals, especially females, have a very strong maternal instinct. It is so established by nature that a mother cat must take care of her kittens. So, there are many cases when a cat bravely rushed to protect its babies from a threat, and even sacrificed its life to save their lives. Based on this, it can be assumed that such behavior of a cat as the destruction of its offspring belongs to the category of abnormal. However, zoopsychologists and veterinarians argue that such an ambiguous conclusion should not be rushed. Very often, such, by our standards, atrocious behavior has a completely logical explanation.

Let us consider how such processes proceed in Nature. Having given birth to offspring, the cat feels responsible for it, since it is she who must feed her kittens. But when a cat realizes that she doesn’t have enough milk for everyone… the mechanism of natural selection is activated. The cat chooses the most viable, active and strong kittens - she will feed them. And, here from the weak or sick - she refuses them, preferring not to waste her milk on them. And, if in Nature a mother can abandon her cub, then at home, the cat understands that she will not be able to refuse him, therefore ... in order not to torment the creature she has born into the world, and not to prolong his torment ... the cat eats him.

By the way, a cat can also eat a kitten that has genetic abnormalities or diseases incompatible with life. Here again, the principle of natural selection comes into play. And although it would be possible to leave such a sick kitten in “apartment” conditions, the instincts of Nature in a cat are too strong. So, veterinarians and zoopsychologists are still surprised at how a cat manages to identify a non-viable kitten or one with a developmental defect that is incompatible with life ...

Third wheel

No matter how warm and friendly you have a relationship with your cat, and perhaps you even stayed with her all the time of childbirth - picking up a newborn kitten is strictly prohibited. Such interference and curiosity of yours can cost the baby his life. After all, a cat will perceive a baby who no longer has her smell as a stranger. And, with a stranger, and even with such a defenseless one - the conversation is short. By the way, you need to be especially careful with kittens born by caesarean section. The maternal instinct towards them in the cat’s body is asleep, since the birth was unnatural and all the natural instincts in her body did not start, therefore, she a priori perceives small kittens as strangers.

That is why, it is not uncommon for cats that gave birth to kittens in this way abandoned them and did not recognize the fact of their motherhood.

If you notice that your cat is behaving aggressively towards its offspring, it is better to isolate kittens from it. Babies will have to look for another mother (not all cats are aggressive towards other people's kittens) or you will have to feed them with special mixtures. It is quite obvious that the chances of the babies to survive are not great, and everything will depend on your diligence and care, but at least the mother cat will not eat them...

wild chance

By nature, it is laid down in such a way that a cat after childbirth eats the afterbirth and ... stillborn kittens. However, due to a state of shock or a temporary clouding of the mind - call it what you want, the animal can confuse a live kitten with a dead one, and being carried away by eating the placenta - eat it too.

Also, there are cases when, by gnawing the umbilical cord, a cat causes serious damage to babies. And, in this case, so that the kitten does not suffer, since it is no longer viable (by her standards) ... she eats it.

Cats are selfish

All cats at heart are a little selfish, who do not like and do not want to share their owner with anyone else. In some individuals, such selfishness goes off scale a little and takes on hyperactive forms. Therefore, in the born kittens, the cat sees a potential threat for itself. Another candidate for a place in her master's heart is not at all in her plans, therefore, it is not surprising that she is trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible, and with such brutal methods.

By the way, cats that give birth to kittens for the first time are prone to this behavior. Therefore, the owners of first-born cats need to be very careful... Egoism can take precedence over maternal instincts and a cat can eat its offspring, in which she will not see her children, but will see only competitors...

Cats are cannibals

A clear demonstration of a serious violation of the maternal instinct is feline cannibalism. It is noteworthy that cats that live in groups are more susceptible to this phenomenon. This often happens in nurseries. Such behavior indicates serious psycho-emotional disorders in a cat, as well as the lability of its psyche. In the case of such inclinations, it is better for the animal not to have any more offspring.