Mother Cat is biting her kittens

[oconnorjoy]

One of the ladies I work with has a three year old siamese cat - Wander - that had her first litter two weeks ago. She had four kittens. Sylvia caught her biting her kittens yesterday and today. She says she is biting fairly hard. She called her vet who thought that she was just trying to get them to play. Sylvia is not so sure of this. I have never seen this before.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Traci]

Without knowing the true nature of the biting, and locations on kittens where she is biting, it's impossible to advise much further,....but if you think the biting is hard enough to have caused injury in the least, make sure the kittens are examined fully by the vet to make sure punctures are not evident or abcesses forming.

I doubt the queen is instigating play, the kittens are still too young for "rough-housing", instinct would prevail here. My guess would be either rough grooming, or that she is agitated in some way. The owner needs to observe both her and the kittens closely for any agitated behavior, monitor the queen for adequate milk supply (check her mammaries to ensure she is producing enough, and not developing mastitis, etc), and observe her in that she is gentle and seemingly attached to them with a gentle motherly instinct. If she is rough with them, causing injury, they need to be seperated immediately, checked by the vet, and probably then supplemented with kitten formula or at least supervised with the queen.

The first litter, for some queens, can be overwhelming....she may be agitated or disturbed by something in the environment, or simply not know how to properly care for her little ones.