I have two female cats, one of whom gave birth about a month ago. She made a nest in a cardboard box, and the kittens have lived there since they were born. Yet recently, the non-pregnant cat (unspayed) has taken to nursing the kittens, licking them and even growling/hissing when I approach the kittens. The mother can't even get into the box, so the kittens have to climb out to feed. Is this normal behavior?
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I currently have the same situation. I have a 6 week old litter born to one of my females. I have a second female, currently pregnant, who may have had one or more kittens prematurely. The second female is taking kittens from the first female's litter and allowing them to nurse on her. Several years ago we had the same situation happen. I consider it a strength when mothers unite to care for their young. – Jay Douglas Dec 27 '23 at 23:05
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This is not common but normal. The mothers who lost their litter are especially prone to this condition, but it can be seen with any female cat.
Most animals have a more simplistic understanding of the maternal bound. In River of Eden, Dawkins describes that female turkeys nurse anything that has some redness and makes sound like a turkey chick, whether she laid the egg that developed into that chick, even whether that is a chick.
Similarly, female cats are triggered by crying kittens. All females that I have tested this with, regardless of being spayed or not, responds to crying kittens. This is a method I use to find female cats that hide in the house or in the garden. This trigger can also kick the maternal instincts in, making females want to nurse the kittens. The females who lost their litter are already flushed with hormones so their maternal instincts kick in very fast at the slightest trigger.
Unfortunately, this behaviour can cause harm to the kittens, especially if the female is not producing milk. I know that some stray kittens died because of this.
One solution that comes to mind would be spaying the female if you already plan to do that at one point. Spaying should reduce the maternal hormone levels in time. Consult a vet before going through this irreversible process. You can also try giving the non-pregnant cat some toys that produce crying kitten sounds. (Just shove an old mp3 player into a small plush cat.) I am not sure how she will react to this, but it can't hurt. Otherwise, you can think of limiting access to the kittens.
ck1987pd
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Same situation. The grand mother queen was pregnant and went away, she came back not pregnant, either her kittens died or something. Queen's daughter was also pregnant and delivered 4 kittens, good and healthy. Queen comes back to my house every morning to eat and tend to her grandkids. Yesterday I caught queen removing 2 kittens and put them under my back porch. I was able to get the daughter to go get her kittens and she put them back in the house she was living in on my porch. Never seen cats do this before
James
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