The Personalities of Mother Cats

There is no telling what will happen when a cat has a litter of kittens. The complex personalities of cats become overcharged on some mothers; while others take having kittens has calmly as you could wish. Our household recently had three litters within three weeks and ended up with one of each type of mother cat personalities even though the fourth cat had never had kittens.

The Hiding Mother Cat

The hiding mother cat is one of the easiest animal mothers to deal with. She will seek out a quiet spot to have her kittens and you may not even know she has had them until she reappears thinner and hungry. This type of mother is easy to take care of. She will tend to her kittens with no interference from you until the kittens are old enough to begin exploring their surroundings. When the kittens are about four weeks old, you can safely begin feeding the kittens milk to supplement the mother.

The Proud Mother Cat

The proud mother cat, similar to the hiding mother cat, will tend to her kittens like a pro, even if she has never had kittens before. Her natural instincts will have her tending to her kittens and she will be very happy to show them off to you.

The Horrible Mother Cat

The most difficult cat to deal with is the horrible mother cat. She is paranoid about everything from someone seeing her kittens to even having kittens at all. Be careful of this type of mother cat. Our horrible cat actually killed four of her five kittens because someone she did not know walked into the house. The fifth kitten was quickly adopted by the proud mother cat and the horrible mother cat evicted. Otherwise, the kitten would have probably suffered the same fate of his siblings.

The Adoptive Mother Cat

While we had three litters in a relatively short time, we had one cat that did not have kittens. However, do not tell her that. She adopted the proud mother cat's kittens including the adopted kitten. She will curl up with the kittens or steal them to hide them in my bedroom. She nurses the kittens and is a wonderful mother cat. The interesting thing is she has never had kittens. I have even found out that the hiding mother cat will steal one of the kittens if the two mother cats are not vigilant against the theft. One thing to be careful of is that the kittens receive enough nutrition. To keep everyone happy and to ensure the kittens get plenty to eat, I rotate the kittens between the adoptive mother cat and the proud mother cat until the little ones are big enough to eat solid food.

When your mother cat is expecting a litter of kittens, keep an eye on her until you can figure out what type of mother she will be. You can get clues from her pre-pregnancy personality, but until the kittens arrive, you will not know for sure. Be prepared to step in if necessary or to stay away until she invites you to enjoy the kittens with her.

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