Should I worry my cat will eat her kittens after giving birth?

Congrats on Rihana having kittens! The good news is that cats typically do not need help giving birth to kittens, and I would leave her alone to give birth. Too much interference from a human can cause stress in the mother, and it is recommended not to intervene unless the cat is having problems giving birth. I will put a link below on things you can do when your cat is giving birth, and things to look out for the require veterinary attention. I hope this helps! http://www.2ndchance.info/felinelabor.htm

Usually the mom will take care of them. Just make sure they are all nursing and she is grooming them all. I would try to no let her sit on them as she could smother them if she isn't aware she is sitting on them. You are doing a great job. If you find that one is weak or not nursing you may have to supplement with kitten formula and either a syringe or kitten bottle every 2-3 hours. You will also have to stimulate them to pee/poop by rubbing their behind with a warm wash cloth every time they eat. I hope this helps!

Hello. Usually, the reason a mother, any mother, will harm her young is if she feels they are in danger. Try & keep the area where she had the kittens as quiet as possible, limiting visits & unnecessary handling of the kittens. Keep other pets, especially other cats out of the area, too. Keep food, water & a litter box close so she does not have to leave her babies, but make sure everything stays clean & no insects or vermin are attracted to this. Hopefully, she will feel safe for herself & raise a healthy litter. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

If you do not mind that she raises her kittens under or in the sofa, then it should be ok. Kitten mamas are extremely careful and will not hurt their kittens by lying on them or any other way, theey will also not kill kittens. Sometimes, if a kitten dies by itself, a mother will actually eat it, in order to keep the nest clean and not to alert predators to the live kittens. You may want to prepare a nice box with towels for your kitten mama and move the kittens into the box where she will then join. She might move them again....and then I suppose you may want to give her her wish.

She may need to eat or use the litter box, causing her to leave them for a bit. She may have been planning on coming back. It could be that Oya is rejecting her kittens, which can happen. Some cats are poor mothers and will reject their kittens, while others will reject a kitten because they know it's sick and not going to make it. It can take time for a mother kitten attend to their kitten, and I would leave her and her kittens alone for 30 minutes in a room. Come back and see if she has groomed them, and/or started to feed them. If she has started bonding with them, then it's fine. If there is no evidence that she has started taking care of them, then you will have to feed them yourself. This requires a kitten formula and bottles. You can get kitten formula from a pet store or a grocery store. I will put a link below on how to care for newborn kittens. Best of luck, I hope this helps! https://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

I'm so sorry you lost a kitten! No, they likely won't get sick from it. Cats have been known to eat their young before (even though it's not common) and have been ok. It's gross, but your cats should be fine.

As long as the kittens are growing, seem healthy and are not meowing in hunger it is normal for the mother to leave them periodically. If you are concerned about weight gain or health of the kittens you could consider supplementing with kitten milk replacer. I would it advise this unless you are concerned however. Once the weaning process starts you can also provide kitten food for them.