My new mom cat is biting and screaming at her kittens. Is this normal?

It is normal for the mother cat to use her mouth to move a kitten around or she may nip gently when the kitten is bothering her. If she seems aggressive and you are concerned she may injure the kitten you may need to keep them separated, however you will need to bottle feed the kitten with a kitten formula like KMR.

If Icy isn't biting them hard enough to break the skin or cause them to cry out in pain, then this biting is normal. She is teaching them what behavior is appropriate and which behavior is inappropriate by disciplining them with these bites. The bites lets the kittens know they need to behave and that the behavior they are currently doing isn't acceptable. Now if she is biting them hard enough to break the skin and/or they are crying out in pain, that isn't normal and she needs to see the vet (bring the kittens with her). Sudden aggression to the kittens can be a sign of a medical problem, and that needs to be examined by a vet. I hope this helps!

It can be normal for a mother to gently bite at a kitten, but if you feel Mum is being aggressive it may be best to allow supervised interactions only so you can intervene if she gets too rough. It is very beneficial for kittens to have time with their mothers, so I would only recommend completely isolating kitten from Mum if she is consistently showing signs of aggression.

Hello, sorry to hear about Sooty. You can separate the kitten and bottle feed it to nurse it. You may obtain kitten formula from your local petstore and feed the kitten every 2 hours or so. Hope this helps and best of luck.

It sounds like Fifi is ready for her kittens to fly the coop! Cats often wean their kittens between 4-6 weeks old. Soon after, if they are still together, the momma cat can get fed up with all the kitten energy and tires to teach them some manners. This is completely normal! However, sometimes the kittens can get hurt. I recommend that you give Fifi plenty of space to escape the kittens if she wants to. You may need to separate them completely if she causes physical damage to any of the kittens.

If you are concerned that the male cat may injure the kittens then I would recommend you keep them separated at all times. However, I will say that it is normal for older cats (usually the momma cat) to teach the young kittens discipline and proper behavior by mewing at them, bopping them and nipping at them. This may be all your male cat is trying to accomplish. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

New moms should only leave her kittens for a few minutes at a time for a visit to the litter box or to eat and drink. The older her kittens, the more time she will spend away. During the first week of life, new mom cats should only leave her babies for a few brief times each day. During their first few days of life, not only are the kittens both blind and deaf, but they are dependent on their mom to regulate their body temperatures, for food, and even for stimulation to be able to potty. It is best if you confine her to one small room with the kittens and be sure keep her litter box, food and water near her babies. She should not have free roam of the house. If you find that she is not properly caring for the kittens you may have to remove them from her and bottle feed them yourself. If that is the case she may just not be cut out for being a mom and should then be spayed so this does not happen again. I suggest you get a gram scale and weigh them daily. If they are gaining weight each day then they are probably just fine. If they are not gaining or they are losing weight you will need to take them away from her. Hope this helps. Best wishes.