My new nursing cat attacks my Shih Tzu. What can I do?

You should keep the male completely separate from Nancy until the kittens are weaned, around six to eight weeks of age. She will be protective of her kittens, leading her to attack him, but also if she goes into heat again (which can happen), she will mate with him and become pregnant again. Keep him away from them in a separate room at all times. Best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cats. This can be common after a trip to the veterinarian. The kitten will be covered in different smells. This can cause stress in the older cat resulting in her to act out in aggression. Keep them separate unless they are fully supervised. They should be fine with each other in a few days. In the meantime, you can try a pheromone diffuser to help calm them. Feliway is a good brand. I hope this information helps!

The kittens should be weaned at 6-8 weeks. Not all animals are natural, nurturing mothers, and she may just not know how to make the kittens go away. I would recommend separating them. The kittens still need a safe environment and easy access to kitten food, but they no longer need mom for milk.

There are likely going to continue to be aggressive towards each other due to hormones. If you don't want them to fight it is best to have them both spayed. You cannot force them to like each other again. Things have now changed after the one had kittens.

Hi there. I would recommend keeping the 12 week old kitten separate from the nursing mama. We don't want the kittens to fail to thrive due to too little nutrition. If you want them to spend some time together make sure you supervise and don't allow her to nurse. Good luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Cats can behave like this after any separation (even just as short as a trip to the vet). Generally this behavior will calm down. For now, separate food, water and litter box so that there is not competition. Also try a pheromone diffuser in the house to see if this helps to calm them down. Separate them if things become too aggressive and then reintroduce once they have calmed down. Best of luck with Lucy.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Pregnancy can be a very stressful time for animals, and it may be hard for your cat to be separate from her previous offspring. However, my recommendation would be to separate him from her so that he cannot suckle/breastfeed from her before her kittens are born. The milk produced at the beginning of lactation is very antibody-rich and important for the brand new kittens to ingest. There is also the possibility that the previous offspring could out-compete the brand new kittens for nipples if they are left together. The new kittens will need the most care and nutrition from the very beginning, and if he is allowed to suckle from the mom, the newest kittens may not get all of the nutrition they need. I hope this is helpful!