Mother cat fighting with her son

by John
(Santa maria,ca.)

Our mother cat had litter of five. We found homes for four,and kept a male kitten. as he grew his mother groomed him the usual cat stuff.When he was old enough we had them both fixed,after that she has done nothing but pick on him hissing biting scratching,can you help?


Reply
Hi
So they are now both spayed / neutered. If they were fixed recently it could be that the hormone levels has still not dropped, as this can take several weeks to a month after the operation.

Also the operation etc may have caused the female cat to become afraid in which case she could be displaying something called aggression truama described here

cat-aggression-trauma.html

In either case it would be a good idea to give the cats a time out from each other for a few days and then to go through a reintroduction period to try and regain their confidence in each other.

If the behavior continues after that then you may want to try some cat calming sprays or medication for a period of time until things settle down

scared-cat.html

best wishes kate

Comments for Mother cat fighting with her son

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Same problem, any updates?
by: Anonymous

Exactly the same situation as Mimi. Our cat (a rescue, already preg) had 5 kittens, sold 2 and kept 3. We are at the 8 month mark with the kittens. 2 girls get an occasional hiss and spit and jealousy from mum and the boy she just really doesn't want around and tries to stop him coming in again once he's been out. Raises her hackles and growls.
Mum cat cried for days when we sold the first 2 as a pair at 3 months and we were so attached that we spayed/neutered/microchipped and vaccinated the rest and decided to play it by ear.
The boy is so loving, he was actually the youngest and a real mummy's boy, the biggest worrier and the only one who wouldn't leave her side. It's been lovely to see him grow and I don't think he would be his lovely self if we hadn't kept him and his life consistent. He's also the rescuer, not to gender stereotype, I didn't choose their personalities but he comes rushing over if I am coughing or mum is being sick and will rub my face until I think myself happy if I've been sad. Once he fell asleep with just his lower body on the bed and my daughter holding the whole weight of him with his neck area in her hand and his head lolling off and mum looked really sad and started pawing his body gently as if he'd died so the love is sometimes there but I think she just doesn't want the boy around now he's becoming a man, it just doesn't happen in the wild.
Did any of you perservere and end up with a good result? I'm thinking I'll move somewhere bigger and get loads of beds/bowls/scratch posts etc
There's nothing I wouldn't do to try to keep them but me and mum cat had such a bond before they came along, literally a psychic one and she was so happy in my peaceful home and if she doesn't get used to them I will have to admit defeat at some point as we've lost that connection even when I give her the most love as I have 4 to think about I'm just not as in tune with her as I was and have to head out to work longer hours soon too
Son cat biting mom
by: Anonymous

My cat had a litter of 1 cat(a male) a couple months back. He is about 8 months old. I caught him tonight, biting her neck and not letting go. He did this multiple times and I had to go out and stop him. The mom is a bout a year now and is pregnant with her 3rd litter. We kept 2 from her 2nd(a female and male) litter and he went after the female, but so far has left the male alone. Why ios he doing this?
Kitten hisses at mom
by: Anonymous

My situation is the opposite. A mother cat has been keeping an eye on her male kitten (about 8 weeks) from a distance for the past week or so. She is a neighborhood cat and not socialized herself. She had her first litter young (about one year), followed by a second. Over the last week the mom has been observing her the male kitten from a distance (as if to keep an eye on him). I have socialized the male kitty over the last week to the point that he comes in the house to eat and will let us pet him. Mom is not socialized, but is less skittish than she had been after the first litter. Mom seems to want to get close to the male kitty, but he does not want his mother to approach him. Tonight mom was laying under the car over 20 feet from kitty, but male kitty growled and arched his back. Both cats live outside. Is there anything that can be done to get kitty to tone it down his aggression and maybe even socialize him with mom?
mother cat hissing and fighting her kittens
by: Anonymous

The same things happen to me we sometimes let the kittens inside so we can play with them but whenever the mother sees the kittens she starts hissing and attacks, and when we're putting the mother cat outside on the patio since it's were the baby kitten stay most of the time while i'm walking with her I have to hold her for her to not attack the kitten while the kittens are literally right next to me but she still keep hissing.
Mama cat hissing at son
by: Mimi

Hello I have 4 cats mama and three of her own just over a year in a half old. We recently moved. And here 3 babies have started going outside. They’ve never gone out before but now love it. But for some reason mama cat keeps hissing at her male son. Constantly he can’t even walk by her without her hissing it seems to have gotten worse since they’ve been going out. They’ve all been fixed now for almost 10 months now there was some hissing after that but not like this
Same here,Mum attacks her son
by: Anonymous

The mum was spayed after she had kittens and we kept one male from her litter.Now we had the boy castrated and when he returned home from vet Mum attacked him.We separated them,is been 3 weeks now and no improvements.We tried exchanging smells with towels,swap rooms,feline way diffuser.
We let them see each other through the crack of the door but the mum starts hissing and the boy runs.I read that is takes time,but I want to know if I can do something else to help them or to improve this situation.Shall I put the mum in a cage and bring the boy around,or she will be too stressed ?
Shall I consider to rehome one or I still have hope?such a heart breaking situation from a beautiful and calm household.
Cat family
by: katesisco@yahoo.com

I took a key from Cesar's dog training and made sure my new tom kitten knew he was low man on the totem pole. My original female has had two litters by him and he has always been a gentleman. He is away being neutered and I hope he returns the same and is treated the same.
I kept two girls from the first litter that are now 6 months old; the second litter just weeks old. The original female is more relaxed and has more milk so the kittens are calmer. The older two girls have different reactions to the new litter. Their mother is watchful but not aggressive toward them and one of the girls is merely curious, but the other is actively displaying antipathy by growling. She will be finding a new home.
It's extraordinary that each kitten developes a unique personality. We miss that by adopting a grown cat while i understand the necessity.
My cat fighting with its son
by: Anonymous

My cat gave birth to one male kitten 7mnths back n v kept dt kitten male kitten with us only n after 7 months she again gave birth to 2 more kittens afta 4 days both kittens dead. And Mom cat started loving its old male kitten bt jus after 2 days Mom cat is fighting very badly with that male kitten. I am totally shocked with this behaviour of my cat. Pls help me to resolve this prob . I cant see my cats fightin like this.
Mother cat and Son
by: Brenda C

Back in March my five-year-old female cat Luna gave birth for the first Time to one male Kitten Simba. The male cat that impregnated her has been relocated. At first she was very motherly friendly protective and gave a lot of affection. After about 6 months Luna began to hiss, and bully simba, and she also began to attack me and become isolated. Luna is used to being babied and was never around other cats accept for the one time she was around a rescue cat and got pregnant but that was for a few short weeks. I truly want to keep both of them but i do not want either one to feel stressed. I recently got Luna neutered and thought it may help but still nothing. Currently she is living in a seperate apartment but i do not want her to feel abandoned. Please help me make their mother and son relationship strong again .
Mum cat issues
by: Anonymous

Is it common for a mother cat to wander away from her 1year old daughter ! The youngster keeps looking for her but seems a bit boisterous when she sees her and mum just growls!

Reply
Yes it is. Cats don't keep the emotional attachment to their young like humans do. They are more concerned with territory and food.
Mother Cat and Male Son Cat not getting on
by: Anonymous

My female cat gave birth and we kept one male kitten. Since her birth to 6 kittens she hasnt really been the same and definitely less friendly in actual fact she is always on her own and doesn't like to be touched anymore. In any case her son has just been neutered at 6 months and they were separated for a week. Upon reuniting my female cat who was once again sweet until she saw her son. In any case she has become cold again. Whats should I do? I feel bad as I think I may of given the kitten too much love and his mummy might be jealous. Additionally she hisses at him constantly and what I thought was play fighting in the past, "is" actually fighting now.

Reply
Hi there is probably two things going on here. The first I would suggest is the weeks separation after the neutering. It is common that cats will become afraid of each other in circumstances like this. The problem usually resolves in a short while as they get used to each other. The other could be related to whether or not you have spayed the mother cat or not. If not then she is displaying normal cat behaviour whereby they chase away previous kittens so that their new brood as enough to eat.
both of these subjects are covered within the site.
Mother cat fighting with her son
by: Anonymous

My mother cat got 4 kittens and we decided to give the 3 new homes while the male one stays. A few months after, when her son was 4 months old, she gave birth to 4 more. Now I tried introducing the male kitten(or cat) to his new brother and sisters but he kept hissing at them. Mutually, while mother cat was still pregnant(about 1 month pregnant), she hisses at his son and she's keeps on fighting him whenever he thinks she was just playing with him.

A problem with male kitty is that whenever he sees her mother, he quickly snuggles for breastfeeding even if he is already 3 months old. Not sure if mother cat just wants him to stop or just something else.

Reply
Firstly I would urge you to have your female cat spayed as soon as she stops feeding the kittens. Constant pregnancies will make her ill as well as needlessly increasing the kitten population.
Also your eldest male cat needs to be neutered too. other wise he too will cause more unwanted kittens.

the behaviour between mother and son is perfectly normal and you will find lots of other posts about it on the site.
My 1 year old cat and her mother.
by: Anonymous

We picked the mother from the streets, she was a bit shy and scared but she got used to it, we believe she was already trained as she is very clean and calm, she was pregnant and had 3 cats, two of them we gave them away and stayed with the male one, the mother got surgery and then the kid but after that my male cat plays too rough wih his mother and often annoys her, she looks a bit scared by his side (not always but sometimes), she also became more afraid than before. What´s happened to them?
Son cat beating up on mom cat
by: Donna

My 6 month old baby kitty beat up on mommy kitty ..How do I get them both to live together in Harmony?

Comment
Your six month old needs to be neutered. Even though you consider him to be a baby he is now becoming an adult and will be stating to have hormones which can make him aggressive.
Mother and father
by: dra

I have a mother cat which had gave birth to like four generation of kittens. Some died some survived. There is one male cat (a year old), he is her kid. I don't know when it started, but everytime she sees him or notice his presence she will attack him. And so does his father which is actually always been mating with my female cat.

But there is another male cat (her kid too and 6 months old), and they're never attack him.

What is happening?

Reply
This is natural behaviour. If a cat is left unneutered / spayed then once her kittens are old enough to fend for themselves, they must be forced to move on so that there is room for the next litter.
Please read my pages on this site about kittens, pregnancy, neutering etc it will give you a good over all picture of natural cat behaviour.
Please consider having your female cat spayed and your male cats neutered.
Cat mama
by: Anonymous

Hi,
My cat is a 1yr old female. She gave birth in the house to her first littler of 3 kittens. Two of the kittens died. The one Is alive is a 6 month old boy. I'm trying to figure this out as to why the mother cat is growling, spitting and being aggressive toward the kitten.

Comment
if the female cat is not spayed she will naturally want to encourage her kitten to leave the home so that any new kittens have plenty of food and territory. This is a natural reaction. My advice would be to make sure both cats are spayed/neutered to prevent these sorts of conflicts.
mom cat
by: amanda

Hi have a mom cat who had two batches of kitten 1st batch she had 4 kept the only female cat they where good until she had her 2nd batch. Of babies she start to hiss and growl at her 1st kid she had 1st kitten is a yr now she has babies of her own grandma to kitten are mean grandma cat is 2yr how can i get my older cat be nice to the kittens thank Amanda

Comment
This is a common issue and a natural one. I have answered this many times on the site so you should find a fuller explanation somewhere else.
A mother cat has to move her first litter on so that there is territory and food for her next litter.
I have same issue
by: NIna

Mom cat and her two female kittens, now 7 months, all have been spayed, but the mom now hates the kittens, (they all used to be good friends) PLUS she hates me because she thinks its all my fault that the kittens are still here! We used to be BFF but now she growls and hisses at me and the kittens. She is mainly living outside and only comes in 1-2 days to eat and growl. I AM SO SAD.
Spayed cat attacks male kitten?
by: Anonymous

Hi. I have the same problem, but the mother cat is spayed. The kitten is a male, about 6 months now, and she keeps attacking him whenever he's in sight. The kitten is not spayed though. The mother cat started acting like this ever since she got in a fight with a cat outside and got a wound on her head.
What is the reason for her behaviour and what to do?
Brother and sister
by: Anonymous

Does this aggressive behavior happen between stated and neutered brother and sister too.?
Similar issue
by: James

We're having a similar problem. We adopted a mum cat and one of her kittens. Once Oscar (her son) reached 1 year old Crystal (mum cat) hisses and attacks him whenever she sees him. They used to be constantly cuddled up together and play all the time. They have both been neutered/spayed a long time ago.

It first started happening when Oscar went outdide for the first time and he was lost outside. He followed Crystal back home but she's been very aggressive since.
mother cat attack her 8 month old son
by: Anonymous

I have the same problem with my female queen Mimi, she was a loving mother to Capuccino, now 8 months old, and recently she attacked him violently and scratched him in the nose. I am worry that she would cause him harm. What can I do. Help please!!!

Reply
Is she spayed now? If not then this will help. Also is the boy cat neutered? In your female cats eyes he is seem as a threat if she is going to possibly have more kittens in the future.

In the wild as each litter grows up it is chased off to make room for the next. This is why spaying and neutering is so important.
Unfortunately it's true
by: linda

I took in a stray cay, who was very social and affectionate. When I took her to the vets I found she was pregnant. I'd never owned a cat before, and naively thought it would be good to keep the male kitten as he was quite a character. While for the first few months, they were always cuddled up, and she seemed happy for him to follow her everywhere, she increasingly began to growl and hiss if he came near. 18 months later he still attempts to get close but she sees him off and has scratches on his nose to prove it.

The aggression reduced a bit since I started putting his food down first, but he still has to keep his distance. I've resigned myself to it as individually they're both great cats, who greet me when I come home from work, and love curling up on my knee - just not together!
My mother cat hates her babies too
by: Anonymous

Hi this happened with my cat. She hated her babies once they started to grow up, they wanted to be nurtured and she wanted to be left alone, she would do anything to get them away from her including attacking them, and unfortunately it hasnt gotten any better. But her kittens have learned to walk away from her adn not go near her. they now look to me as a mother figure... lol it can be a pain but i guess theres nothing else i can do about it.
Natural instinct
by: Anonymous

Hi,

It is a cat's natural instinct as a mother to dislike or discourage a relationship with her offspring to avoid incestual relations. I know this sounds weird, but it's true. Mother nature gave our animal friends some options to stop inbreeding as a way to avoid defects and birth abnormalities. I hope this helps.

D. Caron
Mother cat biting adult son cat
by: SimbaTig

Our 11 year old tabby (neutered) has often been aggressive towards her 10 year old (neutered) son over the years. The male, has always been quite placid. In last year or so however she has become increasingly more aggressive and regularly swipes a claw at him when he comes through the door ( often lying in wait to "ambush" him then swiping or biting his neck). The result of this has been several visits to vet with scratches that developed abscesses. The most recent is this week where the son was limping and vet discovered an abscess on his shoulder from probably another bite. Is there anything we can do to try and stop this behaviour. Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

Reply
Hi
Afraid not. Your female cat is simple feeling threatened by the male cat and so is trying to stake her dominance on the territory. This is normal behavior for cats I'm afraid.

You could try some of the cat calming sprays on the market like feliway to see if this helps relax her.

best wishes kate

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