Is the baby cat DEAD??
I guess naturally the mother would dispose of the dead kittens. Cats eat all the poop the kittens do for the first few weeks of their lives to ensure nothing can smell them out, so she’ll probably move the dead one so that nothing will smell it and find all of them. It’s not unusual for cats to have their kittens in secluded areas- just remember, it’s the most natural thing in the world for her and she’ll look after her babies. And to the people making horrible remarks about the cat being spayed; get off your pedestal and stop being so emotionally dead.
Hi, I’m very sorry to hear about your kitten. Cats are a law unto themselves and unless you are experienced enough to know when the cat is going to give birth it is very difficult to get a pregnant cat to have her kittens in a place that you think is suitable! Many cats think that the best place is where no-one can disturb them. Unfortunately that can be somewhere cold like under your neighbour’s house. And little kittens need to be kept warm. Your mother cat will be trying to do that by staying with her babies. Even for experienced cat breeders there is quite a high mortality rate among kittens – sometimes they have congenital defects or the mother may carry a virus which affects them shortly after birth (called fading kitten syndrome). Your cat has probably moved the dead kitten to stop any problems with the live ones due to the dead body. Just check that it is really dead and dispose of it. (If it is not quite dead then the most important thing is to get it warm.) If you can now onl
Fix up a wicker basket with clean rags like old towels, place the babes in it, and move it into the bathroom. Put the momma cat in there, and close the door. Give her lots of food, water, and a litter pan. If it is chilly, the kittens just can’t take the cold, and they will die. Nature is very pragmatic, and I have seen backyard queens with kits in the late fall put them out to die, because the mother cannot nourish herself through the cold months to keep herself alive, much less to provide milk for her kittens. Manufacturing milk takes lots of calories, and if the mother puts all her calories into milk production, she will be unable to hunt for her brood. For this reason, they sometimes abandon or even kill their late fall litters. So if it is winter where you are writing from, her response may be instinctual, and she is putting them out to die. If they are alive, or you even think they are alive, lock her up in the bathroom with them. If she does not let them nurse, then you will hav
