[mineko012]

As some of you may know, my cat Aegee had kittens on May 20th. Can that effect her behavior?

All I can say now is that she's MEAN. I've never had a cat like this. She was never like this before. She was sweet up until a week or two after she had kittens. And then she just went through a huge behavior 180.

Now she'll bite and scratch. And I don't mean play nipping and swatting either. If she gets a hold of you she'll clamp her teeth in and draw blood. I'm afraid to pet her now, and I avoid her like the plague.

Is this a temporary thing that she'll get over when her kittens are older? Hormonal behavior changes that goes along with being a new mommy?

And she's not just being mean when we're around the kittens. She's being mean all the time. She's even stealing food--our food. She never did that before. She used to sit near us and beg with her eyes, but now she'll just walk on over bold as brass and try to snatch it from us. I know she's not starving or anything. Their food bowl is always full and we give them wet food treats now and then. And my bf gives both kitties plenty of cat treats.

We were extra sweet to her while she was pregnant and when she had her kittens. Maybe we just spoiled her too much? Is that possible? To spoil a cat into being mean?

I have no idea what's going on. But if she's gonna go around clamping her teeth into us or swatting at us for no particular reason then ...

Well. I don't want to say it, but I don't want to live with the fear of possibly losing an eye or a chunk of my ear while I'm sleeping.

For almost a month now I've been telling my bf to give it time. Maybe it's just hormonal 'cause of the kittens. But I think Aegee went a bit too far tonight with her aggression and my bf is getting fed up with the scratches and bite wounds that are tallying up.

Help. My cat has gone psycho-blood thirsty and unless she gets her act together ...

Well. You all know. Just don't want to say it.

Z.

 

[marijun]

well, i'd imagine cats go through insane hormonal changes just like women do after giving birth. a friend of mine used to breed siamese cats, and she stopped because her queen was becoming downright evil about 2 months after the kittens were born. the cat was really mean to guests for no good reason, she attacked me a couple times when i was just sitting there minding my own business. unfortunately, she became violent toward the kittens too. my friend woke up one morning and went to check on mom and the kittens, and the kittens were all in little itty bitty bloody pieces she had her spayed shortly after and the cat was sweet as can be afterwards.

maybe being a mother just isn't one of aegee's strong points. if she's not nursing anymore, you should probably check with your vet and see if its safe to get her spayed. an exam couldn't hurt either. that should put an end to her crazy hormones.

 

[Jeanie]

I'd like to add that a cat bite can be very serious. My guess is that she is overprotective of her kittens. You are right to stay away, and if this behavior continues, definitely have her spayed as soon as she weans the kittens. Is she pure bred, or was this an accidental pregnancy?

Marijun, I have never seen or heard of this happening. My Siamese was a wonderful mother, and extremely loving during her pregnancy and birthing.

When I was a child, however, the tom who had fathered our kittens got into the house and killed several of our kittens before my father saw mother cat chasing it, and also chased it home. When the mother (both were black) came back, the remaining kittens were terrified. Is there any way a tom could have got in the house? Domesticated toms rarely kill the kittens, but I remember this very clearly. My father had told me to stay with the kittens, and I saw their reaction when mother came back. She had tried to catch the tom who still had a kitten in its mouth.

There was not really the awareness about indiscriminate breeding at that time, and most people did not spay or neuter, and allowed their cats to run outside. Of course, there was much less traffic too. Now, we really have to spay and neuter and keep our cats in to save lives, either our cats or the overabundance of cats in the shelters who are given only a few days to find a home. It's a shame that this awareness came too late to prevent the thousands of cats and kittens put down every week.

 

[mineko012]

It was accidental. Gizmo (the male) was neutered after we found out Aegee was pregnant.

Thing is. Aegee is fine when we're around the kittens. When they stray out into the hallway she'll bring them back into the bedroom where we're at.

She'll be spayed asap after the kittens are weaned. Hopefully that takes care of the problem.

Thanks for the info. *Crossing my fingers*

Z.

 

[kitkat]

This post is about mean mommy cat too

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6584