Advice for Breeders 129
Maternal Aggression
Occasionally a queen may become uncharacteristically aggressive towards people
and/or other animals that approach her kittens. This can sometimes be lessened by
allowing her to become accustomed to the person or other animal before they
approach her kittens, but if she remains fearful or aggressive then interactions with
the kittens should occur away from the mother but in the presence of littermates. This
is because the kittens will learn by observation of their mother’s reactions so are more
likely to also become fearful and potentially aggressive. It is important, however, that
they stay with littermates because their presence can help to increase confidence.
A queen that has shown maternal aggression should not be bred from again
because she is very likely to repeat the behaviour. There is also a high possibility that
her female offspring may demonstrate the same behaviour if they have kittens
(Meaney, 2001) (Fig. 8.5).
Education of New Owners
The following two chapters contain information that can be passed on to new owners
to further help prevent the development of behaviour problems. The importance of
healthcare and vaccinations should also be discussed with owners and it should be
emphasised that any pet cat not specifically intended for breeding must be neutered
(see Appendix 4). Unfortunately, many non-pedigree pet kittens are the result of unin-
tentional matings between unneutered pets and feral or unowned toms. When this
occurs, there is usually no way of ensuring the physical health or temperament of the
father. Also, the majority of ‘unplanned pregnancies’ occur during the queen’s first
season when she is still very young and often not much more than a kitten herself.
Fig. 8.5. A queen that demonstrates severe maternal aggression should not be bred from
again. Also, her kittens should be neutered because they are likely to exhibit the same
behaviour.