124 Chapter 8● During the first week or so after birth, ensure that mother and kittens are
disturbed as little as possible. Severe or frequent disturbances can severely
disrupt the relationship between mother and kittens and might result in the
mother abandoning or even attacking the kittens. Aggression towards people
and other animals might also be more likely if she feels that her kittens
are under threat.
● Do not confine the mother to the nest site or severely restrict her movements. It is
normal for the mother to move the kittens to a new nest site at least once during
the pre-weaning period. Preventing her from doing so can cause unnecessary and
damaging stress.
Weaning
● Natural weaning will normally commence between 3 and 4 weeks of age.
● Kittens will have a ‘pre-programmed’ preference for food that has the same
flavour as that eaten by their mother during her pregnancy and lactation
(Becques et al., 2009; Hepper et al., 2012). Therefore, weaning can be made
easier by offering the kittens a softened version of the same solid food that
their mother has been eating. If the mother, during pregnancy and lactation,
and then later the kittens are offered a wide variety of different foods and fla-
vours, this can help to reduce the likelihood of the kittens becoming ‘fussy
eaters’ as adults.
● As weaning progresses, the mother cat will naturally try to prevent the kittens
from nursing by adopting postures that deny them access to her teats and by gen-
erally keeping out of their reach. To aid this process, provide her with resting
areas from where she can still watch over her kittens without them being able to
get to her.
● If the queen does not have outdoor access to hunt and bring prey back for the
kittens, provide small, safe, soft toys that the kittens can play with in the place of
real prey.
● Do not interfere with the natural weaning process, unless unavoidable. A mother
cat may appear to be aggressive towards her kittens when they attempt to feed
from her at this time, but unless she is actually causing them harm, this is normal.
A queen is, however, more likely to be aggressive towards her kittens if she is
underweight, poorly nourished or if there are a large number of kittens in the
litter. Ensuring that she is healthy and well nourished can therefore help to pre-
vent aggression towards the kittens.
Hand-rearing
● Do not separate the kittens from their mother unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
Doing so can be a severe stressor for the kittens that can have damaging life-long
effects on their health and behaviour (Fig. 8.3).
● Seek advice on hand-rearing from a reputable and knowledgeable source (e.g.
https://icatcare.org/advice/hand-rearing-kittens).