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Maternal instinct in kittens.

azith28azith28 Registered User regular
in Help / Advice Forum

Hiya,

I posted a few times here about my two calico kittens, who may be going on 11 and 10 months old, but still qualify to be called kittens.

I got them at the same time and they were 2 months and 3 months old respectively.
Anyway, One thing ive noticed for some time now that ive been a little facinated with is that the older cat has taken on a seemingly maternal role over the younger one. In the morning its the older one that wakes me up for them to be fed. The younger one is usually sleeping nearby and is as bleary eyed as i am when the older starts mewing. So i get up and the younger one is instantly awake and ready to be fed. I walk to the food bowl and start to put stuff down, and a good 90% of the time i do this the older one is just sitting nearby watching. more often then not she will just sit there and watch the younger one eat, until shes had her fill and walks away before going to the bowl to eat herself. (The other 10% they are both eating at the same time).

The older one and younger ones have learned habits from each other.
Ever since the very early days, the younger one would leave a little pile of digested friskies in the litter box not fully covered, and the older one would jump in after she left and cover it up. After she eats she sweeps the area around the bowl free of any debris with her paws.

Its adorable but it makes me wonder about the psycology. When i first got them from the rescue shelter i was told that the older one had a littermate sister that was killed by a racoon. If these were children i would think the older one is going through some kind of survivors guilt complex. Does this sound like common behavior for having multiple kittens growing up together?

While im asking, I discovered quite some time ago (even before i got these kittens) that cats love ham. I dont go overboard with it, cause i imagine its the same as eating bacon every day. (Its deli meat sliced very thin). Any reason i should stop this completely?

Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum

Posts

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
    I don't know about kitten psychology, but ham is incredibly salty and if you give it to them at all it should be a rare treat.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    cats love anything salty - it doesn't mean you should give it to them.

  • NappuccinoNappuccino Surveyor of Things and Stuff Registered User regular
    I would doubt any thing like that would scar a kitten for a very long period of time. Wild animals lose siblings all the time, it's just one of those things. As long as you provide a loving and caring enviroment (without spoiling them), if there is an issue, they'll snap out of it before too long.

    That said, I feel like cats sometimes have more distinct and developed personalities than some people expect, so that may also be what you're encountering.

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  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    Cats in particular tend to get over losses of other cats extremely quickly.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    Cats in particular tend to get over losses of other cats extremely quickly.

    This is not universally true. I've known cats that would hunt for their missing playmate in their usual places for years before howling sadly.

    If you raise a cat with companions, you really need to keep that environment. I encourage all cat owners to have a pair when they get kittens rather than just one, that way they have a friend to play with even when you are out of the house.

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