Two hormonal issues which help create a bond between mother cat and her young kittens

Newborn kittens

There are two hormonal issues which help to ensure that the bond between mother cat and her kittens is strong and that the kittens are trusting during their first few weeks after birth. Mother Firstly, the nursing mother receives a wave of the hormone oxytocin which is produced in the hypothalamus and is secreted …

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Kittens have no idea what their mother is meant to smell like

Mother nurses her kittens

In the natal den, soon after birth, kittens recognise their mother immediately via three senses: warmth, feel and smell. However, they probably have little idea what their mother is meant to smell like. The smell of their mother is not in their DNA. This has been proved when kittens suckled an artificial ‘mother’ which …

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What should I do if my cat brings me a mouse?

Mouse in the home

The answer to the question in the title is that you should praise your cat for her maternal generosity. You should then take the mouse from her while stroking her and complimenting her. You should then quietly dispose of the mouse if it is dead. If it is alive you should place it outside …

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Do domestic cat mothers instinctively know how to care for their offspring?

Mother cat with kitten

Not always, is the answer. You would have thought that as the domestic cat is considered to be barely domesticated that they would have inherited the full range of parenting skills from their wild cat ancestor but it seems not (sometimes). I’m taking my lead in answering the question in the title from Dr. …

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‘Clipnosis’ meaning

Clipnosis

‘Clipnosis’ is a veterinarians’ made-up word (I believe). It contains the word “clip” followed by “-osis” which means a process or condition. The letter ‘n’ just makes it sound better. It is, then, a word made up of two parts which means the process of clipping and in this instance clipping means applying a …

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Why do domestic cats bring prey animals into their owner’s home?

Cat eats mouse in 60 seconds

You may know the answer so I won’t go on about this. It’s actually often a reversal of roles depending on the gender of the cat. Normally the human owner of a domestic cat is the surrogate mother, the provider of food and security. Under these circumstances, normally, the domestic cat behaves as a …

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