Domestic cat maternal aggression is also referred to as maternal protective aggression. It’s what you think it is: a queen’s protective behaviour towards perceived threats to her kittens. It’s a natural instinct when she is caring for her young. In Peter Neville’s book Do Cats Need Shrinks? a client of his, Susan Swift, asked …
I believe that the answer to the question is more nuanced than you will see on many websites. At the time of writing this, October 1, 2023, the top ranked site according to Google states that for the first four days kittens are both blind and deaf. And the pet MD website states that …
These side-by-side videos tell the story behind adult domestic cat kneading. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON AT BOTTOM-LEFT OF THE VIDEO TO PLAY THE TWO VIDEOS SIMULTANEOUSLY. Despite the copious amount of information on the internet about this form of feline behaviour some people don’t know the reason. Fair enough. Here is the reason. The newborn kitten kneads their mother’s breast to encourage the production of colostrum when feeding. The video on the left shows this clearly. Clearly, the adult cat is no longer a newborn kitten feeding at their mother’s breast but they think they are kittens because their every need is provided for by their human caregiver who acts as if they are surrogate mothers. This encourages the adult cat to never grow up emotionally and so they drop into the habits they had when they were newborn kittens even if it has nothing to do with feeding on their mother’s colostrum. It is entirely instinctive. The adult cat most often kneads their owners clothes while on their lap or their bedding as it smells strongly of them. Or as seen in the video they knead any part of their owner including their face. Just keep the claws trimmed please!
Kneading as an adult with a kitten’s mind. Infographic by MikeB at PoC. Click to see it larger if on a desktop or laptop.
A kitten’s cry to demand something or other, usually warmth, food and security is more attractive than the baby’s cry. Discuss! Both the kitten’s cry and the baby’s cry are sounds which get the maternal and paternal juices flowing normally. It doesn’t always apply. Not everybody has the usual maternal instincts. There is a …
Kittens are susceptible to various disorders, from digestive ailments to the deadly feline herpesvirus. People should familiarise themselves with the following symptoms as they may indicate something is wrong with a young cat. Many kittens suffer from roundworms; tapeworms and hookworms are also common internal parasites (endoparasites) in kittens and cats. Diarrhoea is one …
Here is a bit more about early kitten development including to 10 weeks of age. Alley Cat Allies start their discussion by saying that you should never separate kitten from mother. If you don’t see her monitor the kitten and wait a few hours. In the first week, new-born kittens are completely helpless. Their …
Fever coat can affect cats, rabbits and dogs as I understand it. It is also called “stress coat”. It should not be confused with “powder coat” (possibly due to the caramel gene). It is an abnormality in the coat of a new-born kitten in which the tips of the hair strands lack pigmentation and …
In this article on kitten development, I refer to the development of the domestic cat after birth. About 70% of kittens are born nose and feet first (the so called “diving position”). They are covered in a transparent membrane (foetal membrane). The mother licks this off and eats it. The mother then severs the …
Note: Some older videos on this page were hosted on Vimeo. That account has now been retired, so a few video blocks may appear blank. Thanks for understanding — there’s still plenty of cat content to enjoy!
