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 I have 3 cats, 2 adults, 1 kitten. The younger adult had not accepted the kitten until yesterday when she suddenly embraced it and began mothering it. A few hours later she attacked my 16-year-old son twice, why? |
| All three cats are animal rescue, from the street, not a shelter, all female. All were kittens. The eldest is approximately 11 now. The cat in question is approximately 5. The kitten's age we know, 4 months. The 5-year-old has never been spayed, never had kittens. Up until last month, she was "going into heat" regularly, every four weeks. Last month, she skipped, and also gained weight. No chance of pregnancy. She has also turned on the 11-year-old. Won't let anyone near her or the kitten except me, a female. Attack on son unprovoked. |
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 06 Aug 2007 17:36
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Hmmm first of all who brought the kitten into the house? if it was your son then even though she has accepted the kitten she could be angry at your son for bringing it in. Secondly perhaps it is purely down to trust, she has taken the kitten on as her own and wants to protect the kitten, perhaps she doesn't trust your son to be near the kitten. Maybe try getting your son to be the main carer for a week or so (feeding the cat and kitten especially) this will show the cat that he cares for her and she will learn that she depends on him for food. However this alone may not work as it has been proven that animals gain comfort from warm, soft things rather than food. In this case get your son to only pay attention to the adult cat in question (i can only assume that so far everyone has wanted to pay more attention to the newbie!) as the adult cat may be feeling left out. long answer but hope it helped!
