Pregnancy, Birth, and Kittens

Q.: We have read your site with great interest several times, because one of our cats was to have kittens. She has now had her kittens (it went well), but when should kittens start eating kitten food??? Is it normal that the mother of the kittens has become more quiet after the birth??? Apart from that we also have two male cats, all three cats have always been able to play with each other, but after the kittens have been born, they have started hissing at each other - is this normal behavior????

A.: Kittens can usually start eating at the age of 4-5 weeks. But you can start feeding the mother kitten food already so she can rebuild her reserves. Later when they start moving a round a bit they may see her eating it and be "inspired". It is likely that she is more quiet now. First of all she'll be tired after the birth, and second, it takes a lot of energy to nurse kittens who behave likely regular vampires ;-) It is normal to see a little aggression in a pack, when something new has happened and none of the cats know for sure what it is ... I think it will pass once the cats have gotten used to the new situation. The two males may also feel a little neglected right now so you should give them a little extra attention.

Back