How Do Cats Take Care of Newborn Kittens?

A mother cat has all the skills needed to properly care for her new litter. She will be responsible for not only the basics such as feeding them, keeping them warm, and helping them expunge waste, but the more complex skills they will learn, such as playing, hunting and interaction with other cats.

  1. Early Stages

    • Kittens are born deaf and blind and do not open their eyes or ears until at least two weeks after delivery. They are also unable to have a bowel movement without their mother's stimulating the anal region. The mother will groom her kittens regularly, not only to keep them clean but to provoke this function. The mother cat also plays an important role as heat source to allow her kittens to stay at a healthy temperature.

    Feeding

    • Like humans, kittens are born with a sucking reflex. With the help of their mother and their keen sense of smell, they are able to locate mom's teats and nurse several times a day.

    Interaction With Other Cats

    • Kittens learn very quickly to interact with their siblings due to close proximity. They learn how to share a space and communicate with one another by watching how their mother reacts to them.

    Hunting and Playing

    • Hunting is a completely learned skill and is fostered when the mother cat brings a kill to the kittens within the first weeks of life. The lessons progress as the mother brings live animals for the kittens to make the kill. Eventually they are off on their own to hunt. Playing comes naturally to kittens, usually starting after four weeks when the kittens will play with the dead prey mother has dragged in.

    Mother's Instincts

    • A mother cat learns how to mother through experience watching her mother during her own kittenhood and from natural instincts. Mother cats instinctively know when a kitten is not thriving and will often reject it and focus on the healthy litter.