It is said that tigers are poisonous and do not eat their children. Why do some female cats eat their own newborn kittens?

1. Interference from human smell

After the female cat has given birth, some people will keep picking up the kittens out of curiosity or worry. When there are more people, the kittens will be contaminated with human scent. The female cat may think that the kittens are threatened through the smell and move them. When it feels extremely frightened, it will take an extreme approach - eating kittens to protect itself.

2. Kittens are not competitive

When female cats discover that their kittens are deformed, they are likely to eat the kittens. This is the result of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Deformed kittens have difficulty surviving in nature, so they are eaten by their own mothers. . Another situation is when the kittens die during birth or shortly after birth. Generally, the female cat will transfer them, but there are also female cats that eat them directly. Because domestic cats receive more human intervention, this situation is less likely to occur.

3. Female cats lack maternal qualities

In other words, female cats have no maternal instincts, resulting in their inability to take care of the kittens as their own children, both subconsciously and externally. There are many reasons why a female cat is not maternal. If it is a genetic problem, then the best solution is to neuter it, otherwise you are likely to see the tragedy happen again.

4. Insufficient food

It mainly occurs in wild cats. For example, at this time, it is difficult for female cats to find enough food themselves, so they can only kill their kittens to conserve energy.

5. Pica

If a cat lacks certain proteins or minerals in daily life, is always in a state of stress, or does not drink enough water, it will lead to pica. Some cats eat their own kittens when they first give birth, and may develop a habit of pica eating afterward.

6. Others

There is a saying that the mother cat overly dotes on her kittens or is nervous about giving birth for the first time. The kitten dies due to poor control of the strength during the care process. In order to ensure that the smell of the dead kitten is not detected by predators, the mother cat can only eat Kitten.