My female cat gave birth to kittens, why did the female cat eat the kittens?

This is because female cats have some stress reactions, because cats are more vigilant creatures, and if they feel that the outside environment is not particularly safe, they are likely to engage in some stressful behaviors, such as eating kittens. Every mother is very great, even if it is an animal, she also loves her children very much, and they all say that tigers do not eat their children, even if they don't like their children, they will not bear to hurt their children. <>

However, some cats will eat their newborn kittens, which makes many people find it difficult to understand. It's all a physiological phenomenon, it's too terrible, after all, it's your own child, and if you eat it so easily, won't you feel heartache? In fact, it is a very common behavior for female cats to eat kittens, and they will make this kind of stress behavior when they feel that the external environment is unsafe, which is also a common physiological phenomenon.

Because cats are very vigilant creatures, they can be very insecure if they can't be sure that their surroundings are safe. <>

Especially when kittens are born, if there are other creatures nearby, these kittens will be infected with the scent of other creatures. The mother cat has no way to tell if it is her own child, so she is likely to eat these kittens with other scents. In other words, the female cat's heart may feel that there is no way to feed her own children, how can there be other creatures in the nest.

Some kittens will have some physical defects when they are just born, and the female cat will eat the kitten in order to stop the loss in time. <>

Because female cats don't have so much milk, these disabled kittens also need to drink milk to grow up after birth, and in order to leave this milk for healthy kittens, female cats will have to eat the disabled kittens. Although this behavior is a bit cruel in the eyes of humans, it is also difficult for humans to intervene, so it is best for humans not to disturb female cats when they give birth at home, and not to let the kittens be infected with human breath.

Because the kitten's physique is relatively weak and there is no way to grow normally, it will eat each other, so that it can supplement nutrition and reduce the consumption of its own body.

Because the female cat has a stress response and is afraid of the surrounding environment, or you have been in contact with a kitten, and the female cat thinks that the kitten is not his, she will eat the kitten, so when the cat gives birth, we have to give him a good environment and do not disturb him.

It is likely that there is a stress reaction, the cat's courage is relatively small, and then there will be a fear of life, not adapting to the environment, and a lack of security, so there will be such behavior.

It is likely that there is a stress reaction, the cat's courage is small, and then there will be a fearful environment, not adapted to the environment, and a lack of a sense of insurance, so there will be such an action.

It may be that the mother is not a sign of motherhood, or it may be an instinctive reaction, or she sees something abnormal in the kitten, or it may be deformed. Or they don't recognize their own children. They will refuse to be fed and will eventually starve to death.

It is very likely that the kitten's body is particularly fragile and has no way to survive, or it may be because the female cat's body is relatively weak and needs to be supplemented with nutrients to eat the kitten.

Because the family may have been in contact with the kitten, so that the kitten has the smell of other people, so the mother cat will feel that the kitten is not her own child, so she will eat the kitten.

Possible cause 1: kitten deformity.

Do female cats eat their own kittens, some kittens are born without abnormality, it is difficult to survive, and even the females are wrong for their movements and smell. If a single kitten is killed or abandoned, the entire nest will be considered a "failure" and their mothers will not be willing to waste their energy on raising these hard-to-survive kittens.

Possible cause 2: Protect kittens.

She has been known to kill kittens if the cat litter is disturbed, especially if she is kept and cannot transfer or hide her children. Such behavior is instinctive. Threatens that at the moment, if the cubs are not protected, the females will protect them in vain efforts and kill them.

It can tell them that the hand that kills the cat and runs away is more instinctive than protecting them from harm. Fortunately, only a small percentage of female cats immediately killed the young babies, but hid them and found new ones.

Possible cause 3: The smell of people interferes with the female cat

Does a female cat eat her own kittens, sometimes cats kill cats because she has been held by other people or animals. Her scent was so vague that she didn't recognize her child feeling threatened. In this case, cats are either prey because of their size, voice, and movements – or the cats will protect them in the same way and eventually kill them.

Possible cause 4: Maternal instinct is not developed

In addition, if the cat's maternal instinct is underdeveloped, or some hormonal imbalance that makes them mothers, there will be no motherhood, but there will be a wrong behavior to be excited, and that is to kill the cat and eat it.