Do Cats Abandon Their Kittens If You Touch Them

We’ve all heard a story where a cat had a litter of kittens under their porch. The person tries to do their best to help the mother cat from afar but is afraid to touch any of the kittens in fear that the mother will abandon them. Every time you see a new litter of kittens, you might find yourself asking this: do cats abandon their kittens if you touch them?

Cats do not abandon their kittens if you touch them. Most female cats do not like their kittens to be bothered by people and the unfamiliar scent on their kitten may cause them to become agitated.

Usually, the human scent does not drive a mother cat away from her kittens. The unfortunate truth is that often kittens are abandoned by their mother for many different reasons. Please continue reading to understand why mother cats react the way they do around their kittens.

Reasons Cats May Abandon Their Kittens

Touch may not be the primary reason a mother rejects her kittens, however there are plenty of others to think about.

Although we never want to see a mother abandon her kittens, there are times where this has happened. It isn’t easy to know precisely why a mother cat abandoned her kittens, but it is helpful to know some of the potentials. Let’s discuss some of those reasons:

The Mother Do Not Like Kittens

There are even feline mothers that may not like kittens. Stray cats do not always have the option not to have kittens, which means she may have kittens and then abandon them.

To get away from her kittens, she may abandon them to move on. Small kittens are not able to follow.

The Mother Is Sick

The mother of the kittens may be sick, which means that she may be unable to keep taking care of her kittens. If you are the owner of the cat and kittens, this means that you should take your cat to the vet.

A stray cat may have had troubles during the birth of the kittens, which yields her unable to care for her kittens properly. So in that case, it’s natural for them to abandon them.

The Kittens Are Sick

If the kittens are sick, the mother may abandon the kittens if she knows that they will, unfortunately, pass away. She may stay to take care of them until they pass away, but there is also a chance that they will be abandoned.

Every kitten will not be abandoned if only one is sick. One or two kittens out of the litter may be rejected while others are still cared for.

The Kittens Are Old Enough To Be On Their Own

Mother cats do not stay with their kittens forever. If the mother cat leaves their kittens, it may be that the kittens are old enough to be on their own without their mother. The kittens may still seem small, but they may be ready to be on their own.

As soon as kittens are weaned from their mother, and even potentially before, they will learn to hunt and eat solid foods.

The Mother May Not Be Gone For Good

You may think a stray cat abandoned her kittens if you never see the mother. This may not be the case. Mother cats will often need to go out and find food for themselves or their kittens. Some mothers will be gone for most of the day and return at night, but this does not mean the kittens are entirely abandoned.

Do Cats Abandon Kittens

Sadly, cats do abandon kittens, but not all kittens are abandoned by their mother.

Many people who adopt stray cats do so because they find a young cat without their mother.

As we have discussed above, there are numerous reasons why a mother cat may abandon her kittens.

Very young kittens may die if their mother abandons them, but kittens can be left by their mothers and still have a chance at survival at a particular stage.

Although none of us want to see a kitten abandoned by its mother, it is often something that happens in nature, which is why you should swoop in to take in an abandoned kitten!

Do Cats Reject Kittens

A cat may reject its kittens. Kitten rejection can be different from abandoning a kitten. A mother cat can reject one kitten in a litter. Many of the same reasons apply for a mother rejecting a kitten that it does for abandoned kittens.

Often, it is the runt of the litter that its mother rejects. The runt is the smallest and usually weakest kitten born, so it has a lower chance of survival than the other kittens in the litter.

If a kitten is rejected, it may still be near the mother but may not get its mother’s milk or attention.

Is It Bad To Touch Feral Kittens

Yes, it could be bad to touch feral kittens. It’s generally not a good idea to do this for a variety of reasons.

Touching feral kittens does not mean that their mother will kill the kittens. It does mean, however, that the feral mother of the kittens could attack you.

Feral cats are not used to humans. Most feral cats, and especially those with kittens, are going to be more afraid than mean.

Just because most feral cats are scared does not mean that they all are. Some will be mean and could attack you.

Feral cats could have different diseases that could be transmitted to you through a bite or a scratch, meaning that they could be deadly to you.

Do Cats Get Mad When You Touch Their Kittens

Some cats get mad when you touch their kittens.

You never know how a mother cat will react when you touch her kittens. There is a good chance that the mother cat will get angry if you touch her kittens.

Mother cats can be as protective as human mothers so that a mother cat may lunge, hiss, or bite you if you touch her kittens without her permission.

A mother’s fear may turn into anger, as well, which is something to keep in mind. Stray cats especially may not know what you will do with their kittens when you touch them. The cat’s fear may turn into madness as a reaction because she does not know how to react otherwise.

A mother cat is simply trying to protect her kittens at all times, and while she may not mean any harm, there is a chance a protective female cat can hurt you with kittens.

Will Cats Eat Their Kittens If You Touch Them

Cats will not eat their kittens if you touch them. Some people believe that getting your scent on kittens will mean that the mother cat will eat their kittens. This is not something that you should worry about if you find stray kittens or have a cat of your own with kittens.

Your scent will not make the mother cat eat her kittens as a way to protect them.

A mother cat may not like that you touch her kittens, but that does not mean that it will lead to the mother killing her kittens. Human scent does not hurt cats.

If you notice that a mother cat does not like handling her kittens, try to avoid touching the kittens. If you need to, then you should try wearing gloves. This will not altogether remove your scent from getting marked on them, but it will limit the exposure.

Do Cats Disown Their Kittens If You Touch Them

Cats do not disown their kittens if you touch them.

There are many misconceptions that cats will disown their kittens if there are a human touching their kittens. This, however, is not the case. A mother cat will not abandon kittens that are touched by humans.

A mother cat will smell your scent on her kittens after you touch them, but that does not mean that she will no longer want her kittens.

If a mother cat does not like you touching her kittens, especially if the cats are stray, you should refrain from touching the kittens. You may end up getting attacked by the mother of the kittens if you cross too many boundaries.

Can You Touch A Feral Cat’s Kittens

It is not a good idea to touch a feral cat’s kittens.

Feral cats are called feral because they do not like humans. Most feral cats are more afraid of humans than they are mean.

A mother that is a feral cat will often do anything she could to save her kittens from an approaching human.

A feral cat may toss her kittens off the side of a porch if they are sitting on the porch, run over them to get away or leave her kittens behind to get away from you.

If you have a family of feral cats living on or near your property, it is best to leave them alone.

Feral cats do not react well to humans. Even if you mean well and want to help the cat, the feral cat may take that the wrong way and end up hurting her kittens while trying to protect them.

What Happens If You Touch A Newborn Kitten

Nothing will happen if you touch a newborn kitten.

You should always handle a newborn kitten as carefully as possible. Kittens are somewhat resilient, so you don’t have to treat the kitten-like glass, but you should not be too rough with a kitten.

Newborn kittens are also different from bigger kittens or full-grown cats because they will not curl into you when you pick them up. If you are holding them, you will have to cradle the kitten to your chest.

As strange as it may sound, newborn kittens squirm around almost like worms because their bones are still hardening and becoming stronger. This is why it is essential to hold the kittens firmly to avoid dropping them.

Things To Consider

There are times where you will have to move a mother and her kittens.

Usually, you will have to move kittens and the mother when they are stray cats, but you may also find yourself in a situation where you have to move your cat and her kittens.

There are a few points to keep in mind when you need to move kittens:

Keep The Kittens Together

Since many newborn kittens do not have open eyes and rely on their mother, you should not separate them.

Kittens will pile on top of each other at times; you may have to move some kittens to avoid the runt getting smothered, but you should not spread the kittens out too much.

Do Not Forget Any Kittens

This sounds like an obvious one to hear, but you need to make sure you get all the kittens, especially when moving stray kittens.

Some kittens may crawl away from the mother, so take a good look around the area you are moving the cats away from. A newborn kitten without his mother has a higher chance of dying.

Have A Box Ready

Carefully move all the kittens to a box or stable surface to carry them all at once. This is better than carrying the kittens one by one.

If the mother cat is friendly, allow her to get in the box with her kittens. If the female cat is not friendly to you, you may have to move her after moving her kittens.

If you are moving kittens, make sure to bring them into a warm, safe space. Some people choose bathrooms with closed doors if there are other animals in the house. Other people separate the kittens and mother with a baby gate in the doorway.

Keep food and water nearby for the mother, so she does not feed the need to leave her kittens again.

Once a mother and her kittens are moved, it may take some time for the mother to get back into a routine with her kittens.