Questions about my adopted cats, a young mom and her daughter
August 10, 2008 6:37 PM Subscribe
I have a few questions about my two new kitties, who are mother/daughter...
After the passing of my beloved 14-year-old cat, my wife & I decided to adopt two new cats. We absolutely *love* the cats we adopted - one is just barely a year old, the other is her five-month-old daughter. Given that it's been 14 years since I've dealt with young, energetic cats, and I've never had a pair, there are a few things I'm unsure of.
For starters, and acquaintance of mine asserted that adopting a parent/child combo was bad news - he claims that the mother will eventually "turn" on her kitten, due to an instinctual need to send them off into the world or something. He claims to have seen this happen twice. Is this likely to happen? I assume at some point the mother will stop babying the kitten, but will she actually seek to expel her? Google has been no help here.
Meanwhile, mother & kitten are settling in quite nicely. They enjoy long naps together, the kitten receives frequent cleaning sessions, and they're obviously well bonded. In fact, last night I discovered the kitten actually suckling. Isn't five months a little old for that? It doesn't appear to be a regular thing - the kitten is eating quite well, much more than her mother (kitten is part Maine Coon, and is already as big as mom). I assume that will come to an end at some point, yes?
That's what's on my mind at the moment, but I'd love to hear any advice from owners of mother/daughter cats, if there are any out there. Are there things I should know, specific to this kind of relationship? And if any of you two cat people have general info you think I should know, feel free to share that too. Thanks!
After the passing of my beloved 14-year-old cat, my wife & I decided to adopt two new cats. We absolutely *love* the cats we adopted - one is just barely a year old, the other is her five-month-old daughter. Given that it's been 14 years since I've dealt with young, energetic cats, and I've never had a pair, there are a few things I'm unsure of.
For starters, and acquaintance of mine asserted that adopting a parent/child combo was bad news - he claims that the mother will eventually "turn" on her kitten, due to an instinctual need to send them off into the world or something. He claims to have seen this happen twice. Is this likely to happen? I assume at some point the mother will stop babying the kitten, but will she actually seek to expel her? Google has been no help here.
Meanwhile, mother & kitten are settling in quite nicely. They enjoy long naps together, the kitten receives frequent cleaning sessions, and they're obviously well bonded. In fact, last night I discovered the kitten actually suckling. Isn't five months a little old for that? It doesn't appear to be a regular thing - the kitten is eating quite well, much more than her mother (kitten is part Maine Coon, and is already as big as mom). I assume that will come to an end at some point, yes?
That's what's on my mind at the moment, but I'd love to hear any advice from owners of mother/daughter cats, if there are any out there. Are there things I should know, specific to this kind of relationship? And if any of you two cat people have general info you think I should know, feel free to share that too. Thanks!
we had a funny situation when an older male cat in my family "adopted" a runt male kitten. it was totally adorable--baby winston took to papa basil like it was his mother, and even tried to suckle, long after he was eating solid food. i think it's just a comfort mechanism.
(whenever you have a happy kitty kneading and drooling in your lap, it's the suckling reflex. the kneading stimulates the milk, so when a grown cat does that to you, it's just a way of saying they're very content and comfortable.)
i can't speak for rivalries later in life, but considering they are living in an unnatural environment, they will probably get along fine. maybe if they go out and interact with other cats, but especially if mom gets fixed, she will lose a lot of the hormonal input that impels her to send her grown kittens out into the world so she can return her attentions to a new litter. no ovaries = no new litter = no need to send kitten off on her own. (i'm not a vet, i'm just a multi-cat owner supposing here.)
i think you'll be fine. get the girls fixed, as soon as possible, and that will reduce a lot of potential friction (and more kittens!). and if they get along, great! reward them for it. if they don't, they'll figure it out. they'll have their territories and maybe scowl at each other, but they won't rip each other to shreds or anything. you'll just have an upstairs cat and a downstairs cat.
posted by thinkingwoman at 6:50 PM on August 10, 2008
(whenever you have a happy kitty kneading and drooling in your lap, it's the suckling reflex. the kneading stimulates the milk, so when a grown cat does that to you, it's just a way of saying they're very content and comfortable.)
i can't speak for rivalries later in life, but considering they are living in an unnatural environment, they will probably get along fine. maybe if they go out and interact with other cats, but especially if mom gets fixed, she will lose a lot of the hormonal input that impels her to send her grown kittens out into the world so she can return her attentions to a new litter. no ovaries = no new litter = no need to send kitten off on her own. (i'm not a vet, i'm just a multi-cat owner supposing here.)
i think you'll be fine. get the girls fixed, as soon as possible, and that will reduce a lot of potential friction (and more kittens!). and if they get along, great! reward them for it. if they don't, they'll figure it out. they'll have their territories and maybe scowl at each other, but they won't rip each other to shreds or anything. you'll just have an upstairs cat and a downstairs cat.
posted by thinkingwoman at 6:50 PM on August 10, 2008
We have a mother and two sons - now six and five - (and one more unrelated cat as well). The mom routinely knocks her sons around if they annoy her even though they are much bigger than she is but all three cuddle and sleep together very happily. I am surprised that your mother cat is permitting the kitten to suckle at 5 months. Moriah was very emphatic about weaning her sons at 3 months and would kick them in the head if they wouldn't quit trying to nurse.
I've had other related cats over the years and they've always been fine together.
posted by leslies at 7:03 PM on August 10, 2008
I've had other related cats over the years and they've always been fine together.
posted by leslies at 7:03 PM on August 10, 2008
My mother had a mother-daughter cat team for 20+ years. They got along fine. They were exactly like human mother-daughter couples you see at Walgreens or in McDonald's for breakfast. Constant, but loving, arguments and sniping.
posted by gjc at 7:04 PM on August 10, 2008
posted by gjc at 7:04 PM on August 10, 2008
Plenty of cats suckle/knead way into adulthood. It's a comfort thing.
posted by radioamy at 7:32 PM on August 10, 2008
posted by radioamy at 7:32 PM on August 10, 2008
No help here - just want to say that that picture is adorable.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:52 PM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:52 PM on August 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Wow, thanks for the quick and reassuring comments! I had supposed that the "unnatural" environment - being fixed, indoor-only cats - would negate any instinctual urge to break the maternal bond, but it was just a supposition of course. (They have both already been fixed, so we're covered there. The shelter we adopted from said they do the procedure based on size, not age, which I guess explains the five-month-old being fixed already.)
The irony here is that I've been joking with my wife about how Rosemary, the mom cat, has been a little bundle of neuroses, obsessed with making sure her kitty Lilly is okay in the new house. Somehow I apparently missed the fact that I have also been a little bundle of neuroses, obsessed with making sure my two kitties are going to like it here.
Thanks again folks. Anyone who might be tuning in late - feel free to continue chiming in with thoughts/experiences/useful advice on raising two cats, related or not!
posted by Banky_Edwards at 7:55 PM on August 10, 2008
The irony here is that I've been joking with my wife about how Rosemary, the mom cat, has been a little bundle of neuroses, obsessed with making sure her kitty Lilly is okay in the new house. Somehow I apparently missed the fact that I have also been a little bundle of neuroses, obsessed with making sure my two kitties are going to like it here.
Thanks again folks. Anyone who might be tuning in late - feel free to continue chiming in with thoughts/experiences/useful advice on raising two cats, related or not!
posted by Banky_Edwards at 7:55 PM on August 10, 2008
my experience with multi-generational cats is that they will get along just fine..... if the picture is any indication, you've a good pair, they seem to love each other.
That said, be prepared for the once in a while spats and fights, but don't, as parents, overreact, they will survive....
posted by HuronBob at 9:20 PM on August 10, 2008
That said, be prepared for the once in a while spats and fights, but don't, as parents, overreact, they will survive....
posted by HuronBob at 9:20 PM on August 10, 2008
I have mother-daughter cats too, Bailey and Lucy,and they get along just fine. They're now 7 and 6 years old and I've had them for five years. Lucy, the daughter, still sometimes lies with her head at Bailey's tummy, in a 'suckling' position (although she doesn't suckle). Bailey also likes to wash Lucy's head too.
They each like to know where the other is, and if one is out (they have a cat flap so come and go at will) and the other cat wakes up and can't see her, she won't settle until they are both indoors again. Generally they don't sleep together, but probably have a cuddle once a day.
posted by essexjan at 12:15 AM on August 11, 2008
They each like to know where the other is, and if one is out (they have a cat flap so come and go at will) and the other cat wakes up and can't see her, she won't settle until they are both indoors again. Generally they don't sleep together, but probably have a cuddle once a day.
posted by essexjan at 12:15 AM on August 11, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Medieval Maven at 6:49 PM on August 10, 2008