Posted on by Barky Boy

Do Cats Love Their Kittens? Understanding Cat Emotions

Cats are considered to be aloof, independent creatures that only care about the person who feeds them. If that person stops feeding them, a cat is said to just move on to caring about the next person who does. In other words, cats have no feelings at all one way or the other. While that has proven to be untrue for the most part, what about their kittens? Do cats love their kittens?

The simple answer is yes. Mother cats love their kittens and work hard to keep their young ones safe in the wild. Domestic cats might not have to fight off predators, but they do care for their kittens and work to keep them safe. Cats love their kittens, but not in the same way that humans love their babies. We’ll discuss this and more below, so join us.

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Do Cats Know Which Kittens Are Theirs?

Again, cats aren’t the same as humans and don’t recognize people or other animals by their faces. Cats recognize their kittens by the way they smell. They can also identify their kittens by the way they cry. Kittens acknowledge their mothers by the way they smell as well.

american shorthair cat kissing her kitten
Image Credit: ANURAK PONGPATIMET, Shutterstock

Can a Cat Dislike Her Kittens?

No, cats do not hate their kittens. However, they can become annoyed at the litter’s constant need for their attention. Sometime before the kittens reach 12 weeks of age, mother cats start pushing them out of the nest, so to speak. This isn’t because they hate their kittens or are tired of them; it’s their way of teaching them to be independent and capable of making it on their own.

Do Cats Develop Emotional Attachments to Their Young?

Experts tend to fall on different sides of the fence with this question. Some believe that mother cats form no attachment at all, and are just there to get them to the point where they can care for themselves, then they forget about them.

Other experts say cats develop emotional attachments to their young, but how much depends on the cat. Some form a slight attachment and tend to their kitten’s needs, while others form a strong attachment and cater to the kitten’s every whim. However, there isn’t much scientific evidence to back either of these theories.

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Final Thoughts

While there is no scientific evidence to support it, it is thought that mother cats love their kittens. However, this love isn’t the same as what humans feel for their babies. Cats have a strong instinct to protect their young and will become aggressive and fierce if they think the kittens are threatened.

They recognize their young, and some mother cats have even been known to adopt other cats’ kittens if the mother has disappeared, become lost, or died. So, while cats don’t love their kittens the same way we love our young, they love, protect, and nurture them, until the time comes for them to leave the nest.

Sources

Featured Image Credit: Rashid Valitov, Shutterstock

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