mother cats behaviour

Question
My 12month old cat, Tigger, had a litter of kittens at the end of May 2006, and has been a very good mum so far.  She fully weaned the 3 kittens (all female) about 2 weeks ago, prior to that they were on solid food but still feeding from her 1-2 times a day for a short period each time. During this time, she sometimes seemed a bit stressed, but generally coped very well, very loving and caring mother, and totally trusted me with the babies.

Since weaning, Tigger has become increasingly strange in behaviour - aggressive to the kits which I assumed was to stop them feeding, but now she growls, hisses and spits at them, not just batting them away, plus she seems very nervy generally, starting at small sounds etc.  She avoids the kits altogether, and stays out for long periods, and only lets me pet her occasionally (she has always been a very affectionate and home-loving cat, I had her from about 6 weeks old).  She is on the pill and due to be spayed next week - is all this just hormones? or something I should be worried about?

Answer
This is not unusual, if it is hormones, which is likely. However, if you are letting her out and she is coming in
contact with strange cats, you are leaving the babies open to disease.
She may have some problems with her general health. I would have her seen by the vet and discuss the problem with him.
It is likely that she will calm down and relax once she is altered. However emotional problems in cats are not unknown. I have had a few serious ones due to some trauma that has totally changed the personality of the cats involved.
In general, however, I would not worry too much, but would check with the vet and ask advice.

Regards,
Barb