Mother cat killed two kittens

Question
My cat had six kittens yesterday. this morning, i found her smothering two of them. They are dead. She is feeding the others, but does sit on top of them. what do i do? is she going to kill them all?

Answer
Dear Tamme,

It is not uncommon for a mother animal to eat one or more of its young. Usually, the will do this is they sense a defect or abnormality in the kitten. Even if you do not see a difference between one kitten and the others, the mother can.

They will also eat their young if there are too many. Breast-feeding 6 little ones is very taxing on the mother's health. Especially now that they are older and drinking more.

Are they weened yet? Even if they are eating some regular food, it's possible they are still drinking mother's milk when you are not around.

I would suggest separating the kittens from the mother until you can find suitable homes for them.

Sincerely,  

Ben