2nd cat giving birth 10 days after 1st cat

Question
QUESTION: The cat (Star) giving birth today keeps going (had first kitten) into 1st mommy's (Minx's) box. Minx going into other box.  4 hours have passed and Star has not had another kitten.  I was guarding boxes and making sure the right momma was in her own box with her own kittens.  Now I left them and came back to cat's switching boxes again.  Decided to leave them for a while and see what happens in fear that I'm interfering too much.  Should I just leave them alone?

ANSWER: Nell,

It's  not uncommon for cats that are related to each other or close friends within a household to share mothering duties of kittens. It's perfectly normal and acceptable for each cat to nurse the other's kittens and share in the parenting duties provided that neither mom has a communicable infection. I would suggest that you allow nature to take it's course and focus your energy upon providing a large enough nest box to accomodate both moms and their babies, plenty of high quality food, fresh water and a few kitten sized litter boxes. It's very important to keep these moms indoors and away from intact male cats because female cats can become pregnant quite quickly after giving birth, there is some suggestion that if the queen mates she can become pregnant as early as 24-48 hours after delivering her kittens.

Unlike dogs mother cats don't require any help to wean their kittens, this normally happens sometime during the first 12 weeks of a kitten's life. Kittens should stay with their mother for a minimum of 12 weeks because this is a crucial period in terms of socialization and mom plays a big role in teaching kittens how to become cats, how to respond to body language appropriately, how to defend themselves, hunt, stalk and kill prey (even if toys are used as a prey substitute). Kittens who spend the first 12 weeks of life with their siblings and mother are far less likely to have issues with biting, maladaptive behaviors such as sucking on fabrics, human body parts, stuffed animals, other pets, etc as a self soothing behavior (similar to thumb sucking in children) and these kittens tend to be more well adjusted and confident as they grow older.

Given the serious pet overpopulation issue faced by shelters and rescue groups I feel that it's really important to pass along information about the advantages to spaying and neutering our pets. All too often animal lovers working for shelters are forced to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals simply because there isn't enough time, resources, space or money to keep each animal indefinitely until their forever family comes along to adopt them. The euthanasia rates tend to be higher for cats than they are for dogs so spaying and neutering is especially important. There are several medical and behavioral advantages to spaying and neutering pet cats besides the obvious benefit of humane population control. Cats that are spayed and neutered are spared uterine, ovarian and testicular cancers. There is good evidence to show that the earlier in life a cat is spayed or neutered the lower their risk is of developing breast or prostate cancer. Unspayed female cats are also at risk of developing a potentially life threatening uterine infection called pyometra - this infection causes the womb to fill with pus, if the uterus ruptures and spreads pus throughout the abdomen the cat's chances of survival are minimal. The only treatment for pyometra is an emergency spay, these surgeries are more complex, they are often more time consuming and there are more risks related to surgery and anesthesia for the cat because she is already so sick by that point. Some common behavioral problems like urinating/defecating outside of the litter box, wandering over a  large area, fighting with other cats, female cats howling to advertise their availability to mate, male cats fighting and caterwauling to determine who has the right to mate with receptive females and some forms of aggression directed at people are reduced or prevented by spaying and neutering our cats.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The Mom cats are sisters.  They are outside cats but put in garage every night.  Since the first one gave birth we have given our garage to the cats and have kept it closed & locked up.  Already made a vet appt. for both cats to be fixed so we lose our garage until middle of June.  
Just worried about Star because she has not continued labor but seems content with Minx and kittens.  Both boxes are oversized and plenty of room for both moms, kittens and birthing process. It has been a long day, I have stayed away (only peeked a few times) since I wrote.

ANSWER: Nell,

I'm glad to hear that you are keeping these moms indoors and away from the boys until their appointment to be spayed comes along. Keep a close eye on Minx from a distance, try to find out if she's having contractions, if she's been pushing and get an idea of whether or not her labor appears to have stalled - if it has she should be taken to the vet tomorrow because while it's possible for cats to only have one kitten, it's not common. There's a possibility that there is a large kitten blocking the birth canal that Minx can't push through and she may require a caesarian to deliver the remaining kittens - if this is the case then I'd highly recommend that you consent to having mom spayed at the same time, it won't affect her ability to nurse or care for her kittens. Most vets will use a tissue glue or bury the stitches in the skin layer of the incision so the kittens won't be tempted to try nursing on them or get their tiny claws caught in the knots.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Star had 3 more during the night.  Both cats still using the same box and the kittens mingle and don't seem to care which mom they nurse from or keeps them warm.  Minx seems to leave the box more often which I believe is normal since her kittens are 10 days older (and about twice the size of the new arrivals)
Your information was very helpful and reassuring.  We live in the country and my farmer husband did not have any answers about the whole ordeal.  (He was the one who was suppose to take care of spaying last Aug.) People around here don't seem to spay/neuter the barn cats which is why we have ours in the locked garage vs barn.  
Thank you again since I read early replies you gave and found they would take care of each others litters.  I was worried about the bonding.  I'm keeping my eyes on them to make sure they continue to act normal & healthy.
Nell
p.s. the kittens are all adorable

Answer
Nell,

Congratulations on your new arrivals. I'm quite glad to hear that these girls will be leaving motherhood behind once they've raised their kittens. It's quite normal for the mother of the older kittens to leave the box more often than the mother of the newborn kittens and it sounds like everything is going as it should be with both moms and both litters. Enjoy the little ones, they don't stay little for long.