young mother cat behavior

Question
Hello,
I was wondering if it is normal for a queen to have rough play sessions with her kittens when they are only 17 days old. The mother is pretty young herself. (Background: I took her home from college to "cat- sit" for some people that didn't take the best care of her...three months later I still have her---she is a wonderful cat). The reason I say this is that they didn't have her spayed (which i didn't know). My cat promptly ran away and got pregnant, and she is  approx. a kitten herself ( a year and a few months old).

She has been a great mother so far....VERY attentive. They are always full of milk and cleaned up. However, she plays pretty rough with them it seems to me ...unexperienced as I am. I worry that her kitten playful self may take over her maternal instincts with their play time.

Bottom line...are there any behaviors I should watch for in this young mother?

Thanks very much,
-emily

Answer
A year and a few months is old enough for a cat to have good mother instincts. She is still quite young, though, that much is true. Do you plan to get her spayed after this litter is weaned? I would strongly recommend it.

You said that she is a very attentive mother. That's wonderful! What kind of rough play are we talking about here? Is she pushing them away from her milk? Is she batting at them? Is she biting or hissing at them? Those are some strong warning signs that she may be in the process of rejecting the litter.

If she is beginning to reject the litter, please let me know as soon as you can! I can help you work with mom to continue taking care of the kittens.

As long as she continues to feed and warm them, consider everything else she is doing as part of their socialization training from mom.

You should begin to socialize the kittens at three weeks, as well. They will learn how to be cats from their mother. They must learn to be companions and pets from you. Take each kitten from the box and pet it for three minutes. You may tease and play with the kitten as well. Do this for the duration of their infancy.

However, be warned that mom may act very suspicious or may even become aggressive toward you when you first begin to handle the kittens. If this is the case, simply sit down at her level with the kittens and stroke both her and the kitten you are giving attention to. I would take this course of action for about two to three weeks before attempting to lift or hold them.

Please feel free to look through some of my past answers on kitten weaning and nutrition for more assistance as this litter gets older!

As a final note of advice, I strongly recommend that you switch your Queen over to a good quality kitten food. It has extra nutrients and healthy fats that will keep her and the kittens at their most healthy for the duration of this litter's development.

Good luck to you all!