Agressive Male Cats

Question
My cat just had a litter last month and the father is hurting them. He bites their tails and necks. When he walks past them their hair stands up and they hunch their backs. I don't know if he's trying to intentionally hurt them or he is trying to play with them. He's known to play a little rough. He cleans them sometimes so I'm kind of confused. Is he trying to harm them?

Answer
Hi Tamira,

Some male cats will exhibit actions like this. He wants to mate with the queen and the kittens are interfering with that. I would watch the kittens very carefully with him around. He could wind up killing the kittens. This is not a deliberate act by him. It is just somehting that nature instilled in the cat. The kittens know this and are protecting themselves. The cleaning of them by the male is an act of domination.
Try to keep him away from the kittens. If he is not a breeding cat get him fixed. This would take care of a lot of his rough behavior. Good luck and let me know what happens.

Ciao, Karen