Spayed cat rejecting previous kittens

Question
Dear Tabbi,
I just "inherited" 3 cats - a pregnant mother and her 2 kittens. The kittens are about 11 weeks and I noticed the mom was pregnant again - about 25 days. I decided to interrupt the pregnance and had her spayed ASAP. The kittens are missing their mom - so I brought her home and tried to reintroduce them and the mom acted like she had amnesia. She didn't recognize the barn or the kittens and they are pining away for her. I know that the mom is hormonal and having her spayed would decrease the hormones But will I ever be able to get these 3 to form a family to live in the barn in harmony? And what should I do to help the bonding process to start. I can't keep them inside as I already have 2 indoor cats & 1 rabbit (all rescues) I am going to keep them as our SPCA is over flowing with cats.
Many thanks,
Pat

Answer
Pat,

When kittens are weaned the family recognition ends. Cats do not recognize, as people do, relationships. To her they are just cats in your family. That is why there is incest (mother/son, brother/sister, etc).

That is good that you terminated the pregnancy by getting her spayed. She probably does not have any maternal feelings right now. The kittens miss the comfort and milk from mom. It will take some time for adjustments on both sides, but everyone should get along OK. Make sure that you get the kittens fixed too. 3 months or 3 pounds is the average time you can have it done.

The mother will 'school' the kittens if she doesn't want them near her. Or she may start cuddling with them. It depends on the personality of the cat She may be depressed right now because she may instinctively know that she 'lost' her newest kittens. Plus she had a 'kitty hysterectomy' and she needs to get over the trauma and pain of that. She should be acting normal again in a couple of weeks.

Tabbi