Cats that Kill Kittens

Why do cats, either male or female, sometimes kill kittens - either their own kittens or those belonging to another cat? At present there are several recognized reasons for this, all supported by field observation and by other known feline behaviors.

Males Killing Kittens

Although cats are often considered to be purely solitary, in the feral and the domestic situation they are frequently organized in social groups similar to the social grouping of lions (prides). These groups are matriarchal in nature i.e. dominated by the females, and often the males will only be in attendance when a female is available for mating (though this rule is flexible and some groups will have a resident male). A tom cat will normally establish a territory which contains a number of females or female groups, and it is in his own interest to repel other males and to destroy kittens which may have been fathered by another male and which contain the genetic complement of his rival. This is true of many social animals, relatively few of whom will expend their own energies in raising the offspring of another male.

How do males know who has fathered the kittens? Cats rely greatly on scent and scent markings to determine who is present in their territory and who has visited that territory. If a tom smells the scent of a rival tomcat he may decide that the kittens belonging to his 'harem' have been fathered by the visiting tomcat. This is not in his own genetic interests. Consequently he may kill those kittens. This has two purposes. Firstly it ensures that his queens do not raise kittens fathered by a rival male. Secondly, the queens will usually come on estrus within a few days and he can be sure of mating them so that subsequent kittens are his.

When a new tomcat takes over or inherits a territory (the former territory owner having been removed, neutered and thus non-competitive, or dead) he may also be driven to destroy any kittens in order to 'found his own line'. A territory can be something as small as a single room in the house. These are all fairly anthropomorphic terms describing an instinctive drive to give his own genes the best chance of survival.

Some tomcats are more benevolent in their approach, perhaps they lack this instinctive drive or it is less well developed. Neutered toms, as a whole, tend to be more benevolent due to their hormonal state (or lack of a hormonal state). These toms may tolerate kittens which are not their own, only driving them away (through fighting) as the kittens become sexually developed.

Although in the main, toms do not contribute to the raising of kittens, there have been instances where even unneutered toms may supply food, tend or move the kittens or be willing to play auntie even to the extent of allowing the kittens to 'suckle'. A few males have even taken over the majority of mothering duties (apart from milk production) from incompetent females or where kittens are orphaned. A potential problem arises when the kittens play. Most female cats can switch between 'play mode' and 'hunt mode' in order not to harm their offspring. In tomcats this switching off of 'hunt mode' may be incomplete and when they become highly aroused through play, the 'hunting' instinct comes into force and they may kill the kittens. The hunting instinct is so strong, and so hard to switch off when prey is present, that dismemberment and even eating of the kitten may ensue.

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