Cats are very well developed maternal instinct, it binds the baby and mother tightly. Thus, it is completely given to the child, showing a maximum of tenderness and love. But sometimes something pushes us to think about whether cats eat their kittens, or this is another unjustified legend. And to our horror, once again the harsh reality wins.
Why do cats eat kittens?
Rarely, but it happens that cats eat their kittens, it happens immediately after the birth of the kids. In this case, the maternal instinct and the smell of colostrum remained far in the shadow of cannibalism.
The reasons for eating a baby are not so terrible as the very fact of what is happening. Usually, cats eat afterbirths and kittens, born dead. Sometimes they can harm the baby when they chew the umbilical cord, or inadvertently destroy it with the placenta. But the mother can do this and quite consciously. There are several reasons why cats eat their kittens. If the baby was born weak or with physical disabilities, it is quite possible that he is doomed to death. Thus, the mother leads only to strong and enduring offspring.
Another reason why a cat eats its kittens is that the maternal instinct in an animal may not be sufficiently pronounced, and the baby, again, rushes to the mercy of fate. Nature with special cruelty makes its life selection.
Why do cats eat kittens?
The birth of cubs usually takes place in a safe, warm and cozy place, which the mother herself considers suitable for her toddlers. But there are such deplorable cases when cats reveal where the kittens are and kill them cruelly. They eat not only their own, but also other people's cubs.
For thousands of years there was a version that animals do this way,
Some experts believe that cats eat other people's kittens to clear a place for their offspring. And if young males are killed, it means that they want to get rid of competitors in the future who can claim for females and territory.
The world of animals is quite cruel and sometimes completely unrelated to morality. But we must understand that their behavior probably has a reasonable explanation, because for millennia reflexes and a stereotype of actions have been formed.