I am curious why mother cats kick out runts?
How can they tell if a kitten is a runt when all the kittens are close to same size, all being small and all.
Does a runt stay small all it's life?
Is it true runts have a short life span? If so, why?
Answers:
Mothers can tell by instinct. The runt is generally not as healthy as the others and she is sticking to the survival of the fittest rule. Runts can and often do overcome their compromised beginnings. Your job is to watch and intervene with extra care for the kitten if the mother is shunning it. If she shows signs of aggression towards it, you may need to remove it from her as she might kill it. She's not mean, she's just following her natural instincts.
My cat is a 'runt' and he gets sick a lot. I think they stay small, as he is half the weight/size of all the other cats I know.
I agree with cc228. This is normal. It is how the animal world works. I would watch over it and even take it away from the mom if need be. You would have to become its mom. They do stay small. I have read that a runt smells different and the mother can smell it.
Runts are usually the smallest of the litter. The ones who are left behind, always the one fighting to get through the others to feed etc. Because they have a hard start to life, runts can suffer from more health problems then stronger cats.They need special care and possibly can not grow as strong as a healthy cat.
Jerry was the runt in my litter,and he never grew to a healthy size. He was sick with rhinitis and used to vomit nearly every day. It got so bad that the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep. Its a cruel world, but thats nature for us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
All of these things are true. Runts do tend to be the weakest, and mothers do tend to kick them out. Runts are more sickly, generally, and don't have the highest immune systems. They do stay small, and frail.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I was lucky enough to see the other side of that where we had two mother cats. One of them had a runt in her litter, so the other cat (the two were very close) took the runt and fed it, and the first cat took one of the stronger kittens from the other litter, so they effectively switched babies, and the runt, who is now almost 7 months, was never neglected or tossed out. He was actually particularly vicious when it came to food, and the other kittens would steer clear of him. He's better about sharing now though.
He was very sick during his first few months, with a bad cold and conjunctivitis, and he was lethargic, always sleeping even when the others tried to get him to play, and he'd always sleep on me. He was also the only one who kept having fleas even when everyone was medicated. He was taken care of, and despite his small stature, he and his enormous brother are still best friends, and he plays just as much and as well as any other kitten.
He's still tiny, and very frail, but he's a strong little boy who never misses out on a meal. it all comes down to luck, I think. Luck of the cat itself, luck of the mothers temperament, and luck of the exposure to sickness.
I would agree with this comment. I have had 2 very small, runty girl cats who were similar size. One was found in the middle of nowhere in rough shape. She was always a fussy eater and suffered from hairballs/ respiratory issues (even with various medicines) her whole life. She lived to be 15 years old. My current runty girl was raised with a mama cat before I adopted her. While she is also a fussy eater who is sometimes pukey, I feel like she is in better health than my 1st tiny cat of a more questionable babyhood.
DeleteBoth dislike(d) being held! I wonder if it is because of their delicate bones. I nicknamed current tiny girl "Birdbones Jones". :)