# Cat carrying kitten by scruff



## Robin1109 (May 8, 2011)

So in the last week I've caught Winston scruffing Eleanor and trying to walk away with her. Once he even attempted stairs (down) which was a disaster and she's a little too big for him to lift high enough. They've been together a little over a month now and this is the first I've seen this. Winston settled in to cleaning Eleanor fairly quickly once he was used to her but now he's added this. Is he still just trying to be momma cat to Eleanor? Or is he trying to hoard her under the carpet like he does with Q-tips and earrings?


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

So let's see if I got this right. Winston is a neutered male? Eleanor is a kitten....how old? Usually it's females that do this kind of thing, either a momacat or another female that just wants kitties. It's a bit unusual it's a male doing it, but some males do have a nurturing inclination. In this case it seems Winston is claiming Eleanor as "his" possession and wants to stash it with his other treasures. Funny cat!


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## D'Lynn (Jun 18, 2011)

My tom (long time ago) stole one of his kittens from the nest. I found him in a dresser drawer giving the kitten a bath. Some males are just nurturing maybe. Or, answer b could be right. Cats are funny.


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## SpellQ (Dec 12, 2010)

This is adorable! We need pictures!


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## Miss Callie Kitty (Jun 12, 2011)

D'Lynn said:


> My tom (long time ago) stole one of his kittens from the nest. I found him in a dresser drawer giving the kitten a bath. Some males are just nurturing maybe. Or, answer b could be right. Cats are funny.


 
True that.....Sweet Cheeks (yes he is a male with "that' name...lol) is a very good babysitter...and in the wild of a colony...it is not uncommon for a lesser younger tom to "babysit" kittens while mamma hunts.

I agree...we need a picture....too cute.


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

Sherbert was the dominant male (unaltered at the time) in my house and he would hop into a kitten box and clean kittens as they born, babysit them when momma needed a break, and carry them out to the living room for playtime. Since we lived out in the country on a dead end road we tended to have pregnant cats dumped practically in our yard. Yes we rehomed them, and yes Sherbert was eventually neutered. He is 18 years old and still will baby kittens.


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## Robin1109 (May 8, 2011)

Yes, Winston is a neutered 2 yr old male and Eleanor is just about 13 weeks now. She's been in the house since she was 8 weeks old - just over a month now. From the start he was bathing her. I've only caught this scruffing behavior twice now. Unfortunately, I come upon it too quickly and don't yet have photographic evidence. I do have photographic evidence of bathing, snuggling, and Winston teaching Eleanor how to bird watch. She makes the most awful sounds when he bathes her. At first I thought he was hurting her. I've realized how she just prefers to be dirty and is mad about being cleaned.


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## applesparks (May 5, 2010)

I've heard a couple of people say that neutered males tend to take to being kitten nannies.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

Tig & Flynx (RIP) both raised multiple bottle baby litters. They would sleep with them, teach them litter box behavior, and bath them. Our other cats (also neutered males) totally ignore kittens until they were old enough to be playmates.


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