Even a mother cat with one single kitten will act as though she was protecting a kingdom. In one house, a cat called Peaches gave birth to one small kitten and immediately enclosed her entire world around this one new life. Having no other relatives jostling over warmness and milk, the kitten is able to enjoy a first-rate seat to unceasing rubbing, grooming and that sort of wide-eyed affection that makes people take a break in whatever they are doing just to observe.
Singleton littering is rare, but does occur. With Peaches, this was the first time she had given birth and first-time mothers fall under the category of those who may be more prone to having only one kitten. The count in the litter is of secondary importance during the first days, but the most important point is whether the mother and kitten are settled, in good health, and at ease in a peaceful routine.
A lot of queens change modes to an intense and protective one after birth, and may resemble an overnight personality transformation. The same cat who roamed the house is allowed to sit parked in her nesting place, busy nursing her kitten, cleaning it and keeping it with her- behaviors that are governed by instinct and closeness. The fact that early care is not only sweet, but functional. Milk provides nutrition and immune system, whereas grooming keeps the kitten clean and is also helpful in providing warmth and comfort. Low noise levels and reduced disturbances can assist a new mother to maintain that rhythm particularly in the first few weeks where kittens are delicate and easily cold.
Watching a one-kitten nursery has its practical side as well: it may be easier to realize that something wrong is happening. It has postpartum signs which are normal and those which require the veterinarian.
To take an example, normal postpartum discharge of a queen changing in color and gradually subsiding may take place. However a retained placenta is a more severe complication and one veterinary manual reports that placenta is typically given during a period of between 5-15 minutes between every kitten. When the tissue retained causes infection, some of the red flags are foul discharge, fever, lethargy, poor appetite, or a mother who suddenly loses interest in her kitten.
Even in the cases where birth is healthy, one kitten will grow up without inherent playmates. That is the most important in the early social window when kittens are taught how to speak cat, how hard is too hard when biting, when a pounce is play and when to back off. According to some behavior experts, single kitten syndrome as a formal diagnosis has not been scientifically shown to exist, but again, they state that early life experience influences social capabilities. A kitten that does not have kitten brothers and sisters will have their parents usually deal with being handled softly, having toys handled by hands rather than caregivers, and being gradually introduced to the things and sounds they will see around them in their everyday environment to become confident.
In houses such as Peaches, there is the optimistic aspect that the mother is available- and that makes the difference. Boundaries are taught naturally by a queen through play and correction, comfort on request, setting examples of eating, exploration, and post-excitement settling. One of the kittens can make that instruction sound even more vigorous: wash more, hover, keep close.
At the maturity of the kitten, the attachment can become weaker in minor, wholesome forms–a few naps in separation and steps out of the nest, some measure of independence rejoining the maternal pose. However, initially Peaches and her single cat are one, and the entire house may seem like it is holding its breath with them.
