Why Do Animals Reject Their Babies? Everything You Need To Know!

In mammals, mothers feed their young with milk and usually provide most of the early care. In many other animals, both parents help, and in some species fathers do much of the work.

Still, not every parent cares for every baby. Some mothers reject their young, and a few even kill them. It sounds shocking, but there are reasons behind it.

Why do animals reject their babies? Animals may reject babies that are sick or weak and unlikely to survive. Mothers that are inexperienced, stressed, sick or short on food may also reject their young.

Below, we look at the main reasons and what to do if your own pet rejects her litter.

3 Reasons Why Animals Reject Their Babies

Rejection is not common. Most mothers care for their young by instinct. Still, it helps to know the reasons, because they can apply to pet dogs and cats too.

The Baby Is Too Weak Or Sick

A mother may push away or ignore a newborn that is weak, sick or born with a defect. Raising young costs a lot of energy, and a baby that is unlikely to survive can be neglected.

It isn't always clear how a mother recognizes a weak baby. In nature, putting limited resources into healthier offspring can help more of the litter survive.

The Mother Has No Experience

First-time mothers sometimes don't know what to do. This seems to happen more often in animals raised by people away from their own species, such as hand-reared zoo animals, which may never have seen how their species cares for young.

The Mother Is Too Weak Or Sick

A mother that is injured, sick, exhausted or underfed may not be able to care for her young and may abandon them.

Will Your Pet Reject Her Babies Too?

It can happen, though most dogs and cats are attentive mothers. A mother may reject her litter if she is in pain, has an infection such as mastitis, is very stressed or is a nervous first-time mother.

If your dog or cat ignores, pushes away or harms her newborns, call your vet right away. Newborn puppies and kittens can't regulate their own body temperature and need frequent feeding, so they can go downhill within hours without care.

Your vet can check the mother for problems and show you how to keep the babies warm and bottle-feed them if needed.

Do Animals Reject Their Babies If Humans Touch Them?

For birds, this is mostly a myth. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says most birds can't smell well and a mother bird will be happy to have her baby back. If a featherless nestling falls out and you can safely reach the nest, putting it back is the best help.

The National Wildlife Federation adds that parents invest so much in their young that they rarely desert a nest just because a person found it.

That doesn't mean you should handle wild babies. Many young animals that look abandoned are being watched by a parent nearby, so the best choice is usually to leave them alone. If a baby animal is clearly injured or orphaned, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Why Do Animals Eat Their Babies?

Some animals eat their own young. When a parent eats its own offspring, it is called filial cannibalism.

Animal parents have limited energy and food. Eating a sick, weak or extra baby can help a parent recover energy to raise the rest of the litter or brood.

This behavior has been seen in many animals, including some fish, birds, rodents such as hamsters and some insects. Stress and disturbance can make it more likely in pets and captive animals.

Why Do Male Animals Kill Babies?

Killing young of the same species, called infanticide, is one of the most unsettling behaviors in nature. In many cases, males kill young that are not their own.

Males that kill unrelated young remove a rival's offspring and can bring the mother back into breeding condition sooner, so she can have his young instead.

Lions are the best-known example. The Smithsonian's National Zoo notes that males who take over a new pride will kill all the cubs that cannot run from them.

Final Verdict

Animals may reject their babies because the baby is weak or sick, the mother is inexperienced or the mother is too weak or stressed to care for them.

In the wild, this is part of how animals cope with limited resources. With pets, rejection is a reason to call your vet quickly so the mother and babies can get help.

Further reading: nationalgeographic.com

Sources

• Should We Help It?, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• 10 Myths About Bird Behavior, National Wildlife Federation
• Lion, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute