Concerned about behaviour

Hello all,
New to the group, my name is Ricky, I own a bitch Staffy, called Sookie and recently, she has done something of concern to me and my Mother.

Pretty much, my cat in the household (1 of 5) had 2 kittens and Sookie acted as if they were her own kittens, which at first we thought was pretty cute and found it quite funny.

Unfortunately 2 days ago my dog has killed and eaten the kittens, this is so unlike her because she is fine with all the cats in the household and it has torn my Mother apart and is debating whether she needs to re home our dog. I do not want this to happen but because she is unable to get her head around what has happened she cannot go near my dog and physically hates her at the moment.

Has anybody else experienced this and what has happened, this is so unlike her and do we need to worry about the safety of our other cats..?

I need help here because without it my Mother is going to re home my dog, I do not want this but it isn't my house and I have no say in it unfortunately, we need to understand why this happened, she is a soft kind loving dog and this is not in her nature, she wouldn't even kill a fly, so we are left heartbroken for the kittens and what they have gone through and have nothing but anger towards the dog at the moment.

Thank you in advance.
Ricky Berner.

Has Sookie done anything else unusual, even just slightly odd? Has her behaviour towards the other cats changed? How old were the kittens? When you say she acted as if they were her own, what exactly was she doing and what was the interaction with the kittens' actual mother like?

I'll be absolutely honest and say I've no idea right now but a bit more information might spark a lightbulb moment.

Well.. She hasn't done anything else unusual. She stayed by the box where the kittens were and was popping her head in sniffing them as if she wanted to be in there herself.. The mother was absolutely fine towards her, didn't chase her off at all. Sookie chased the other cats away if they came near the box though, like she was protecting them.. It's very odd. She is fine with the other cats, tries to play with them now and then but nothing aggressive like wanting to kill them.
The kittens were only just 2 days old which makes it sadder.
No other unusual behaviour and the last litter the cat had she was the same with them like wanting to be in there as though she is the mother.

ive no experience with this type of thing sorry so sorry for the loss of the kittens dogs have a good sense about things i believe with a dog the reason they do something untoward theres always a reason behind it peraps the kittens were unwell and the dog sensed this.

Maybe, I don't know.. It's the fact she ate both of them, not just one.

It's hard to get your head around it when you're not sure of the reason

Thank you anyway.

yes must have come as quite a shock sorry for your loss

Hiya from me and Vinnie, what a terrible thing to happen, I can only echo above comments and say that something must have triggered it.

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Hi & Welcome to the Forum from Flo and me

Very sorry to read of what has happened. Sometimes there is no real reason for it. It could have been one of those throw backs of nature where dog doesn't accept cat. Kittens are so indefensible that I guess they were always vulnerable but it does seem odd that there was that nurture behaviour beforehand.

I would imagine that the other cats are quiet safe as Sookie has accepted them as part of the family unit and maybe that gives an idea, did Sookie see two more as a threat ?. Sorry to be so vague

I've been thinking about this and the only thing I can come up with is that kittens sound very squeaky, and that Sookie was drawn to them the same way my lad Chaos is towards mouse nests. I have no idea how a newborn kitten would smell to a dog, but there's maybe something there that drew her too, and also their wriggly movement.

Rather than acting as if they were her own kittens, it sounds possible that she was more resource guarding while she worked out what to do with them. If Sookie stays and if one of your cats has kittens again, I'd strongly suggest keeping her away from them until they can be introduced in a controlled manner.

I can see why your mum is so shaken. It must have been a shock, and a stomach churning one at that. However, my own feeling is that Sookie didn't view the kittens as little cats, and that her relationship with the adult cats won't have changed. I clearly can't promise that and would very much advise supervised interaction for a couple of days, but there is nothing in what has happened that would make me panic.

I hope your mum can bring herself to give Sookie another chance. It's clear how attached you are to her.

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

Sorry for your loss.

I can only echo LizP's advice. Obviously a distressing incident, but not the dog's fault and could have really been prevented. Not a reason to rehome, in my opinion.