Finally, kitten deaths occur naturally and for diverse reasons. Many queens will dispose of the body by removing it from the nest or moving the nest away from it. Another way of disposing of carrion is to eat it. Where the kitten is only partially consumed it may appear that the mother has killed it even if she is simply trying to dispose of a potential predator-magnet. In the domestic setting, the co-operating cats may be unrelated but may be very familiar with one another and act as though closely related.
Some males also become excellent and trustworthy kitten-sitters.
In a domestic situation, the owner may be viewed as 'the other queen' and it is not unknown for a female to transport all of her kittens onto the owner's lap, chair or into the bed so that the human can mind the babies while the queen takes some time out from maternal duties. Fortunately the domestic cat is adaptable enough that a 'happy families' situation usually prevails. In males, the kitten-killing behaviour is most often due to their highly competitive natures, something which has been modified by selective breeding but which has not been entirely eliminated as it is part and parcel of the male instinct.