My Mama cat is about 10 mos. old w/3 2 wk old kittens, is this normal behavior for a young mom?

Question

Her kittens are growing and becoming very social, and she is still having issues feeding them since she only has one nipple that seems to work. She keeps moving the kittens from closet to closet and then "forgetting" where she moved them to...we are trying to just leave her be since we thought she was stressed with us helping her feed them. The smallest kitten gets very shaky and cries when too hungry, we try not to interfere now and let Mama feed it but step in and supplimental feed with KMR if the kitten is shaky or cries too much. Mama Kitty is very social to us and seems to have had no issues with us feeding her babies, we sit on the floor with kittens held in a towel to keep our scent on them to a minimum and Mama rubs against us and watches while we feed. The moving around of her babies just started yesterday, and it happened while we were gone for a few hours. When she moved them last night to a small pantry closet we just put a blanket on the floor in there and put a small wooden plank in the doorway so her babies wouldn't fall out of the raised front...it is still very easy for mama to get in and out and it gives her privacy. Late last night she started howling and going from the "old closet location" to our bedroom...she calmed down when I brought her to the new closet and showed her where the kits were. The vet wasn't much help with this, we have an appointment with another vet soon but in the meantime...any kitten "experts" are welcome to advise! We will be keeping one of the kittens and have arrangements to have both Mama and the kitten fixed. We found homes for the other 2 babies already, just waiting for them to grow. Thanks!

Answer 1

It's classic behavior for the mom as she feels her kittens are threatened.  It could also be her issues with only having one nipple that is functioning.  She's worried about something and her way of handling it is to move the kittens where she feels they'll be safe.  Their instinct is to hide the kittens from predators; even though there's none around, she still does it by instinct.  Don't get me wrong; I think you're doing a great job with her and the kittens; you should be commended.

I would agree with the last post.  Let her choose somewhere to put the kittens, and then just stay away from the area.  I would check in on the kittens maybe once a day, but never let her see you do it.

She's obviously very comfortable with you and has a lot of trust.  You know how cats knead sometimes?  Total instinct driven by their surroundings when they're content and comfortable.  

If she continues to have problems feeding, by all means intercede, but just don't let her see you do it.  Closing her in a bedroom while you do it would probably work.  If you use a towel to hold the kittens, rub it in their bedding, or better yet, use a towel from their bedding to hold them while feeding so she won't smell anything different.  Then put them back, get away from the area and only then let her out.  

The kittens still sound young if you're feeding KMR, as they would probably be on wet food by now. Hopefully it won't be long before they are and she'll be able to stop nursing.  Ofcourse that's when the real fun begins as you'll have little ones all over the house.  LOL

I wish you luck; it's great to hear of an animal being taken care of so well; very refreshing.  And congrats on getting them a home and getting them fixed.  Take care.  

Answer 2

Its perfectly Normal for her to act this way. especially a first time mom that's young.

Honestly, at 2 weeks old you shouldn't worry about your scent on them, seeing as how she rubs on you when you hold them.  If she were worried she would let you know in voice and body language.  If she only has one nipple that they feed from you need to supplement those kittens  alot.  All that she is going to give milk from should be working by 2 weeks.  Don't let the kitten get shaky or cry alot, it means their blood sugar has gone low, and that can lead to brain damage and other issues if it goes on to long.

  Queens move kittens out of instinct, the reasons are simple.  A clean place ( even though we think its clean if it smells of kitten to much they will move them), Fleas ( again there may not be any but mama thinks so), to much traffic and people coming by, or simply they just "need" to.   To help with this, change the blanket or towel you gave her every other day and wash it in HOT water with bleach.  Confine mama and the kittens to one room of your house for now.  It will help with her loosing them. give her a litter box and food/water dish in there as well.  Feed her kitten chow now, A nursing queen needs alot of calories to fuel herself as well as make the most nutritious milk for the kittens.   The ones you suplement with KMR need to be feed every 2-3 hours durring the day, even though they get to nurse alittle from mom,  3 of them on one teat will mean that only the strongest gets fed fully, and the weakest will get hardly anything at all.

Answer 3

She's trying to hide the babies. You all are handling them too much. Let her put the babies in a spoy that she THINKS you don't know about. Leave her alone, and just feed her, and she will totally take care of the kittens by herself. Cats do a great job of it.