When should I move them?

msgoody2shoes

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Well the kittens turned 13 days old today. Their eyes are open and they are getting a bit rambuncious. Right now they are in the crawlspace and don't leave the box that Mary-Jane uses as a nest. Once the kittens are old enough to start crawling around and exploring I plan to move them to my room, but no sooner until I have to because that means my poor dog will have to be ex-communicated and he sleeps with me so it's a big deal, haha. Anyways, at what age should I move them up here?
 

jen

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I would move them out of the crawl space now but instead of just lose in your room, confine them to a large dog crate when you are not around. definately keep your dog out of there that might stress her/them out.
 

kumbulu

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I agree with Jen, now is a good time. If you don't have a dog crate, get a large cardboard box or Rubbermaid container, line it with a towel or blanket and put mumcat and the kittens in there. You could also clear out the bottom of your wardrobe and use that.
 

goldenkitty45

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Yes, move them now - you want to start getting them use to people, noise, other pets - tho I'd put them in a large dog crate too if you are not there to supervise. You also need to be handling them every day (a few times) so they are more social.
 
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msgoody2shoes

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Mary-Jane is so great with letting me handle her kittens. She will even leave the room if she feels like it when I am with them. When she has ready to have them she kept meowing at me for hours before I went to her nest and she went into labour and I realized that she didn't want to go into labour without me. Yeah, so she trusts me, now with that said, what is a good way to transfer the kittens upstairs that will stress Mary-Jane the least? They are in a box right now, but I have a larger plastic box upstairs from a doghouse to put them in. Should my mother and I just pick them up, and place them up there and bring her food and stuff? Is there probably going to be problems with her wanting to bring them back downstairs? How should I go about this?
 

kumbulu

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I would recommend taking the whole box of kittens upstairs and then transferring them to the new box. Leave the old box near or next to the new one, in case Mary-Jane decides that she likes the old box better. Move her food and whatever else she has to the same area, making sure that her food and litter box are as far away from each other as possible. This may sound odd but explain to Mary-Jane what you are doing as you move everything, reassuring her that the kittens are still safe.

Once everyone and everything is moved, perhaps shut the door to the room so that Mary-Jane and her kittens can adjust for a while.
 
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