My 2 week old kittens

debbie05

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hi i dont know much about first time mumma cats and their kittens but my cat millie 2weeks ago had 3 adorable little babies one black and white and two black ones well she has been well settled and happy with them and was feeding them well but for the last few days she has seemed a little restless around them, they have stared walking around well should i say low crawling around as their legs are strong enough to hold their bodies up they were all kept hidden away but the mother cat a few days ago brought them all out right in the middle of my bedroom carpet so i gathered that her instincts brought them out to stretch their legs well since they have became more mobile and roaming around she has started to get very rough with them by pinning them down and biting them under their throats for long periods of time she also holds them down with her paws and whilst got her mouth locked underneath their heads she is with her back paws pounding it in the head she doesnt seem to want them moving around she will do this to all 3 is she just a inexperienced mother and will most certainly not hurt them in any way or is their something wrong im doing a 10mins check on her and babies at the moment making sure the babies arnt suffering to much and not sure weather i should take them away from her or just trust in her that she wont let them come to any harm many thanx for reading this and hope to here back if any of you have been through this before and can help in anyway i will most certainly love you input many thanx Debs x
 

kumbulu

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Hi Debbie, welcome to TCS.


This aggression that the mother cat is showing towards the kittens (biting and rabbit-kicking) is not normal. As you said, she may be overwhelmed and anxious.

Things you can do to help her:

Get a big cardboard box or Rubbermaid container. Line it with a towel or blanket and put the kittens and mumcat in there. Cats don't usually like to stay at the place they gave birth as it smells of all the birth fluids and, for the cats instincts, may attract predators.

Something else you can use is a cat carrier if it is large enough and the mumcat is not scared of it. Some cats are very scared of the cat carrier, as it means they are probably going to the vet!

Mumcat may be doing this as a way of trying to tell you that she is ill. I would recommend that you take her and her kittens to the vet for a check-up.

If the vets says that she and the kittens are healthy, you may have to take over the kittens care to ensure their safety. When mumcats are very anxious, they may kill the kittens. If you do end up having to hand-raise the kittens, please visit www.kitten-rescue.com .

Are you feeding mumcat good quality kitten food? She needs the extra calories to nurse the kittens.

It is possible mumcat is going back into heat, as she can mate and become pregnant as soon as a week after giving birth.
 

taterbug

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Momma cats will also start teaching their babies survival skills at around 2 or 3 weeks of age.Things like...how to get away if something grabs thems,how to fight back,etc. It's part of their learning! If you don't see blood,cuts,or puncture wounds,then I wouldn't be too concerned. Of course,that's just my experience....
 
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debbie05

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thanx so much for the quick response to this post thanx for the advice and yes i will go sort out a bed right now i will keep checking on them all night making sure all is well and first thing in the morning i will get them all in to the vets and have them all checked over thanx again for the advice x i do pray all will be well the mother cat is normally so placid and sweet she has never ever scratched or lashed out and me or my family and she has been the perfect mother for the past 2weeks i just dont understand why the change of mood the place where she had them was all clean as where she gave birth to them she moved in the first 3days she has been very happy with where she moved them all too but im almost sure that because they were moving around to much and she couldnt move to well as the location she choose was so small she couldnt even turn around that she just brought them out for more space but maybe she just couldnt find another suitable spot for them anyways thanx again and it was good of you to respond i will act straight away as im happy to accept any help that i can as i love millie and i love all her babies too x
 
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debbie05

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sorry was also meant to add yes she is on a very good kitten food as i had great advice on her pregnancy care x
 

kumbulu

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Just wanted to add, once the kittens are 8 weeks old, Millie can be spayed. Once the kittens are 10-12 weeks, old, they can go to their new homes.
 

kumbulu

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tater, I have never seen a mumcat who is caring for her kittens well, rabbit-kick or pound her 2-week-old kittens in the head.
 

taterbug

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Then I guess the ones I've had were an exception! I've had and observed serveral cats raise kittens in my life time and they all started wrestling,rabbit kicking,grabbing the babies when they ran,etc.,and they have never harmed them. Booger,the cat in my siggy,was especially good at doing that. She was an excellant mother and her daughter Anna,(also in my siggy) was the fiestiest little thing you ever saw. And she still is!
 

kumbulu

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I guess what concerned me was that she "with her back paws pounding it in the head". I know mumcats rabbit-kick, wrestle and bite sometimes but stop if the kitten lets out a yelp.
 

taterbug

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Originally Posted by Kumbulu

Maybe the fosters I've had are the exception in that they are exceptionally gentle - I'm not sure.
You know...that may actually be the difference! Booger is a hyper cat...and so is Anna. Boo is 8 yr old and acts like a 3 month old,playing and running around the house. Maybe it's genetic!
 
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debbie05

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well last night after signing up here for some quick help i took the advice given and found millie a lovely little safe corner under my bed with a box big enough for her to get out but not big enough for the babies to roam around i put a nice little cotton sheet in and placed millie and her babies in their but she wasnt having none of it and brought them one by one back out and straight back on my bedroom floor next to my bed but she laid with them and had them all cuddled up next to her and they began feeding so i left them too it when i went up to bed i found myself not going into a deep sleep but being a sort of baby watcher and just keeping my eye on them all she had a good night sleep and seems to be in brighter spirits today the kittens are very lively i have popped up a few times and they are moving around millie goes over and sweeps her paw and pulls them back to where she wants them maybe she was having a odd moment i just dont know but although we all had a good night and the kittens were happy and not crying we are all off to the vets today to get them all checked over just to be on the safe side i will update later on how we all got on also i have some pictures that i have taken of then when they were only a few days old that i would love to share with you so thanx again for the good advice its so nice knowing how wonderful the web can be and to find this site and to get some good advice from people who can share in the same experiences or have been their done it was fantastic as you could tell last night i was so frightened and honestly didnt know what to do first so thanx to you i think im a little more experienced now than i was yesterday fingers crossed that things have and will stay settled with them all now x x x
 

lil'misskisses

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Im glad things are are settled for you this morning.

I know momma cats will try and teach their babies how to behave and defend themselves but I have never seen a cat being so rough with kittens at such a young age. I have always experienced this with the older kittens who were very active so I would have been concerned too.

Would love to see pics of your little ones when you get chance.

Oh and good luck at the vets!

Emma x x
 
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debbie05

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well we got on great today the babies are healthy and doing well the black and white one is 9oz the all black one is 10oz and the all black with just tabby legs is 12oz so within the good range for 2weeks old kittens we have to watch her closely because of the way she has been but i can honestly say today she has been very gentle with them and keeps them close to her she still wont go anywhere cosy or confined she still wants them out right smack bang in the middle of the carpet my side of the bed how strange she is but we have been adviced that if she is happy their then leave her be she will keep the kittens under control and only let them move where she feels happy to let them if she isnt happy she will call them or go get them back i just cant believe how mobile they are for such young ages and they seem to be more awake than asleep looking around with such gorgeous blue eyes and ears all pricked up they really are sweeties but we had them sexed and the two black ones are males and the black and white one is female all i need now is names so any suggestions will be greatly recieved also here are some pictures of the kittens sorry if they are hard to see but beings they are cuddled up on top of each other it does sometimes look like a black mass on the floor
These Pictures are when they were only days old



i will take some updated pictures tomorrow of them to post up so you can see how much they have grown but i think millie had a busy day today and she wouldnt want me disturbing her to much taking pictures x
 
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