Concerned about mother cat

I took in a mother cat with 8 babies on 3/16. I will be fostering them until they are old enough for adoption. They are 2 weeks old now. The mother cat is letting them eat OK but I have not seen her attempting to groom them. In past litters that I have fostered the mother was constantly licking her kittens. I have only had them 24 hours now but this seems odd to me. Am I worrying too much?

Thanks for any information on this.

Well have you been watching these cats 24/7? It's possible she only feels secure enough to lick her kittens when you are not around.

Are the kittens eliminating alright, and don't have gunk (aka feaces) stuck all over them? You can also do your part and stimulat them with petting if the mother cat will let you.
I dont' know where you have these cats but make sure they are all in a place where the mom feels totally safe, so she'll feel good enough to take care of the kits properly. Other then that I don't really know what to tell you right now. Maybe someone else can advise, or if she's not grooming them for sure, speak with a vet about what you can do.

If the mom is not stimulating them, then you have to. The best place to do this is if you have a double sink? place a towel down in the sink, and run a small trickle of warm water on the other side. Take the kitten and some cotton balls, and hold the kitt's rump into the warm water and gently massage with the damp cotton, the kitten's rump and stomach in a circular motion, until the kitty eliminates. You will get some on you, but this is the best way I have found to do this. The warm water helps to stimulate them and the sound of the water trickling encourages them to pee. Once they have eliminated the waste products, place the kitten on the dry towel and rub dry, then put back with mom and do the next.

The mom's tongue is essential to these kittens health. If you do not feel she knows how to be a mom, then you must step in and take over.