Kittens were born on Monday evening...

Our cat smokey gave birth to three kittens on Monday evening and has been feeding them majority of the time since that birth in a little "cove" type area we have underneath where our TV is.

But Tuesday evening (tonight) she's been picking them up one by one and taking them under the bed in the bedroom and placing them in an old cardboard box underneath the bed. Im not entirely sure she can fit herself into the box to feed them under there but everytime we put the kittens back where they were Smokey is adament they are placed under the bed.

And since she placed them under the bed she hasn't fed them, i'd say they were last fed three or four hours ago... she's been having time to herself lounging around the house. Is this normal? How long can those kittens go without being fed again and is it fine she's leaving them alone? they aren't squeaking so they must still be sleeping, although we had to move one back into the box and it squeaked and smokey came running back in to check out what was going on so i guess thats a good sign.

Up until this point though she's been feeding them fairly non-stop and sleeping alongside them....

If anyone can re-assure me on that and give us any tips or advice on making sure everythings ok and being done right please let us know.

Sorry, I do not know much about kittens, but I will bump this so maybe someone who missed it will see it. I think they can be left alone short periods with no ill effects, though. Good luck, please keep us posted.

I would cut down one side of the cardboard box so she can get in it.

Mother cats move their kittens to keep them safe from predators.

Is the location of your TV in a high traffic area? Like the living room?

Sorry I missed this when you first posted. How are the kittens doing? It may be that mom was feeding them when you weren't looking. When Goldy had her kittens, after the first day or two she would stay with them long enough to feed, then go find a place where she could sleep undisturbed.

Everythings fine now it seems, she's taken them out of the box and now they're just under the bed on the carpet so she can curl up next to them and feed them easier, then when she leaves the kittens curl up with each other for warmth although the house is always warm anyway.

Basicaly she feeds them through the night and sleeps next to them through the night then during the afternoon she lays about the house doing her own thing and then goes back to feed them later on in the evening and they all appear to be healthy kittens and developing fairly well(although this is my first time having kittens being rasied in my house so i wouldnt really know.) but there dont seem to be any problems.

Smokey has gone from looking like she ate a beach ball to having the body weight of Kate Moss again lost it pretty quickly.

Weve got......

A kitten with grey patches and white everywhere else.

A kitten with black patches and white everywhere else(kinda like the felix cat)

A kitten black all over with white paws and white nose/mouth.

Sounds like she's doing well! Just make sure she's getting enough calories, like a good quality kitten food while she's nursing!

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Sounds like she's doing well! Just make sure she's getting enough calories, like a good quality kitten food while she's nursing!

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We're supposed to feed our cat Kitten food while she's nursing?

We're buying the same cat food weve always bought her.

Originally Posted by Smokey&Bandit

We're supposed to feed our cat Kitten food while she's nursing?

We're buying the same cat food weve always bought her.

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Yes, definitely while she was pregnant and nursing. Higher calorie - otherwise she will get really really skinny and her milk won't be as nutritious.