I volunteer for a local rescue group and regularly foster kittens/cats. About 5 days ago I got a call from my apartment complex manager saying they had found a cat with four young kittens living outside one of the buildings. They know I foster so they asked if I or someone else from the rescue could take them. Although I am already pretty much full between my own cats and the kittens I'm currently fostering, I agreed to take them because 1) all our other fosters are full too, and 2) since I live here it was a lot easier for me to just go get them from the front office (plus since I'm doing them a "favor" the managment is being VERY lenient on me as far as the pet policy goes).
Anyway, mom is sweet and absolutely gorgeous. So affectionate. She was definitely a pet and not a feral cat--which we also have several of in the complex. The kittens are close to 3 weeks old I'm guessing and are going to be truly stunning. I set mama and kitties up in my walk-in closet with a box, bed, food & water, etc. to give her some privacy from all the other cats and make sure she and the kittens stayed safe. I've fostered kitties as young as 5 weeks before, but never a litter that was still nursing, this is my first experience with a mom and babies.
Mom, who I've named Morgan, is extremely affectionate and after a couple of days I started to let her out to explore the rest of the apartment and have a break from the kittens. Luckily my adult cats are so used to fosters coming in and out that when she arrived it didn't faze them a bit and she realized pretty quickly that they weren't a threat.
Now for the problem lol. This afternoon Morgan left the babies and was wandering around the living room and kitchen, etc. and I didn't think much of it. Then I heard meowing and when I went to investigate I found her on the bathroom counter. I figured maybe thats where she liked to hang out at wherever she lived before and left her there. She ended up staying in there for quite a while. Then a few hours ago I heard the kittens absolutely screeching and I could tell one of the voices wasn't coming from the closet. I got up to check on them and found that Morgan was in the process of moving all her babies onto the bathroom counter! I moved them back into the closet where they've been staying the past 5 days or so but she proceeded to try and move them again. So I shut the bathroom door. Then she started moving them and setting them down outside the bathroom door. She obviously really wanted them in there but them being on the counter is extremely unsafe especially since they're starting to become quite mobile.
I put Morgan and the kittens back in the closet and closed the door but she was scratching on the door to get out so I thought maybe theres something about the closet she doesn't like? So I let her out in my bedroom with the door closed and she moved the kittens into a corner of the room and seems ok now. She doesn't have as much privacy from the other cats and kittens but they're giving her space.
I want her to be able to move the kittens to wherever she feels most comfortable, but I can't let her move them somewhere so unsafe. Has anyone else ever had this happen where a mama cat tried to move the litter somewhere totally innappropriate? It just seems so strange to me lol. Any thoughts on why she's so fixated with the bathroom counter?
Anyway, mom is sweet and absolutely gorgeous. So affectionate. She was definitely a pet and not a feral cat--which we also have several of in the complex. The kittens are close to 3 weeks old I'm guessing and are going to be truly stunning. I set mama and kitties up in my walk-in closet with a box, bed, food & water, etc. to give her some privacy from all the other cats and make sure she and the kittens stayed safe. I've fostered kitties as young as 5 weeks before, but never a litter that was still nursing, this is my first experience with a mom and babies.
Mom, who I've named Morgan, is extremely affectionate and after a couple of days I started to let her out to explore the rest of the apartment and have a break from the kittens. Luckily my adult cats are so used to fosters coming in and out that when she arrived it didn't faze them a bit and she realized pretty quickly that they weren't a threat.
Now for the problem lol. This afternoon Morgan left the babies and was wandering around the living room and kitchen, etc. and I didn't think much of it. Then I heard meowing and when I went to investigate I found her on the bathroom counter. I figured maybe thats where she liked to hang out at wherever she lived before and left her there. She ended up staying in there for quite a while. Then a few hours ago I heard the kittens absolutely screeching and I could tell one of the voices wasn't coming from the closet. I got up to check on them and found that Morgan was in the process of moving all her babies onto the bathroom counter! I moved them back into the closet where they've been staying the past 5 days or so but she proceeded to try and move them again. So I shut the bathroom door. Then she started moving them and setting them down outside the bathroom door. She obviously really wanted them in there but them being on the counter is extremely unsafe especially since they're starting to become quite mobile.
I put Morgan and the kittens back in the closet and closed the door but she was scratching on the door to get out so I thought maybe theres something about the closet she doesn't like? So I let her out in my bedroom with the door closed and she moved the kittens into a corner of the room and seems ok now. She doesn't have as much privacy from the other cats and kittens but they're giving her space.
I want her to be able to move the kittens to wherever she feels most comfortable, but I can't let her move them somewhere so unsafe. Has anyone else ever had this happen where a mama cat tried to move the litter somewhere totally innappropriate? It just seems so strange to me lol. Any thoughts on why she's so fixated with the bathroom counter?
