momma cat with 6 week old kittens

im having an odd thing going on with momma cat...

Almost every night for the fast few days she keeps taking one kitten from the bedroom and bringing it out to the living room. I have a baby gate blocking the doorway and she keeps jumping over it with the kitten. Im so afraid shes going to hurt the poor thing while jumping over it. Also its just one kitten...and the same one every time. He doesnt seem any different than the others.

Any Ideas on why shes doing this??

I'll move this to the Pregnant Cats & Kittens forum where they will likely have more ideas about this.

I dont have any idea... B
ut it seems like she wants to separate him, perhaps even abandon. ??

Does she otherwise nurse him like the others?
Did you see if she keeps on to nurse him there in living room, or do she leave him there?

If she is so handy with jumping over the gate and you are afraid for him getting hurt, perhaps take away the gate.

Lay down something else, lower, to stop the kittens crawling over. Perhaps some books.

not sure on this but could she sense there is something wrong with the kitten, maybe phone the vet get the kitten checked?

I come to think.

Can it be so she is simply moving them all, like moms often do, and always beginning with him??

But everytime gets interrupted by you?

It sounds like she doesn't feel secure where she is. My cats used to do this whenever they felt insecure in a place or diddn't like where I'd put their "nest", especially if they are first time mommies, they need to be secure.

Unfortunately, although you try to be on the ball so to speak, you can't always prevent tragedies. One of my cats was a VERY nervous mommy, and unfortunately, moving the babies caused two infant fatalities, because she tried moving them behind pillows, and the babies dropped behind them. I wasn't fast enough to catch it, and the worst happened.

I'm lucky in many ways, that when I've had cat pregnancies, they've been near in tandem and the moms co-raise the babies, so if there is a nervous mom, the other usually calms the nervous mom down and helps stabilize the kittens. I'm a big fan of co-raising, because the kittens are always healthier & more affectionate because of it in my experience.

It sounds like, if she stays with him in the lounge, looming over him, that she is starting with him, but is getting interrupted. Or she gets tired after one if it's a big litter. It sounds like wherever you have her, she's panicking.

You need a dark, secure place for her. A broom cupboard is perfect. Lock her in with the kittens, her litter tray, her food and water, but first make sure there is air. Mommy cats in the early infant stages, shouldn't move around too much. They prefer being with the babies. They'll move when they want food or water or to use the litter box. If she's this fidgety, I don't think she likes your choice of where you have her.

Keep in mind, I don't think open topped boxes are good, or washing baskets, the mommy cat will feel so insecure, she'll feel vulnerable, after all, if in the wild, with an open topped box, in the middle of a room, what protection does she really have? Somewhere nice, dark, warm and secure will do her well, and if it's behind a locked door (like a wardrobe or broom cupboard) she can't move far anyway.

Ive had them in our closet up until this past week or so. She doesnt seem to go back and get any other kittens. Just that one boy. I left her alone one night just to see what she did and she just layed out here with him. I have an appointment with the vet today for the whole litter. 6 week shot/deworming and all that good stuff. I ask him what he thinks

Originally Posted by Zelda7227

she just layed out here with him.

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Oh, so whatever she is up to, she isnt abandoning him. If something, so sooner abandoning the rest of the litter...


About the fear the abandoned kitten is sick, and thus why he is left. Yes, it is quite common.
But I have heard also of opposite cases: the mom giving extra attention to the sick kitten.

Good you are also asking the vet. As they all seem healthy to you, it is prob no health issue. but good he checks anyway. And besides, it is a person with a lot of experience and also hearsey knowledge.

Good luck!

Hmm, that's odd Well, it's not a great thing for her to be moving him since he's getting big now- I'm just making sure...they are 6 weeks right? I wasn't sure if your question meant 6 one week old kittens, or 6 six weeks olds If they are 6 weeks, than it's not too bad since they're big enough to be away from mom for a little while

well the vet today said they are all healthy. the one she keeps bringing out is the runt but he also said that hes just as healthy as the rest. and there are 6 of them, who are all 6 weeks old. just to clarify he also said that its time to keep momma and kittens separate which isnt proving to be very easy

Originally Posted by Zelda7227

he also said that its time to keep momma and kittens separate

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What, separate them from each other?? *shocked*

Nay, they should be together AT LEAST 2 weeks more!


Perhaps he is one of these oldfashioned bringed up when the kittens were sold at 6-8 weeks.
In such circumstances it may make some sense to separate them before they are sold.

The whole point at selling kittens at 10-12- even 14 weeks, as held by all modern breeders, is to let the kittens be together with mom and siblings till they had learned a lot from each other...


Excellent they are all healthy, although some hard jumping while hanging by the neck.

Yes, I'm a little surprised he said to separate them at 6 weeks...I'd wait until their 8 weeks
Does the room they're in have a door? Maybe you could close it at night if there is. And just a thought, is the room they're in warmer/colder than the living room? That could maybe be why, but it still wouldn't explain why just the one...

The room there in does have a door. Ive been keeping it closed ( I just have to rig it closed because the genuis who installed it didnt match up the hole in the frame with the door knob)...things seem to slowly be getting better

I wouldn't have separated them.. from 6 to 8 weeks they can learn a lot from mom about good catiquette! Not everything a vet says is right.