Momma cat behavior help

Hi Guys, so the kittens are almost 3 weeks old now and all growing good. I usually let Mittens out of her small room to have some roaming time around the apartment so she doesn't get bored. Well this morning she was meowing at me and so while I was getting ready for work I let her out. Well she decided to place a kitten under my bed, which was a pain to get out and so I put her back into her room. Well I came home from work and let her out and she is meowing like crazy and seems fidgety. After about an hour out, and the bedroom door closed, she found this small area she could get into the bedroom from another room and tried to bring a kitten under the bed, don't worry all are accounted for. I don't know why she is acting so odd, could she be in heat? Nothing has changed in the apartment. When I out her back in her room the first time she climbed the door, it's a screen door and she moved the babies to the other side of the room. If she is in heat when will she calm back down? What can I do to make her more comfortable?

It's not uncommon for Mom's to start making den moves. In the wild they will move their babies frequently to throw predators off their scent. It is probably just this instinct kicking in. Although, if she keeps moving the same baby every time that may be something different. Try to keep her as confined as possible to minimize moves. In a few weeks she should mellow out. 

She may have also gone back into heat, especially if she's acting extra affectionate. I don't know if there are actual ways to make them more comfortable (other posters might) but when my fosters start calling again I find they really enjoy a good brushing and a nice butt scratch.   If you scratch her just above the tail and she sticks her butt in the air and wiggles around then she's definitely in heat. Double check she can't get outside! 

Oops forgot your last question. In my experience if she is in heat it generally lasts from a few days to a week. Just depends on the cat- I had one girl who I swear never went out of heat until she was spayed! 

Is the kittens bed kept clean? With bedding changed twice a day? My girls don't move kittens around, but it's not uncommon for them to do so, as said above if it's the same kitten it can be a health issue.

Girls usually call around 3-5 weeks after giving birth, lasts anything from 2-7 days sometimes longer. As a breeder I take my girls off call, but you'll just have to put up with it if she is coming into heat. 

she wants to move her babies,  at 3 weeks old she more than likely would have realized something is wrong with one of them long before now.

if she wants to move them, let her move them.

it is very unlikely that she has come back into heat (I have no idea what anyone else is talking about, but then I have little experience with indoor cats having kittens) but I know outdoor cats never come into heat while they've got young kittens, (Infact the only time I ever had a cat go into heat before her kittens were weaned was when something disturbed the are where one of the farm cats had a litter of 9 week olds and two were killed, the other went missing for four days before randomly showing back up, his mother had come back into heat, during that four days) once the kitten showed back up, she resumed her care of it and her heat cycle ceased early.

Gibbly said:

she wants to move her babies,  at 3 weeks old she more than likely would have realized something is wrong with one of them long before now.

if she wants to move them, let her move them.

it is very unlikely that she has come back into heat (I have no idea what anyone else is talking about, but then I have little experience with indoor cats having kittens) but I know outdoor cats never come into heat while they've got young kittens, (Infact the only time I ever had a cat go into heat before her kittens were weaned was when something disturbed the are where one of the farm cats had a litter of 9 week olds and two were killed, the other went missing for four days before randomly showing back up, his mother had come back into heat, during that four days) once the kitten showed back up, she resumed her care of it and her heat cycle ceased early.

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I have to respectfully disagree. Indoor cats do not have different heat cycles than outdoor cats, and lactation has nothing to do with the ability to get pregnant. Do your cats frequently have litters back to back? My guess is you don't notice how early they start calling because they find a mate and get pregnant while still nursing. The earliest I have seen is a cat going back into heat 12 days after giving birth, though for the majority it's between 3-8 weeks after. 

Gibbly said:

is very unlikely that she has come back into heat

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Yeah, I'm just a breeder so I wouldn't know right. The earliest one of mine called was 6 days after birth

There's also no reason to let a girl just move her kittens about, especially to an unsafe location.
Kittens can get sick at any age, just because they're 3 weeks doesn't mean you're out of the woods

Thanks for all the responses, this morning she seemed calmer, the babies were in a different spot in her room so I just put some fleece down under them and so she can go to either spot she likes. I change the fleece very often to keep everyone clean and smell free. It has been different babies that she keeps moving so I am not too worried something is wrong with them, but it was really cute seeing them in her mouth. They are all gaining weight like pigs which is good and momma ate very well this morning, so maybe she just decided to move them because she wanted to, I am going to try to keep her in that room more often and I blocked all entrances into my bedroom, lol, what an experience this has been.

Y'all must have some wierd arse cats then, because I have never EVER had cats go into heat while nursing a litter atleast not visably, and even if they did they always put their kittens first, nor have I EVER had an  outdoor cat have more than 1 litter a year.

I take that back, actually I did have one farm cat would would have 2 litters a year, one in March/April and one usually in late October, but other than that, no never had a cat have more than one litter.

so to say ALL cats go into heat while nursing a litter is inacturate because nursing a litter DOES have an effect on their heat cycles, completely different sets of hormones are needed for milk production which tells the mothers body she HAS kittens in the first place,this is why cats will go into heat within days of losing a litter, they know their kittens are gone, but their bodies still think they have kittens until those hormones die down.

so unless those instincts and hormones aren't very strong in the first place (which in the case of this cat, she seems like a good mother) I could understand a cat coming into heat while nursing litter

indoor cats and outdoor cats don't have different cycles, BUT indoor cats will come into heat more frequently than outdoor cats because people like to get rid of kittens at 5 and 6 weeks

It is true you can't say all cats do this or all cats do that. I don't think anybody was saying that. The point is because many cats do go into heat while nursing, that possibility cannot be ruled out.

The ferals next door have anywhere between 1-3 litters a year. Right now we've already had 2 and are going to be with a 3rd sometime in the next couple months (hopefully we can catch her before she has them outside since she is looking quite fat already but doesn't appear to be too close to giving birth yet) but they do go into heat while nursing their other babies. Our feral colony seems to take shifts with whose the mother. The mom of the kitten we caught about 2-3 months ago is the one pregnant now (and her two kittens we couldn't catch are still hanging out with her and cuddling with her and she's probably the best mother cat in that colony) and the one we took the 3 older kittens we have from (who was not so good of a mom and doesn't seem to care at all they left her) is enjoying a little break from dragging kittens around so she can sunbathe and do other things. Hopefully we can catch her and get her fixed before she gets pregnant again too (if she's not already)

Pnp26 said:

Thanks for all the responses, this morning she seemed calmer, the babies were in a different spot in her room so I just put some fleece down under them and so she can go to either spot she likes. I change the fleece very often to keep everyone clean and smell free. It has been different babies that she keeps moving so I am not too worried something is wrong with them, but it was really cute seeing them in her mouth. They are all gaining weight like pigs which is good and momma ate very well this morning, so maybe she just decided to move them because she wanted to, I am going to try to keep her in that room more often and I blocked all entrances into my bedroom, lol, what an experience this has been.

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Sounds like everything is going good and you resolved it! 

EmilyMayWilcha said:

It is true you can't say all cats do this or all cats do that. I don't think anybody was saying that. The point is because many cats do go into heat while nursing, that possibility cannot be ruled out.

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Well said EmilyMay. There was never an "all cats" label attached to anyone's statements. It was a "usually" or "not uncommon." We could have a long discussion on this, however, the OP's question was answered that it is a possibility that her cat has gone back into heat so there is no need to bicker about it further. 

Pnp26 said:

Thanks for all the responses, this morning she seemed calmer, the babies were in a different spot in her room so I just put some fleece down under them and so she can go to either spot she likes. I change the fleece very often to keep everyone clean and smell free. It has been different babies that she keeps moving so I am not too worried something is wrong with them, but it was really cute seeing them in her mouth. They are all gaining weight like pigs which is good and momma ate very well this morning, so maybe she just decided to move them because she wanted to, I am going to try to keep her in that room more often and I blocked all entrances into my bedroom, lol, what an experience this has been.

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Great news, hopefully she remains settled. 

Nope she was back to meowing at me like crazy this morning, I let her run the apartment but she just followed me meowing, after a little of walking around she went back and is feeding the babies. Nmaybe she just needs some adult conversation than is able to go back to baby talk with her babies.

The behavior you are describing does not sound abnormal to me. She likely either needs a break or is back in heat and looking for a little extra lovin. So long as she tends to her babies and they are for the most part quiet I wouldn't worry. If they are crying a lot and she ignores them then I would be concerned. I agree with MM that den moves aren't great for the kittens (one can get hurt in transport) but so long as those are to a minimum (and it sounds like you have given her two comfy places to choose from) then it's normal and I wouldn't stress over it. 

I wouldn't worry so much about her behavior, but about the kittens behavior. Keep weighing them consistently- any weight loss may indicate she's not nursing enough and they need to see the vet. If they are otherwise content then she's doing her job just fine! 

I think she just misses me, lol. Before the babies were born I put fleece up on half the screen door to her room and in the morning she moves it and peaks out meowing to come see her, and same thing when I get home from work, but she doesn't do it for my husband, too funny. I sit and et her and love on her and she seems super content with that,a Nd she follows me around telling me about her day, she's too cute. And the babies are 3 weeks old today and moving pretty well which is so cool to watch and she is much more relaxed Itwill me holding them and playing with them.

*sigh* is she rolling around on the floor in addition to the meowing?  or lifting her rear and treading with her hind legs, and trilling alot?

if she is then she's in heat, alot of mommas will call for no reason (I think they are bat-**** crazy and talking to themselves xD)

the easiest way to tell if she is in heat is to throw a tomcat in with her (just kidding o3o) is to grab her by the scruff, either at the base of the skull or infront of the shoulders, not hard, but grap a good big of skin and give her a bit of a tug, again not hard, if she's in heat them she SHOULD lift her rear up and tread with her hind legs as if she is being mounted (has always worked for me when I wasn't completely sure)

she could also have a bit of milk back-up if the kittens aren't nursing alot which can make her uncomfortable, she could be developing a bladder infection (one of our farm cats used to get them all the time after having kittens) OR she's just going bat-**** crazy and talking to herself -3-

I just think she is going crazy, lol. She just loves attention and especially when I am with the kittens I have to pet her also, and she loves when I pet her while she nurses them, she is one funny kitty.