New momma cat wants to get out of her box

Hi.  I am a very first time poster and very, very nervous new owner... we rescued a stray cat at the beginning of August and took her to the vet and learned she was pregnant...fast forward to yesterday when momma cat (Poptart) gave birth to one kitten.  The vet said that was possible because she is so tiny and young.  Last night she was in the box all the time w/her kitten and today she seems restless... getting out of her box when she wants to see us and she seems to want to come out of the room...but once her kitten starts to cry, she hops back in the box.  I don't know if this is normal or not.  We have 3 other cats (2 males, 1 female) so I have been keeping her and her kitten isolated in a bedroom and I will check on them every so often.  I'm afraid of her kitten getting cold when she leaves the box since there are no other kittens to snuggle with.. any help/suggestions?? THANKS!!!

she won't stay with the kitten constantly,in thw wild she would spend the day of the birth and the first night or so with the kitten, allowing it to nurse and learning it's smell/allowing it to learn hers, she does needs breaks, to eat and drink and go to the litterbox, and just time away.

in the wild she could be gone for a couple hours to hunt, in nature staying with the kittens for too long of periods is risky as her smell would attract toms/other predators, so the mother leaves to also let her scent die down.

so long as its's not too cold in the room where the kitten is, the mother shouldn't be gone too long for it to get cold

Thank you.  The room is pretty warm.  Since I have them separated from all the other cats, if she wants to come out and explore, should I let her or is it better to keep her in the same room.  I just don't know how the other cats would react to the kitten, so I've been keeping them separated. 

Depending upon what kind of mother she turns out to be (super defensive, or passive) it's probably better to keep the other cats away from the kitten, until it's atleast old enough to walk, because if your momma becomes a defensive mother (which she may if she was a stray) she will be relentless when/if she attacks one of your other cats for 'getting too close' to the nest, I had a cat who was a "hell on legs" momma, if she so much as so another cat clear across the field,she would run over at full speed, attack him/her viciously.

SO if you're worried about possible fights keep them seperate for a while, not only that but an older kitten has a better chance of defendind itself (obviously, a newborn can't do much besides be adorable xD) if one  of your other cats decided to be mean

Thank you so much!

Mums spend almost all their time with their babies, singletons can be an issue as its not enough to keep her interested - hence her wanting to wander a lot.
She may not have bonded properly yet also, it can take 24 hours of being confined with the little one for the instinct to kick in

Singleton mothers also come back into heat very fast, usually within 1-2 weeks and during those times often stop caring for the little one so be sure to weigh daily and keep a close eye on mum & baby

A small soft toy can take the place of littermates for snuggling and later learning to wrestle with

She seems to be bonding pretty well...she likes to come out for attention from us (we are keeping momma and baby in a room by themselves) but when baby cries, momma goes right back in.  I had thought about a little stuffed animal, but wasn't sure if that would be a suffocation issue.  We just our scale today and I weighed baby; he/she is just a touch over 143 grams or 5 1/4 oz.  I figured keeping momma in the room with kitten was the best thing to do.  As soon as she has weaned the kitten, we will get her spayed.

Great that she's being attentive, his (her?) weight looks great too. Hope things keep going well for him

I'm thinking a boy...not quite sure yet... today's weight was 163 grams

My cat just had 4 kittens. She leaves her box whenever the kittens are sleeping. Lately it is more and more. I think they just want a break like any new mom!! She walks out and stays close, sometimes she goes to the kitchen for a little but she never stays gone too long. I check on the kittens and they are always sleeping when she leaves. They know when they will need them. As soon as they cry she too goes right back in the box. She just needs a break. I was nervous at first too but now I have learned it's OK. She's still a good momma to her kittens!

Today's weight is 183..he/she gained 20 grams... he/she's been moving around the nest and trying to sit-up a bit...eyes are still closed though.. haven't gotten a great pic yet... still working on it...I do have a couple of grainy ones from Wednesday..

Today's weight is 199 grams

KimN said:

Today's weight is 199 grams

Click to expand...

Excellent

Today's weight is 215 and the eyes are open!  Happy 1 week birthday Patriot/Liberty...depending on if a boy or girl