Advice needed on mama cat in bunk-bed

Thank you in advance for reading my (long!!) story and offering any advice that you can.

We have a 1 year old cat, Shilo, that just gave birth to 4 beautiful kittens. She is very bonded with my daughters and sleeps every night with my 6 year old daughter in the top bunk.

I made a nice cozy box for her in a quiet, dark, warm room (laundry room). She went in it a few times but was never interested. Yesterday I found her on the top bunk of my daughters' room and she had had her first kitten. She hadn't made a sound; in fact our older cat was fast asleep at the foot of the bed for the entire birth. I didn't want to disturb Shilo so I let her finish the entire birth process there on the bed.

When Shilo was finished and was settled in with her kittens, I moved her and the kittens in the box to the laundry room where I thought she would be happier and less bothered.

She stayed there for about one minute--I left to fill up her nearby bowl with some fresh water--and I saw her streaking through the house with a kitten in her mouth, and she bounded up the bunk-bed ladder back to her original spot. I could see that she would probably go back for the rest of the kittens too, so I moved her kittens back with her to the bunk-bed, and blocked off all the edges with pillows so they wouldn't accidentally squirm off the side. Her spot was toward the bottom of the bunk-bed, so I allowed my daughter to sleep in the bed, since there was room, and Shilo had shown only affection toward us and no agitation.

When I checked on her during the night. I saw that she had left her original spot and moved all of her kittens up next to my daughter. She usually sleeps next to her near her pillow--she is a very snuggly cat, but I did not expect her to bring her kittens up there. I left her there once I saw there was no chance of danger of my daughter rolling onto the kittens.

Today, I made Shilo a shallow box with a soft blanket inside so that she could be on the bed but I could more easily change the bedding when it became soiled. But at bedtime, Shilo once again left the box and brought her kittens up to where my daughter slept.

I'm afraid that if I move my daughter to sleep somewhere else, Shilo will follow her with her kittens. I don't want her carrying them all around the house, especially up and down the bunk-bed. Do you think it's okay to allow this to continue for a while longer? At what point do I need to encourage her to keep them at floor level, and how should I go about it?

Thanks for any words of wisdom that you might have--I appreciate the many useful tips that I have read on this forum.

Very tricky as once a cat gets set on a particular spot for her nest it's almost impossible to change her mind.  How old is your daughter? 

She might also be more ameanable to shifting the nest in a week or so.

They will be OK up there for a couple of weeks (if your daughter can manage it) but then they need to gradually start exploring.  Mattress on the floor?  I wonder if it's your daughter or the height she wants?

Thanks for your reply. Last night was a difficult night. My daughter slept in the guest room but Shilo tried to move her kittens. I'm not sure what is causing it but it seems she wants close human contact at all times. I ended up successfully moving her to the bottom bunk and so far she has stayed, but I slept with her. I haven't been this tired since I had a baby of my own. Who knows what she will decide tonight.

On another note, I have been weighing them each day. They were born 3/1. The morning of 3/2, their weights were all around 130g except for the littlest which was 115. This morning, 3/3, all had significant weight gain (11g, 17g and 18g) but the littlest one only had a 6g weight gain. I have started paying special attention to him to make sure he has access to nursing since he seems a bit more laid-back than the others. Should I worry if he shows another low weight gain tomorrow?

One other question. Shilo frequently licks their bottoms--I assume this is to clean them up, but I haven't seen any signs of urine or poop on the bedding. When do they start making bigger messes?

Thanks!

hey,im new to kittens and cats in general.my vet told me that mum cat will lick their bottoms to make them go to the toilet and will take care of the mess.

our smallest kittens weight gain is also a little slower then the others and the vet seemed to think that was ok

sorry i cant be more help x

Here is a photo of Shilo with her kittens

Thanks for your response. I will just keep an eye on his weight gain and watch for signs of sickness.

what a beautiful mummy and kitten it will be normal for the runt to always stay the smallest, but by making sure you help the little one every now and then get better access, like you are, is really the best you can do. I would let the cat and kittens stay in your daughters room although on the floor if poss as it wont be long until they start exploring! Also with so many cats in one space try keeping ontop of the smell/mess a few times a day, obv as you can with having a new baby yourself x x

misgnomer said:

 all around 130g except for the littlest which was 115. This morning, 3/3, all had significant weight gain (11g, 17g and 18g) but the littlest one only had a 6g weight gain. I have started paying special attention to him to make sure he has access to nursing since he seems a bit more laid-back than the others. Should I worry if he shows another low weight gain tomorrow?

One other question. Shilo frequently licks their bottoms--I assume this is to clean them up, but I haven't seen any signs of urine or poop on the bedding. When do they start making bigger messes?

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Tasha is quite right, mom takes care of both this and that. So most kitten owners here has never seen poo of small kittens.

115g is a good weigh, no real runt so to speak,  and normally it shouldnt signal any trouble, not by itself. 

But if he gains just slowly, and is more laid back then the others - yes, you must look a little extra on him.  As you already do.

Good luck!

Kittens can lose weight in the first day or so (like human babies) so I wouldn't worry unless he continues to have small gains.

This morning he was up 15 grams so even though he seems weaker in neck strength than the others I think he is doing alright. Thanks for your replies <3

Good to know his is doing fine.