There's a cat in my neighborhood that I've taken in during her pregnancy and she finally gave birth yesterday to what appear to be four healthy kittens. I've been feeding this cat for years and since she's been living She actually with us she has been pretty obedient, letting us touch her and listening if we tell her to get down off of furniture or other off limit places.
She gave birth on the top platform of a stairwell where we go up and down everyday so I figure she must be kind of comfortable if she chose there especially since I left my actual apartment door open the night before giving her access to part of my living space thats darker and quieter.
Well today we have been trying to figure out how to change the dirty linen. In the end we decided to set up another box nearby in hopes she moves them on her own. While we were cleaning off the platform to put up another box she started hissing and growling at us. Eventually she laid down our continued growling every time anyone walked past her. So its very apparent there's no way she will let us actually touch the kittens if she is so over protective for no reason?
She's let me, my sister and both of our boyfriends... all people she is familiar with actually pretty her while she's in the box with the kittens but we're sure if we even touch them a little bit she will freak out. . Another weird tid bit, she attacked my boyfriends arm last night while he was sitting with her on the bottom of the steps... just seconds before she was rubbing on him and letting him pretty her. He was nowhere near the kittens.
I'm a bit lost on how to handle the next few weeks.
How should I handle changing the linens if she won't move them on her own?
In a few weeks we will have to move the box to a enclosed room to ensure the kittens safety so they can't wonder out and down the steps.... That's another hurdle.
Also when and how can we socialize the kittens if mother cat won't let us handle them?
If anyone has any general advice with dealing with housing angry mother cats and newborns it is all appreciated. She's not super angry but she is angry enough.
Im intimidated by her when she's upset but it seems she's kind of chosen me as her human mom since she followed me around a lot before going into labor and seemed to want me to be with her while she was giving birth. Last night she kept coming down stairs into my apt.... then I'd go back In the hallway and make her go back to the kittens. She'd only go up once she saw me start going up the steps. This was right before she attacked my boyfriend.Thoughts on this behavior are also appreciated!
She gave birth on the top platform of a stairwell where we go up and down everyday so I figure she must be kind of comfortable if she chose there especially since I left my actual apartment door open the night before giving her access to part of my living space thats darker and quieter.
Well today we have been trying to figure out how to change the dirty linen. In the end we decided to set up another box nearby in hopes she moves them on her own. While we were cleaning off the platform to put up another box she started hissing and growling at us. Eventually she laid down our continued growling every time anyone walked past her. So its very apparent there's no way she will let us actually touch the kittens if she is so over protective for no reason?
She's let me, my sister and both of our boyfriends... all people she is familiar with actually pretty her while she's in the box with the kittens but we're sure if we even touch them a little bit she will freak out. . Another weird tid bit, she attacked my boyfriends arm last night while he was sitting with her on the bottom of the steps... just seconds before she was rubbing on him and letting him pretty her. He was nowhere near the kittens.
I'm a bit lost on how to handle the next few weeks.
How should I handle changing the linens if she won't move them on her own?
In a few weeks we will have to move the box to a enclosed room to ensure the kittens safety so they can't wonder out and down the steps.... That's another hurdle.
Also when and how can we socialize the kittens if mother cat won't let us handle them?
If anyone has any general advice with dealing with housing angry mother cats and newborns it is all appreciated. She's not super angry but she is angry enough.
Im intimidated by her when she's upset but it seems she's kind of chosen me as her human mom since she followed me around a lot before going into labor and seemed to want me to be with her while she was giving birth. Last night she kept coming down stairs into my apt.... then I'd go back In the hallway and make her go back to the kittens. She'd only go up once she saw me start going up the steps. This was right before she attacked my boyfriend.Thoughts on this behavior are also appreciated!