Mother Cat behaving strangely

Ok so my cat had 5 kittens about two weeks ago and everything has been fine until now. So 2 nights ago I was laying in be when I heard her moving around in the box with her kittens in it. I flashed a light to see what was happening and she was carrying on of her kittens in her mouth. She ended up taking it under my bed. I didn't know what to do so I crawled under there and wrapped the kitten up in a small towel and took her back to the box and that was the end of that. Tonight about an hour ago she was doing the same thing. I can't e call if it was with the same kitten or not.

I just wanted to know if this was normal. I read somewhere that sometimes mothers isolate their kittens when they're going eat them so I'm afraid that's what she's doing.

Please help!

Just as I was about to post this she did it again!!

Visually the kitten may look fine to us humans, but she must have sense something wrong with that kitten.

recomper said:

Visually the kitten may look fine to us humans, but she must have sense something wrong with that kitten.

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Alright so this is exactly what she did. She took the kitten under the bed, curled up with it and began to nurse it. She did that for a while and then she'd walk away. She stood halfway between the kitten and the box where the rest of them were and kept meowing at the lone kitten. It almost seemed as if she was trying to teach it to use its ears to make its way back home

It's not that unusual.  She may want to move all of the kittens under the bed.  Is it the same kitten that she moved?  Around 3 weeks the mother's move the kittens to a more social area of the house or closer to their favorite person.

 It's not that unusual.  She may want to move all of the kittens under the bed.  Is it the same kitten that she moved?  Around 3 weeks the mother's move the kittens to a more social area of the house or closer to their favorite person.

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 Alright so right now she's her kittens are in a pretty open and busy part of the house so I don't know if that's the case. And I truly believe it is the same kitten every time. It's the smallest one. It's about half the size of its biggest sibling. It almost seems as if she was trying to help it by taking it away and feeding it alone so it wouldn't have to compete with it's siblings.

It could be.  Another cat was doing this. Do you know how much the kittens weigh?

JP2016 said:

 
 Alright so right now she's her kittens are in a pretty open and busy part of the house so I don't know if that's the case. And I truly believe it is the same kitten every time. It's the smallest one. It's about half the size of its biggest sibling. It almost seems as if she was trying to help it by taking it away and feeding it alone so it wouldn't have to compete with it's siblings.

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Aha, perhaps a cue for you to do likewise, if you havent done it yet?

A sort of mini-rotating, where you ensure the smallest kitten gets some extra quality time with momma.

do it when the others are asleep.  Or even make do a little extra bed for them, fleece bedding, a warming cushion, etc.  And when the bigger has eaten and are sleepy and contend, you move them (eventually just two of the biggest and strongest) to this extra bed, and let them sleep there...

And moma gets good time with the smaller ones...

Its apparent this is no case of the abandoning of the weakest kittens - which do happens sometimes, yes.   Its really the reverse here.  Which also may happen occasionally.

Perhaps you should move all of the kittens and their nest into your bedroom where it is more peaceful and quiet. Nursing moms do not like being in open spaces with their kittens.

It may be that you need to supplement this runt with kitten formula until it gets bigger. You would need to buy powdered KMR and a kitten bottle or small syringe to feed it 5 mL every 3-4 hours to help it catch up.

Do you know how much it weighs compared to the others?

Handsome Kitty said:

 
It could be.  Another cat was doing this. Do you know how much the kittens weigh?

Click to expand...

StefanZ said:

 
Aha, perhaps a cue for you to do likewise, if you havent done it yet?

A sort of mini-rotating, where you ensure the smallest kitten gets some extra quality time with momma.

do it when the others are asleep.  Or even make do a little extra bed for them, fleece bedding, a warming cushion, etc.  And when the bigger has eaten and are sleepy and contend, you move them (eventually just two of the biggest and strongest) to this extra bed, and let them sleep there...

And moma gets good time with the smaller ones...

Its apparent this is no case of the abandoning of the weakest kittens - which do happens sometimes, yes.   Its really the reverse here.  Which also may happen occasionally.

Click to expand...

sarthur2 said:

Perhaps you should move all of the kittens and their nest into your bedroom where it is more peaceful and quiet. Nursing moms do not like being in open spaces with their kittens.

It may be that you need to supplement this runt with kitten formula until it gets bigger. You would need to buy powdered KMR and a kitten bottle or small syringe to feed it 5 mL every 3-4 hours to help it catch up.

Do you know how much it weighs compared to the others?

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I haven't weighed the kittens yet. Is that done with a regular, human scale that you keep in the restroom? 

That all makes sense. I'll try setting up a second bed nearby. 

Haven't weighed them. And ill try the powdered milk too. Any idea on which to do first( making 2 beds or using formula)?

J jp2016

Move the mom and kittens into your room first. Put mom's food, water, and litter in your room also for now.

You'll need a digital kitchen scale from Walmart to weigh the kittens. They will not register on a bathroom scale.

Walmaert sells PetAg powdered kitten formula and bottles. Otherwise go to a pet store .

sarthur2 said:

Move the mom and kittens into your room first. Put mom's food, water, and litter in your room also for now.

You'll need a digital kitchen scale from Walmart to weigh the kittens. They will not register on a bathroom scale.

Walmaert sells PetAg powdered kitten formula and bottles. Otherwise go to a pet store

.

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Ok so once I weigh them, what should be my goal after that to simply make them match?

JP2016 said:

 
Ok so once I weigh them, what should be my goal after that to simply make them match?

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You follow each kitten, especielly the smallest / weakest, and make sure it gains every day, minimum 6grammes for a born smallish, but preferably 10 -- biggish healthy kittens may gain more.

Ie, if the kittens dont gain, its usually because it gets too little food, so you supplement it more...  Or help it in other ways, for example, by making sure it gets more  quality time with mom.

StefanZ said:

 
You follow each kitten, especielly the smallest / weakest, and make sure it gains every day, minimum 6grammes for a born smallish, but preferably 10 -- biggish healthy kittens may gain more.

Ie, if the kittens dont gain, its usually because it gets too little food, so you supplement it more...  Or help it in other ways, for example, by making sure it gets more  quality time with mom.

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Alright I'll do my best to try to help the little guy. Thanks for the help.

If you post their weights we can tell you your goals and how much to supplement.

Let us know how mama cat likes the move to your bedroom .

sarthur2 said:

If you post their weights we can tell you your goals and how much to supplement.

Let us know how mama cat likes the move to your bedroom .

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Alright so the cat and her young ones have moved into my closet. I've taken a few trips to Walmart and Target and have had no luck getting a scale. But just now she crawled into my bed with her runt and proceeded to nurse it! I see now she's only trying to help it when she drags him off. She's nursing him separately so he won't have to compete with his bigger sibblings

!

It would be with the kitchen/baking supplies.