My cat gave birth to three kittens

the catsage

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My cat gave birth on may 5, so tomorrow her kittens will become 2 weeks old. She has 3 kittens.

Today I heard a kitten screaming under my bed and the mother vocalizing, I didn't know what was going on but I knew the kitten was not supposed to be there. When I looked, the kitten was stuck on some piece of wood, momma cat was trying to pick her up through the neck, then vocalizing, then rolling around, then trying to pick her up, then repeating...then when she saw my face she started to meow, and when I got close to the kitten she moved to her nest and left the kitten there. I picked the kitten up and moved it back to the nest, then all the 3 kittens drank milk normally. Until now everything looks perfectly normal, but I am not sure what was going on.

All the 3 kittens look super healthy, any idea why she could have done that? Is it a cause of concern? She has only done it that one time until now but I got worried. My normal vet appointment for the kittens is in 2 weeks, should I be concerned or is this normal behavior? Is it possible she is starting to train the kitten? Or is 2 weeks too early?

Thanks.
 

newkitties

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I was just dealing with the same thing! Cats like to move their babies around until they find that perfect spot. Especially once they start growing! 

I got scared too.

Just make sure you're weighing them every day so you know there isn't anything wrong that mom might reject them for. But I'm sure everything is well! I'd love to see kitten pictures :)
 

Sarthur2

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It sounds like the mom was trying to move her kittens, but encountered an issue. I doubt that a 2-week-old kitten could have gotten there by itself.

Where is the nest located that they are currently using?
 
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the catsage

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Yes the mother definitely tried to move the kitten, it was way out of the kittens reach. I forgot to mention we had a guest earlier and as the guest had to pass through her bed mother cat got scared and ran to the other room (leaving the kittens there :p). Maybe that made her try to relocate them but then kitty got stuck and she failed. As long as she keeps feeding them until they wean off lol...after that they can be just friends :p

I'll bring pictures later as requested :)
 

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Do you plan to keep mom and all the kittens?

Can you move the nest into a more private location? Sounds like mom isn't quite ready for people to have access to the kittens.
 

catcrazy0

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sometimes the cats can sense

 there is something wrong with one the kittens she moves it away from the rest and she will not feed it.you need to get catsmilk for the kitten keep it warm.use a warn rag wipe it like the mother does for it to pee and poop until its big enough to start eating do not give a kitten regular milk it will kill them their stomach cannot process the milk but they can the catsmilk .i had this happen to me the mother cat quit feeding the smallest kitten she kept taking him out of the box and she would not do nothing for him.so at 1 week old i put him in a towel and got cats milk for him you can find a nursery bottle that is just made for baby kitten d\.i was feedind him every 3 hrs  around the clock wiping him off with a warn tissue so he would pee and poop.i did this for 4 weeks and he lived  i named him blackie and he is 6 yrs old and spoiled rotten lol
 
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the catsage

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Thanks for all the replies. The situation is back to normal, she is feeding the kitten, not trying to relocate any of them, its just the act that scared me. Luckily nothing wrong happened until now.

As to answer a previous question about keeping the mom and kittens, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, at the moment got momma cat and 3 kittens. Already found a home for 1 of the kittens and will be sending her there in july, and I am going to get mother spayed after the kittens start eating solid food. After that I got no plans, will see how things flow. The mother is a feral cat and gets seriously stressed when locked inside for extended periods of time, if I don't allow her to go out for at least an hour a day or so she starts to growl, hiss and scratch when touched...I'm not sure she's adoptable but going to try, going to get her spayed anyway whether I adopt her or not. She still gets along with her feral colony. Also constantly keeping an eye on her behavior to make sure she doesn't go into estrus. If she does she's staying in no matter what. I'm going to adopt 1 cat so is it going to be her or one of the babies I don't know, going to ask the vet for support on finding home to what's left.
 

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Sounds like a good plan. You may want to set her spay appointment for about the six-week mark since she's semi-feral. She will be going into heat around then, if not before. She'll still be able to nurse, and you'll also see her behavior calm down.

Also, if she goes into heat earlier, she may be gone for a couple of days, in which case you'll need to feed the babies yourself, so you might want to have kitten formula in the house.
 
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the catsage

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Hello,

Since last night, my nursing cat has been vocalizing a lot with her 17 days old kittens. The kittens do not respond, she still makes that "shaky meow", idk not quite a meow but I have no idea how to explain it. I've seen it on youtube with mother cats talking to kittens so I guess you understand what I'm talking about. I have no idea how to imitate it, I'm bad at imitating.

She hasn't done it that much until last night so I got a bit worried, and this morning she came to my room and woke me up by vocalizing like that, after feeding her she stopped. I got worried that one of the kittens may be sick and she is trying to tell me, but I don't think that's the case. 

Is this behavior normal during kitten growth? Is there anything to worry about? The kittens look perfectly healthy and they have already started to walk on 4 feet inside their bed :)

Thank you.
 

louann jude

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Yes my Lil Bit has never been a real vocal cat. Since having her kittens she talks to them a lot. Even with them almost 8 weeks old she has this special call saying come to eat. The first time I heard it I thought she was going in heat again. But as soon as they came running she laid down and they nursed. Didn't hear it again until nursing time. 
 
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the catsage

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Thank you. Yes I had the same worry, that she was going into heat but there are absolutely no other symptoms and she is not vocalizing loudly enough, so still not there. I hope she keeps herself cool until the time comes to get her spayed :p
 

di and bob

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Yes, I think she is calling to her kittens.BUT ti could be coming into heat also, my cat had a second litter only two and a half months after the first, so be careful!
 

talkingpeanut

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Mom will likely go into heat before getting spayed. Can you be sure to keep her inside and away from intact males? It's usually about 6 weeks after delivery, but it can be a lot sooner!

This sounds like vocalization to her kittens.
 

Sarthur2

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It's called trilling, and it's how mom cats communicate with their kittens. You are hearing it now because the kittens are becoming more active. You'll hear it more and more as the kittens begin to leave the nest.
 
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the catsage

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Their bed is a little bit high, I've put their pillows etc inside a plastic container with enough room for the mother and them to be in, because this eliminated the risk of them going around when they were tiny, was afraid we would accidentally step on them.

Today though I taught one of them how to go down, he is hyperactive and fell off a few times, today I helped him go down without falling with his face on the floor...the others followed. They also learned how to climb back up to their bed. The bed is about 6 centimeters high from the ground.

Now I have a small problem: A kitten invasion!!! They're 24 days old (3 weeks and 3 days) and they're already running around the room lol. Their mother is just sleeping. Should I restrict their movement or is it ok to let them roam around and explore? We're being super careful when walking, especially on brown rug as the kittens are brown as well.
 

StefanZ

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Their bed is a little bit high, I've put their pillows etc inside a plastic container with enough room for the mother and them to be in, because this eliminated the risk of them going around when they were tiny, was afraid we would accidentally step on them.

Today though I taught one of them how to go down, he is hyperactive and fell off a few times, today I helped him go down without falling with his face on the floor...the others followed. They also learned how to climb back up to their bed. The bed is about 6 centimeters high from the ground.

Now I have a small problem: A kitten invasion!!! They're 24 days old (3 weeks and 3 days) and they're already running around the room lol. Their mother is just sleeping. Should I restrict their movement or is it ok to let them roam around and explore? We're being super careful when walking, especially on brown rug as the kittens are brown as well.
They are quite young to be that active, and the mom takes it very piano - usually momma is more anxious...  Held them in that room one or two weeks more, but when they are 5+ weeks, its usual to let them roam around, and having their adventures.  Yes, they will take risks, and accidents MAY happen, even if you had kitten safed as well as you could.  But as the great pedagogue Janusz Korczak told "every child has the right to its own death" - meaning,  grotesque overprotection is as dangerous as not protecting at all...  Just be sure they can NOT go unsupervised outside.  Small kittens disappear so easily...

During the time, find them gears to play with in the room.  Something to climb on, cat toys of different shapes. etc...
 
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kittymomma1122

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I let mine roam and about six weeks. I started with supervised hour at a time, then worked up to longer times. I did put them back in the kitten room every night until they were about 3 months. Mine were feral kittens and I had trapped their mom so she would not roam our house.My husband was not as careful as I so I developed a headcount system. One jumped in the washer while doing laundry, one in dryer, one in the fridge, I have shut one in where the trash can is. We have a couch with recliners on it, watch those really close before opening or closing. Small kittens will get underneath and can get hurt in the mechanism underneath. They are three years old now and I still head count when I do laundry. Yes I am the over protective kitty momma. Have fun, but they will be a hand full for a while.
 
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