can i move my kittens?

I have 3 week old kittens. they are behind my bed, the mom had them there. I was thinking if i can move them to a clearer space where i can see them more, but in my same room?

Chances are, if you move them, the mom will just move them back to where they were before. She's probably pretty happy with them behind your bed since they're protected back there. You may just be stuck! They're old enough to be handled, so you can try setting up a new "nest" for them and seeing if it meets with mom's approval, but don't be surprised if she just picks them up and moves them right back.

If you have a big cage (like a dog crate) you can put mom and the kittens in there to keep them in one place. I had a tokeyo cage which is similar to the wire cages that ferrets are kept in (with shelves).

The cage had room for kitten box, litter box, food/water dishes. The kittens were protected till they were ready to explore and mom could come/go as she wanted - she never moved the kittens out of the cage if she had them in there.

She will most likely move them right back unless she is confined to an area where she cannot get to it.

watch her if you put her in a cage though, if she isn't used to being caged she might be too stressed. My queen wont stay in a cage, she will carry the kitten and try to jump out, but can't because it's closed. She paces and walks all over the others while holding a kitten and she doesn't pay attention to them. I was so scared she would kill them I let her put them some place she felt safe, she is a wonderful mom, but doesn't like to be caged, I just don't cage my cats. She might have settled down if I had left the room and she calmed a bit but I was too scared to take my chances

Rags, you really should work on making your cats/kittens "cage friendly" - there are many times where you would have to cage them for various reasons.

All of mine were allowed free run of the house, but all of them were comfortable being caged for periods of time.

I put them in there on when they need to be, but not with her kittens, and I was just mentioning it to a person who doesn't breed cats or probley have a cage for it, so I just wanted her to becareful because i'm sure the cat isn't cage friendly.
But, thanks for the advise, although there hasn't been many times i've had to cage them

I guess I am lucky in that Lexus actually chooses to deliver her kittens in an extra-large dog crate and then raises them there without a fuss too. I don't usually close the door until the babies get a little older so Lex can come and go as she pleases.

While I can completely understand why anyone wouldn't want to cage their cats, I do agree that there are reasons for it at times. For the safety of both the mother and kittens, it can be a lifesaver sometimes.

For someone who doesn't normally allow their cats to have kittens, all of the extra stuff that breeders use really isn't practical. But you can always go to WalMart and get a crate for under $75 and then sell it if you don't need it anymore afterwards - I have always had one though, even before I began breeding, because there are times when you need to confine a cat for various reasons for their own protection and it always came in handy for those times.

Mine were the same way - could leave the cage door open for mom to come and go and she kept the kittens in there

But even if you never have litters or show, etc. if you have multiple cats, its a good idea to have some sort of cage/very large carrier (that will hold a litter pan) just in case.

You never know when you might have to separate a cat and get stool sample or confine them for any reason.

Bijou's breeder also had a large cage for mom and babies and left the door open for mom to come and go.

My foster Sugartoes started moving her kittens at about 2 weeks (I think), and would only move part of them. I moved them all into a large cat carrier with the door blocked open. This way it felt like a safe area to her, yet it was easy to keep clean and see the kits.

A cage is ideal, because pretty soon those babies are going to be walking (and pooping) all over! They get the hang of the litterbox pretty quick, but it is still nice to be able to contain them! LOL! As as foster Mom, I have a cage that is 2 dog cages wired on top of each other, with shelves added. So I could leave the top door open for the Mommas to come and go, and keep the bottom door closed unless I wanted the babies out wandering. Of course, before long, they can jump and climb, and get out the top of the cage pretty quickly, but it did help for a while. (I always left a chair beside the cage for kitties to jump out the top opening so they don't get hurt, and so Momma can get back inside easily.)

My cat Yen just had her babies 4 days ago under my dresser and then she moved them herself the next day to under my bed. I made her a nice warm little nest in a big box ( I cut out an opening)with a blanket inside and then moved them into that so they wouldn't be under my bed. So far Yen hasn't moved them back to under the bed yet.

I actually had a great idea. My queen was not comfortable in a dog crate, so I bought her a kids tent. It is five feet by six feet. She loves sitting in the tent. I put blankets and towels in the tent.When she decides it is moving time I will just shut her in. The tents are very inexpensive. I got mine for ten dolalrs.

Thats not a bad idea. Mabey my queen would feel more comfortable in some thing like that.

I love this idea! I am going to have to go to Wal-mart and look around for one of those things! Thanks for a great tip!

I have kept kittens in one of these. It's big enough to put food and a litter box at either end and still have room for the kittens to play while staying safe inside.