Nesting box..

OK, I have never done this before so bear with me.

Thursday, Milo had her kittens in a cardboard box on the front porch late in the afternoon. As soon as she was done delivering, I moved her/box/kittens into my bedroom.

Next day - Friday, I prepared a better box and moved her and kittens into it. She seemed fine and dandy until about 2 the next morning - Saturday when she decided to move the kittens into my closet with the shoes. Not an ideal spot, but she would not be dissuaded. So, I got up and found an old baby comforter and leveled the mess and put it down over the shoes and left the kittens there for the night.

Saturday morning, I made a new box for her and moved the kittens into it and put it in the closet. She seemed satisfied with this arrangement until today - Thursday. Mom called and said that she moved them all under the bed while I am at work!

What do I do?

I would put them back in the closet, to be honest. She is looking for a place that makes her feel that the babies are safe. I think your moving her around to new, unfamiliar areas is stressing her out.

I would take a blanket that has her and the kittens smells on it and move it into the closet...then keep the door partially opened and block off under the bed. (I took a cardboard box and cut strips to place from the box spring to the floor all around the bed. I used packing tape and it worked really well, fwiw)

Sounds like she has no interest in a nesting 'box', LOL. Sometimes they are picky that way.

The only reason I would not leave her and the kittens there is because you cannot get to them if there is an emergency.

Good luck to you! Any chance that you have pics of the mom and kittens?

Maybe mom doesn't feel her babies are safe with a spot she did not choose. Maybe leave her and just keep watch.

Honestly, if it was me, I would try to confine her with the kittens. If you have a large dog crate or cage, you could put them all inside, with a litterbox and food and water. If not, and the closet is big enough, shut her in the closet. (Is there any light? If not, she would need a light source by day!) I'm picturing a roomy closet...remove all the shoes, etc., and shut her in with the babies when you are gone. Then just crack the door open, allowing her to stretch in the bedroom when you are supervising.

She will feel more secure this way. I had a foster who would only move half of her litter...and I feared a kitten would be left out, so I had to confine her. After a few days, the urge to move them went away, and she left them in their nest. After that, I quit shutting her in the cage when I was gone, and let her have free run.

I think I heard this from a friend but please don't quote me because am not sure she is right. I heard tons of newspaper was better then a ton of towels or heavy blankets because the kittens can suffacate and the with newspaper it was cleaner and easier to change and still provide heat. Any one have thoughts on this.

Are you playing iwth her a lot or giving her a lot of attention? Maybe she needs some time to feel safe and alone, since she was moved to an unfamiliar place suddenly.

If she feels safe under the bed, and it's okay with your family, why not put a box with one side cut part-way down right under the bed and let her be happy there for a while until she feels more secure? Maybe she'll stay there. She may be moving because she feels fussed with too much and needs a bit of space.

When I had the kittens here, I put just one folded up towel, and 3 layers of paper towels on top of that, which I changed every day. Seemed to work fine. But they stay so clean, even if you had to do it every 2 or 3 days, wouldn't be a problem. Just keep and eye and make sure she's taking care of her babies okay. And be careful when you get out of bed in the am!

If that doesn't work, then I'd go with the crate also.

Or, perhaps, a box in an empty room or a finished basement if you have one, where you can close off any dangerous places they could get into.

Good luck!

PS: If she's moving them under the bed it's also possible she's moving them to be closer to you, which is a compliment. Just for the heck of it, try putting a box with one side cut down (but high enough to contain the kittens) right next to your bed (but away from strong light). Maybe that will pacify her.

Some great advice.

She moved them again last night after I got home. Onto the rug beside my bed in the open of all places. They are scrambling all over but come back and cuddle up together to sleep. She is taking care of the kittens and feeding frequently and cleaning them, but she has started going off and lying down away from them once in a while.

To be honest my closet is a disaster zone and the kittens are not safe in there without being in a box. It has no door and my bedroom is the only room in the house with a door that I can close off from my indoor cats. I have a separate heater in the bedroom that keeps it comfortable.

I am thinking about crating her until she settles down. She will settle down, won't she?

I have pictures uploaded to photobucket, but when I copy to here they are huge, but not on photobucket. What am I doing wrong?

Originally Posted by Aries

Some great advice.

She moved them again last night after I got home. Onto the rug beside my bed in the open of all places. They are scrambling all over but come back and cuddle up together to sleep. She is taking care of the kittens and feeding frequently and cleaning them, but she has started going off and lying down away from them once in a while.

To be honest my closet is a disaster zone and the kittens are not safe in there without being in a box. It has no door and my bedroom is the only room in the house with a door that I can close off from my indoor cats. I have a separate heater in the bedroom that keeps it comfortable.

I am thinking about crating her until she settles down. She will settle down, won't she?

I have pictures uploaded to photobucket, but when I copy to here they are huge, but not on photobucket. What am I doing wrong?

Click to expand...

on photobucket, they are in thumbnail view. download an imaging program (irfanview is a good free one) and resize them.

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

I think I heard this from a friend but please don't quote me because am not sure she is right. I heard tons of newspaper was better then a ton of towels or heavy blankets because the kittens can suffacate and the with newspaper it was cleaner and easier to change and still provide heat. Any one have thoughts on this.

Click to expand...

If you do use newspaper, put it in an old, soft pillowcase first. Newspaper is far from being clean and shreds way to easily IMO for use with kittens.

OK, here are some pictures. I think that I finally got it sized right.





Well, I got two of them close anyway. I have some more but they didn't resize for some reason? I resized my jpeg to less than 3 x 3 and saved the file to photobucket. Then copied the photobucket link to here and they were too big again! What is with that?

I really am photo impaired.

Oh they are very sweet! They look fat and happy!

Im not sure if you tried this, but on photobucket, there is something above every picture that says edit, you click that and it will say 75%,50%,25% of regular image size , "or something"...I click 25 and they come out fine..Just a thought..Congrats, they are cute...
No suggestions on the nesting though, only having 1 I didnt have to do much, they kind of count on each other now..

Gayaf thatnk you. I will do that when Skittles shows signs but I have a feeling she will be in my bed on my pillow because she is there alot the last week. She seems to want all my attention. It is so weird.

I love the picture of her in your siggy ... *giggle* She reminds me very much of a dearly loved girl I cared for many years ago.

Thank you Christine from here made it for me also she did these which made my month. My husband has been gone 6 months and Dazy almost a month and I really appreciate the time she took to do these and they are beautiful. Forgive me if they are big.

How beautiful, and I am so sorry for your loss. He looks like a really great guy, you know how you can just tell sometimes? That must be very, very difficult.

I just turned 30 I have been with him since I wqas 14 married at 16. We had our trials but no matter what we fought it all together. We made it. I will never stop loving him, but I do know that I can not morn forever because he would not want it. He would want me to be mom to the boys and mom to his pets. He was a great guy and a wonderful dad & husband.

That is so wonderful You have a very good outlook, that is key. And it is also a very good example for the kids. And no, he would not want you to mourn forever. None of us would want that for our spouses.