help! trouble with momma cat carrying babies around

lolabeck

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Okay, so we had adopted a stray pregnant cat, and she gave birth okay. The babies are about 2 weeks old. They are all very active and seem to be doing fine. The babies are just starting to walk and explore. The problem is that the momma kitty wants to move the babies out of the room we keep them in. We also have a neutered male cat that we rescued from the shelter. We have kept them separate but unfortunately we were not quick enough while leaving the babies' room earlier today and the momma cat and our "original" cat had a confrontation. We were right there so there was nothing physical but we think that the momma kitty may have been threatened. She keeps carrying the babies next to the door and she complains a lot. We move the babies back into the nest area but she keeps carrying them back. She is an awesome momma, so I am afraid we are doing something wrong. Her litter box is in the room, she always has food and clean water. I really don't know how else to make her comfortable. I would appreciate any suggestions.
 

celestialrags

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Mabey where they are getting older you can let her move the kittens where she would like to, as long as she has them in a safe place. mabey after she chooses a spot and settles down with them you can place them all in the box and keep the box where she moved the kittens to. Or the dog crate is always a good way of confining them.
 

momof3rugratz

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She might just want to move them to a different spot that she feels they would be safer especially since the earlier confontation....
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by lolabeck

Okay, so we had adopted a stray pregnant cat, and she gave birth okay. The babies are about 2 weeks old. They are all very active and seem to be doing fine. The babies are just starting to walk and explore. The problem is that the momma kitty wants to move the babies out of the room we keep them in. We also have a neutered male cat that we rescued from the shelter. We have kept them separate but unfortunately we were not quick enough while leaving the babies' room earlier today and the momma cat and our "original" cat had a confrontation. We were right there so there was nothing physical but we think that the momma kitty may have been threatened. She keeps carrying the babies next to the door and she complains a lot. We move the babies back into the nest area but she keeps carrying them back. She is an awesome momma, so I am afraid we are doing something wrong. Her litter box is in the room, she always has food and clean water. I really don't know how else to make her comfortable. I would appreciate any suggestions.
Is the room that you currently have her in a heavily used room?? Sometimes when a mother cat feels her kittens will be threatened...she will have the urge to move them. The option of a collapsible dog crate is a good one....I like to keep my fosters in my bathroom because 1. it's easy to clean if there is a mess 2. my bathroom is no where near an outside door/window 3. It tends to be relatively quiet in my bathroom.

I do have a question....did you ever take this stray into the vet to be checked?? If not, it is very important that mom is segragated from your male cat. If for no other reason than you do not know if she has any diseases/sicknesses that could be spread to your male. I also tend to change my clothes between spending time with my foster family and my own cats and I wash my hands very thoroughly. You can never be too careful.

Katie
 

dragonlady

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Have you cleaned out the area she has her kittens? Their area may be soiled or pee'd on and she is trying to move them to a cleaner area. Pull everything out of the area, vaccuum, and give her all clean bedding and box. This should help her stay put.
 
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lolabeck

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Thank you so much for your responses. We did take the momma to our vet before she gave birth. She had roundworms but we gave her medicine for it. The babies are going to get dewormed in a couple of weeks. We will also get the momma cat spayed asap.
The room we put the kittens in is not used a lot. Since our first cat dominates the rest of the house, the new cats' room's door is always closed and we don't spend much time in there. Getting in and out of the room is too stressful in itself because we don't want the first cat to meet the second cat or the babies. Well, not until our vet says its okay.
We periodically change the sheets that the kittens are on. The mother cat gave birth in a different corner of the room anyway. But we do clean the room they are in.
The mother cat seems to be spending less and less time with the babies. Not that she doesn't take care of them, but she gives them room to walk around, and I am starting to wonder if she gets bored. To my knowledge she has always been a stray cat. So I feel bad that she gets stuck in a room but I don't know how my other cat would react to getting locked into the bedroom so that the second cat can walk around the house. But, either way we will not let the mom cat get out of the house before she is spayed. Anyone have any ideas about how to make the mother cat happy and less restless?
 

tnr1

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But, either way we will not let the mom cat get out of the house before she is spayed. Anyone have any ideas about how to make the mother cat happy and less restless?
I don't have any suggestions....my foster was really restless while in the bathroom. I think she was "done" with mothering and wanted to get away....however due to her stray status and my own cats, she had to remain in the bathroom. I simply tried to spend as much time with her as possible.

Katie
 
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