Out of the Nest...Already!

Hi again everyone...We just got back from vacation!!

Oreo had 5 kittens on June 7, and they are all fine...gaining weight and getting chunky little baby bellies! So cute...I have a question though.

While we were gone, Oreo moved the babies out of her nesting box and onto the closet floor. She has them in a little space between the wall and a box that is only about 6 inches wide. It is just wide enough for her to lay down, and the babies crawl all over her trying to find a nipple for food. They always find a way to eat - but sometimes it seems to take awhile.

I didn't necessarily like this new arrangement, so I tried to move the babies back to the box, and as I was moving them in, Oreo was promptly moving them out and back to where they were before.

I have a few concerns...Since this spot she has chosen is so small, do I need to worry about her crushing one of them accidentally? I know she has plopped down on them before and that worries me.

Also, they are starting to try to walk a little bit and I am worried about them wandering off. Do I need to keep trying to confine them to a box of some sort? Or just let her keep them in the spot she chose?

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me! Glad to be back!

Originally Posted by kgail76

Hi again everyone...We just got back from vacation!!

Oreo had 5 kittens on June 7, and they are all fine...gaining weight and getting chunky little baby bellies! So cute...I have a question though.

While we were gone, Oreo moved the babies out of her nesting box and onto the closet floor. She has them in a little space between the wall and a box that is only about 6 inches wide. It is just wide enough for her to lay down, and the babies crawl all over her trying to find a nipple for food. They always find a way to eat - but sometimes it seems to take awhile.

I didn't necessarily like this new arrangement, so I tried to move the babies back to the box, and as I was moving them in, Oreo was promptly moving them out and back to where they were before.

I have a few concerns...Since this spot she has chosen is so small, do I need to worry about her crushing one of them accidentally? I know she has plopped down on them before and that worries me.

Also, they are starting to try to walk a little bit and I am worried about them wandering off. Do I need to keep trying to confine them to a box of some sort? Or just let her keep them in the spot she chose?

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have for me! Glad to be back!

Click to expand...

Have you changed the bedding in the box recently??

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

Have you changed the bedding in the box recently??

Click to expand...

Yep, I changed it before I tried to move them back into the nesting box. But she didn't like it there at all, apparently...Even with clean bedding.

I had the exact same thing happen when Dot had her babies on June 6th. I had kept her in the bathroom with everything she needed, container, blanket, food, litter etc... and we kept the door shut so our two other cats wouldn't bother her. Well, last weekend I left the bathroom door open a bit so Dot could get out and have some exercise, and she then decided she wanted to move the babies from the bathroom to our closet in the bedroom, in a little corner between a bureau and shelving unit, right on our cold, hardwood floors. I was beside myself, I didn't know what to do. So I called my husband who had a customer come into his store that was a vet. She said that sometimes when they get spooked they will move them to another spot that they feel is safer, and if possible, let them be. So I gave her another blanket to lay on and put her food and stuff on the other end of the closet floor. Like you, there isn't much room for the babies to move around, but they seem to be doing fine. They are starting to move around a little more so in a few days I will put some kind of box in there that they won't be able to climb out of.

Don't know if I answered your questions, but you sound concerned like I was, so not to worry. As long as they are safe and mom is happy and feeding them, they should be fine. (Dot too laid on top of them, but they took to screaming and she moved no problem)

Good luck!
Krista

Ruby tried to move her babies on their second day of life from a secure btahroom to my toddler's toy closet (cats may be smart, but this *obviously* wasn't a good choice ). I just put the two that she managed to move back in the nest. Now, when I let her out I lock the babies in. She'll go to the door when she wanted back in. She whined for about 2 minutes that first day because she was locked in, but now I never hear a peep.