moved kittens - advice please

[katemary]

Hi all,
I'm fostering for a local shelter and currently have a very friendly/social mum cat and her six kittens. The kittens are 2 1/2 weeks old. I picked them up two weeks ago.
Background: when I collected them, I had planned that the large carrier would serve as a nesting box. However it was a long trip and the mum pooped herself. I managed to get her and the carrier clean and left her alone for a while. About 4 hours passed and she hadn't gone back into the carrier to her kittens. She was hiding under a chair I had put in the corner of the room which had a blanket under it and a towel over it (sort of a cave I had made for her). One by one, I moved the kittens from the carrier to her and immediately she was nursing them and all was well.

Current situation: fast forward two weeks and what is essentially a couple of towels on the floor underneath a chair is no longer suitable as the kittens are starting to move around more and I'd like to contain them a bit so that they are safe. So today I moved a large playpen into the room along with a large box. I moved the kittens into the box. I tried to encourage mum to move in too with treats but she wasn't interested. I lifted her and put her in the box with them and she immediately left. It's now been an hour and she hasn't gone back to the kittens. I tried lifting her again but she was resistant and hiding under a chair.

Should I leave her for a while and just see what happens? If so, how long? Will she eventually go back to them? How can I get her back to her kittens?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[katemary]

Okay I can't figure out how to delete the post but I've sorted it out!

Went back in and mumma was right up next to the box and the kittens were trying (and failing) to get out of it desperately to get to her. So I've just ditched the box and they can have the whole playpen... it's a bit big but I'm sure they'll be fine!

 

[Sarthur2]

They should be just fine!

 

[katemary]

Another question for the experts.

How common is it for a nursing mother to have soft stool? This mumma cat has had periods of very soft stool since she came into my care about 3 weeks ago. First I thought it was the change in diet but the issue has persisted. I wormed her two weeks ago in case that was the issue (with Milbemax). She goes from normal poops some days to soft, shapeless poops on other days. I've mixed some rice into her breakfast today to see if that helps. Her food hasn't changed aside from that. I've read online that the changes in poop can be a result of eating the kittens' poo which she is still doing as they aren't litter trained yet - is this true?

Thanks.

 

[Sarthur2]

She may need a round of Metronidazole for a week. This med covers both intestinal bacterial infections as well as kills parasites. It will usually solve the problem.

A nursing mom who eats her kittens’ poops does not normally have soft poops, so she needs treating. It’s not likely a food issue. Please ask your vet for Metronidazole and let’s hope that does it.

In the meantime, adding a bit of rice does not hurt.

Please keep us posted!

 

[katemary]

Hi all,
Me again! Sushi and her gorgeous kittens are about 11 weeks old and will be adopted soon (except for two who we are keeping).

Today's question: how long does worming medication take to work? These kittens have had wet to liquid poops since Wednesday night. They were due for worming so I wormed them all on Friday. I've since found 3 large worms in their poops, but most of the poops are still very wet to liquid.

They're all eating, drinking and playing like normal. One in particular is looking quite thin but is very energetic.

The shelter wants me to wait til Monday to take any to the vet if needed so there's not much I can do, just wondering when I should start to see firmer poop if the worms were the only culprit. The medicine was Milbemax.