What is "normal" rough play for a mama and her babies?

[Kitteh Mama]

Hi,

First, thank you all SO MUCH for your input when I was waiting for my foster mama cat to give birth. Mama and kittens are doing great! They grow so fast!

I have a two questions if you wouldn't mind.

Info on the kittens in case it is relevant. They are coming up on 4w old. They weigh 521g (girl), 630g (boy), 545g (boy), 550g (boy), and 512g (girl) respectively. Mama has free roam of the room. Kittens are kept in a puppy play pen. Since I rarely SEE her nursing them anymore (they're in my basement "office" and I work from home, so I'm in here 8h a day), the vet said I can start to introduce some kitten slurry (formula and mashed up canned kitten food.)

Question 1 - what does normal rough play look like for mama and her babies? I've seen posts on here about some mamas doing what my mama is - kind of freaking out when the kittens come out of the "nest" (aka puppy play pen), grabbing them, biting their necks, kicking hard with her back feet, etc. It LOOKS awful, but I also know that she needs to teach them how to play, respectful biting, etc. When would I need to worry? They do rough play with each other though they have that "oh crap!" thing going on when mama does it. Like immediately STOPPING what they're doing. Whereas when they're with each other, they will have kitty fight club.

Question 2 - I don't want mama to freak out when the babies come out of the nest so GENERALLY, since they are still too little to climb all the way out on their own, I'm leaving them in the nest except for SOME time out to be weighed, snuggled (briefly), looked over, etc. Any recommendations on how I can ease her into this? Or, best bet to just wait until they figure out how to climb out on their own?

Thanks!

 

[Sarthur2]

If mom is obviously being too rough and the kitten is screaming, then stop it. Otherwise, this is mom teaching them she is boss.

You can try the slurry but don’t be surprised if they aren’t ready for another 1-2 weeks.

The kittens are definitely ready to explore at this age, so you can let them out of the play pen at any time.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Let Momma cat be a Momma. She should have good instincts. Keep checking the kitten's progress, but let Momma be in charge of her kittens. If you interfere too much, she'll be over protective.

 

[StanAndAlf]

She may be just playing, but she may also be chastising them for leaving the 'nest', as you put it. Does she take them straight back to bed after she is done? Lots of mother animals use this as a form of communication with their babies, as she perceives they are too young to handle themselves outside of the den and is therefore reminding them they are not allowed to leave the den yet. For example, a pair of nesting curlews (type of ground dwelling bird) had a pair of young chicks in my yard. One day I found one of the babies a fair distance from the nest. I picked it up and returned it to the parents, who promptly gave it a sharp pick on the head before welcoming it back home.

If she is physically harming the kittens, as in there is fur missing or she has torn the skin, then I would interfere. Otherwise keep doing what you are doing. I would just leave the play pen open and they will most likely sort things out themselves.

 

[vince]

Half a kilogram is right on target for a month-old kitten. Yours are all doing at least that well. Keep weighing them to make sure they're gaining, but it seems things are all right on that respect.

It doesn't hurt to try feeding them off a dish. Mama will probably clean up anything they won't eat. You might have to try feeding them the kitten gruel off a finger, but once one starts getting the hang of it, it might be a feeding frenzy. A saucer is good to start them on, and expect it to be messy at first. The kittens will probably walk in the food.