Expert: Karen Craft - 4/14/2009

Question
My wife and I took in an abandoned cat over the weekend.  We were going to take it to the vet to have it checked out(in hopes of adopting her) but instead she gave birth to 3 kittens.  She seems to interact with the kittens and nurses them well.  My questions is this.  For the first day see was staying in the box that we put her in which is located in the computer room.  This morning she moved the cats to behind our bed(she nurses them behind the bed).  We tried to put them back in the box in the computer room but she put them back behind the bed.  We tried putting the box next to bed and placed the kittens back in it.  She put them back behind the bed.  My concern is two fold.  I am concerned for the kittens safety when they get older and start to become more active.  They can it lost behind the bed since it is one that is elevated with drawers that little kittens might get into but mom cat will not.  Also, I want to sleep at night and I want to keep the cat mess contained(and we fear we might step on one getting out bed if it found the opening that mom uses to get behing the bed).  My wife is slightly disabled so see can not get behind the bed to check on the kittens and do anything if they are in trouble.  And lastly, my wife and I need to leave for a four day weekend that we have to go.  How do we train the mama cat to keep the kittens in one place.  How should we handle the 4 days being gone.  We have a basement and we have additional rooms that we can create a suitable enviroment.  We just have never raised kittens and we want to do the right thing here but we also do want our house destroyed and we want to adopt the mother.  We are desperate for the right way to care for these adorable little kittens and hope to get them suitable homes when they are old enough.  We just need good information on how to care for them.  Some do's and do not's.  What is typical things mother cats will do.  What do mothers cats look for in bedding their young?

Answer
Hi Ray,

Mom cat is moving the kittens because she doesn't feel too safe where you had her. Your best bet is to move her to a closet in a room where there is very little traffic. If you can close the door to that room it will be a plus, (but don't close the closet door).

Move food, water and a litter box in the room and set up the nesting box in the closet. You will want the nest box to be lined with a blanket or towels, with the sides of the box high enough to keep the kittens in, allow mom in and out, and the overall box size large enough to allow for some exercise. Be sure that the kittens can not get stuck under the material in the sides or corners of the box.

Move her and the kits to the closet, close the door to the room and leave her be for a couple of hours. You can then peek in and see how they are doing. After a day you can let mom out and leave the door open. All should be fine. Here's a link on some good info about mom and kits. http://www.petplace.com/article-printer-friendly.aspx?id=994

I would have someone you trust look in on your new family at least once a day to make sure all is well when you go away. When the kittens are older they will become a lot more active and you can let them out and explore. Make sure socialize with them. You need to do this so they won't be afraid of human contact. Good luck with them. Write back if you need any more questions.

Ciao, Karen