Proper mother/kitten behavior?

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Bevis - 23 Jul 2004 02:33 GMT

We're looking after a young mother with a litter of 7. They're currently
about 5 weeks old and doing well except the runt who looks like he's two
weeks old and we bottle feed. (for those who are wondering, the runt's been
to a vet and is on antibiotics). The litter is nested in a basement bedroom
with the door blocked so only the queen may come & go and she also has easy
access to the outside.

My question is: the queen has just started moving a few of the kittens from
their room in the basement to our living room. I asume her instincts are
forcing this, but we're curious why? We move them back after a while but
eventually she'll bring them upstairs again.

Can anyone give us some insight into this behavior?

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m. L. Briggs - 23 Jul 2004 03:11 GMT

>We're looking after a young mother with a litter of 7. They're currently
>about 5 weeks old and doing well except the runt who looks like he's two
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>Can anyone give us some insight into this behavior?

It is my understanding that in the wild, the mother moves her kittens
often to avoid predators. So, I assume it is instinct. MLB

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brand - 23 Jul 2004 04:57 GMT

> >We're looking after a young mother with a litter of 7. They're currently
> >about 5 weeks old and doing well except the runt who looks like he's two
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> It is my understanding that in the wild, the mother moves her kittens
> often to avoid predators. So, I assume it is instinct. MLB

It is instinct. It's not only to prevent predators from finding them, but
also to keep male cats from finding them.
Males not a part of the cat group will kill kittens to force the mother back
into heat then that male will get a chance to spread his genetics.
A momma cat will often move baby kittens several times when they are little
to keep stray males from finding them. And indoor cats will do the same.
I've dragged one of my momma cats out from behind the couch many times and
put her and her babies back in their box.

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Bevis - 23 Jul 2004 05:59 GMT

Thanks for the response.

The only male cat in the house is affectionately known as "The Crusty Old
Bastard" who's been around since before I had my first Commodore 64. And if
I smelled like he does, my wife would also try to hide the kids.

Thanks again for the insight.

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Tracy - 26 Jul 2004 01:04 GMT

>From: "Bevis"

>The only male cat in the house is affectionately known as "The Crusty Old
>Bastard" who's been around since before I had my first Commodore 64. And if
>I smelled like he does, my wife would also try to hide the kids

LOL, thanx for the much needed laugh.

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JoJo - 23 Jul 2004 23:06 GMT

I had a foster mom who after 3 weeks decided it was time to move the babies
from the safety of the excercise pen to under my bed. I didn't think that
was a proper place for the kittens - so mom and I obviously didn't see eye
to eye on this. So "we" compromised - I set up the ex-pen next to the bed,
she was happy with the accomodations and stopped trying to move them. I
even put her in a dog crate with the kittens - what a mess she made trying
to get out - poor kittens were getting dropped in kitty litter. Thus the
compromise!

At 5 weeks your kittens should be starting to move around more. I'm
assuming you are handling them as much as possible to keep them used to
humans?

Enjoy them - I miss having fosters around! :)

> We're looking after a young mother with a litter of 7. They're currently
> about 5 weeks old and doing well except the runt who looks like he's two
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Can anyone give us some insight into this behavior?

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