# Mum keeps moving 1 kitten out



## afcjohnson (Jul 11, 2011)

I have a cat cleo she's just had kittens she's only young herself it's the second day now and she keeps moving 1 kitten out and sits with it and looks like feeds it but leaves the other 3 she has put it in a draw and under the bed now what do you think she is doing any ideas help needed please cheers


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

Do you move it back and if so how long do you leave it before doing so? If a cat wants to move her litter they can sometimes move one, feed it, settle it and then appear to abandon it while they go back to the others. Eventually she'll move a second kitten and go through the whole thing again until the whole litter is where she wants them. The process can take hours with a large litter. I guess caution would be the watchword in the wild and a cat wouldn't want to commit all her kittens to the new nest until it was proved to be safe.

You may be able to make her feel more secure where she is so she doesn't feel the need to move them by providing a cover if she's in an open box or bed for example. Under the bed or in a drawer are classic places for her to move her kittens to if she's feeling exposed.


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## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

My cat did the same, the best advise I can give you is put a towel on the floor where she's taking the kitten and leave her to it. You've kind of got to trust that your cat knows what she's doing.

With ours, she kept taking one away that wasn't feeding, only to find she was feeding it by itself so it would get some milk. If you keep putting the kitten back or stopping her, it could distress her. Keep an eye on your cat and kitten, obviously if you think that something may be wrong with the kitten then take it to the vet - but otherwise I'd say let her do what she feels she needs to do.

What kind of kittening box do you have for her? One with a 'hood' or 'roof' are generally (or can be) better as it makes cats feel safe with their new litter.

Other than that how are the kittens doing? Are they putting on weight, are you handling them as much as what mum allows you to? How old is mum?

Go down to your vet and ask for kitten babycat milk, they may give you something like Roayl Canin. Have that in just in case, and ask someone there to show you how to syringe feed safely as you may need to do it. 

I'd weigh this particular kitten maybe once every 12 hours to make sure its not loosing weight, they can go downhill very quickly.


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## afcjohnson (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks you I will do all you suggested many thanks


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## afcjohnson (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks for your advice I woke this morning to find only one left in the cat basket she has moved 3 of them to under the kids bed the one on it's own has been there for an hour now


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## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

I'm trying to remember what we did, as under the bed was the same place our cat took ours.

Is the kitten warm? I'd definately syringe feed it for now, just in case.

When they were about 3 weeks old, our mummy cat decided to bring them all downstairs behind the sofa so we moved the box there and she was relatively happy with them there


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## afcjohnson (Jul 11, 2011)

How long can kitten go without mothers milk


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

Kittens can go at least two hours in between feeds. If she's moved 3 out of four to where she's happy then you could try moving the fourth to the new nest if you're really worried. It's hard to sit back and do nothing I know but this doesn't sound like a mum who is rejecting kittens. Chances are she'll go and get the other kitten when *she* knows it needs fed.


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## afcjohnson (Jul 11, 2011)

All is well she just wanted to be under the girls bed with them all I was getting a bit worried thanks for both your help again thank you both


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