Kitten help!!

[Chibi_Star]

i need help and i hope i get answers to this soon >.<

Okay one of ozzy's kittens keep trying to get out of the box and all she does is mew at the top of her lungs. in fact i'd call it more like screaming!

Ozzy being a first time mom was getting all anxious when the baby actually got out. but she didn't jump out, i guess it was because every time the baby got out i would be there to put it back in. so i decided to leave her and let ozzy get the baby. and she did...but she was very awkward about it. she couldn't seem to find a place to pick up the baby, but she finally did.

so a few seconds later the baby got out again. Ozzy was getting very annoyed i guess so she picked up the baby and to my surprise brought the baby over to my closet (which was open) and began doing....something...im not sure. i was soooo scared she was going to kill it or something so i walked over there and began petting ozz and talking to her gently at the same time.

Ozzy purred, then picked up her baby and walked back into the box. this keeps happening! it started about 20 mins ago and so far its happened 3 times.

i keep picking up the calico (the one that keeps crying) and snuggling with it. that seems to calm it down. after i think its calmed down a little i put it back in the box so ozzy doesn't think im trying to hurt her baby. but it keeps jumping out!

at the moment i've blocked the exit so the kittens cant get out, but ozzy can.

So here are my questions:

1 is Ozzy going to kill her baby?

2 what is she doing when she takes the baby over to the corner of the dark closet?

3 is this normal kitten behaviour?

4 is this normal mom behaviour?

er....at the moment im a little freaked out so i cant tihnk of any more questions...but i probably will once i post this.

thanx!

[moosmom]

Chibi_Star,

Mama cats, when they feel that their babies are threatened, will try to move them. The one thing you should do is get a deep cardboard box. Cut a "U" shaped opening so that the mama can get out and take a break from her babies, but leave enough of a "lip" on it so the babies can't crawl out. Or you can do what you've been doing, blocking it so Ozz can get out but the babies can't.

I have two questions. Does she try to put all her babies in the closet or just the one kitten? How old are the kittens?

To answer your questions:

1. No, she won't kill her babies.
2. She's probably moving them because she feels they'd be safer.
3. Yes it is normal for kittens to move around (depending upon their age).
4. Yes, it is normal for the mama.

Stay calm. Ozz will sense your stress. She might be trying to move them because you are handling them alot. If you need any more help, please let me know. And good luck!

[Chibi_Star]

The kittens were born on march 5th. and she has only moved the one kitten.

thanks for the advice ;-; it helped a lot, i was so worried. i think im going to make her a different box.

does moving only the one kitten mean something?

[kimlovescats]

She's probably only moved one kitten, because you are always there to stop her! A deep cardboard box works well .... that is what I am using with my foster mom, Emma's new kittens ... which were born on March 12. Momma cats have an instinctive ability to care for their young ..... try not to handle them too much, and just let momma do what she feels most comfortable with! Stay calm and don't worry .... everyone will be fine!!!

[moosmom]

Good advice Kim! I'd keep an eye on the one kitten though. Just to make sure she's not trying to ignore it. You might be right when you say that:

She's probably only moved one kitten, because you are always there to stop her!

Chibi_Star,

The best thing you can do for the mama and kittens is:

try not to handle them too much, and just let momma do what she feels most comfortable with! Stay calm and don't worry .... everyone will be fine!!!

[Chibi_Star]

thanx for the advice. the kitten still keeps climbing out of the box. i watch ozzy pick up the kitten aand take her over to my closet but this time i didn't stop her, i just watched....and i was more than happy to say that the reason she kept taking the kitten over to the closet was to get some one on one time with the kitten!

she laid down with the kitten in the closet! i was so happy! but what made it even better was that ozzy turned and looked at me and smiled at her and she began purring like a maniac! i was so touched.

okay, so this brings a new question though...

why wont this kitten stop screaming?! it seriously wont stop crying!

my only thoughts on the subject....weres the off button!! hehe oaky, seriously though, is something wrong with the kitten? this is the same kitten that wont stop crawling out of the box.

more advice would be nice ^-^

Thank you again

[moosmom]

Chibi_Star,

Have you seen Ozzy nursing the kitten? If not, the kitten may be hungry. You might want to try bottle feeding it, IF, and only if she hasn't nursed it.

Let me know.

[Chibi_Star]

i found out that Ozzy was just taking that one kitten that i have named Nemo (cause i got tired of calling it 'that kitten') over to the closet for some one on one time. i guess what she's trying to do it nurse him.

but ya i have seen her nursing him. shes very good about that.

Actually during the night Ozzy moved all her kittens in the closet between my laundry baskets and a bunch of stuffed animals. it was enclosed so i guess it was her way of making it so the kittens couldn't get out.

i wanted to keep the kittens there but my mom flipped out. she said she didn't want the kittens making a mess on the rug. so i ended up putting the kittens back into the box.

but i did flip the box so the opening was on the top, so the kittens couldn't get out.

Nemo is still the loudest kitten i've ever heard. He seriously will not stop mewing! its continous and high pitched. I really hope nothing's wrong with himm i hope he's just a loud kitten or something >.<

[catland]

interesting thing about kittens. When they are born, they imediately seek out a nipple. That becomes their nipple from then on. When we had a litter of kittens, the last to be born got one of the nipples higher up on the mom (closer to the mother's head). Anyway, this little guy was the runt of the litter and was a yeller like Nemo. He finally figured out that he could steal milk from his brother's nipple when his brother wasn't paying attention.

You might want to make sure that the mother is getting enough nutrition because by now, she is having to produce a lot of milk for her babies. She needs to be eating kitten food because of the extra calories. You can also start to supplement with condensed milk that is partially watered down. I've heard that you shouln't use regular milk because it really doesn't have enough calories since thier tummies are so tiny and can't hold that much liquid at one time.

good luck.