Newborn kittens from stray mom. mother is driving me insane!?

Question

4 weeks ago I started feeding a stray. I could tell she was pregnant. Yesterday, she snuck into the cellar of our old house and had 2 kittens under a dirty shelf. I brought her and them up and put them into a towel lined basket and set them on the side porch with a blanket over them and the chair in front to hide them.
All's well this morning, but the mother is driving me nuts. I fed her. She is meowing like crazy going in and out of the house. I keep moving the basket to follow her to see if that's the problem. She nurses them, and then starts following me again. T hen she carried one out of the basket and nursed it in the bathroom. I checked the cellar for more kittens, but there are none (at least not alive). Is she trying to get me to do something? Is that normal behavior? I never had a mother cat before. I dont' really want her to become a house cat, I already have one indoors. She seems more content with them in the house though.

Answer 1

Try putting the kittens in a box back in the cellar. She probably feels safer there because that's where she had her litter. And the meowing is probably because she's still hungry. A mother cat needs more food than usual and more times a day because nursing her kittens takes alot of nutrients and energy away from her. Good luck!

Answer 2

I have seven cats so I know what you are going through! Not to worry, her behavior is normal. You may want to feed the mother cat more often than usual because she has to nourish her kittens. Also, I know that you are trying to make the mother cat and her kittens as comfortable as possible in the cellar, but the mother cat will move the kittens quite often. She may feel that her litter is more safe indoors for now. Next week she may move them back outside. But never keep the kittens on an open porch. They will not feel safe and they won't be safe. They need to be in a safe, dark, isolated part of the house. If you do not want them to live in the house, then they don't have to. But while they are little, I advise that you keep them in the house for their own safety. Believe me, once they grow, they won't want to stay in the house. All I can advise is to be patient and continue to make the cat family comfortable as you already have and enjoy watching the kittens grow! I hope you grow to love the whole family and keep them. There are too many animals in the world without a loving home.

Answer 3

I have a cat and I know that it doesn't matter where YOU move her kittens. She will have to find her own safe spot. I tried to move my cat's kittens, several times, to a place that I thought was safe and she always moves them somewhere else. Inside, Outside it doesn't matter to her she will eventually find a spot she likes. I would make sure that you follow her and see where she puts those kittens and you need to interact with the kittens as much as possibe when they're young (pick them up, pet them) so first, the mother see you not hurting them (this may make her not want to move them as often); and second, because if you don't kittens get wild quick and they will be very hard to catch when you decide what you want to do with them. They are also easier to give away if they are gentle. The mother is trying to tell you something by following you around, I would keep an eye on her and see what she is doing and probably take them to the vet if you can afford to. If you don't mind the kittens in the house then try putting them in a dark corner of a closet or in the cellar, I noticed my cat prefers her kittens in dark areas away from noise and alot of quick and frequent movements (like kids or other animals). Your other cat may be making her nervous with her kittens. Good Luck.

Answer 4

Sounds like there is another kitten somewhere she is trying to find. As long as she returns to care for the kittens, let her out for a while and see where she goes. She very well could have more kittens in a different location. Hopefully she's had all the kittens and isn't having some kind of a medical issue. You may want to call a vet and explain the situation to see if her behavior are signs of anything else.

Answer 5

Ok, so I'm in the exact same situation. You just need you shut all the doors and don't let the mother out, because the babies need to nurse, unless you want to get formula and feed them with a bottle, which I don't recommend. Just sit back and let the mother do what she wants. It make take a few tries before she finds a place she can set the kittens in and feel safe with them there. In our house, it ended up being under my mom's bed.

Answer 6

maybe there is something more going on, you never know, hard to tell with animals, especially since she is a stray and you don't know her usual behavior. Maybe there is something medically wrong that she is trying to alert you to, if you have the means to do so, take the mother and kittens to the vet. If you don't have the money to do this and you aren't wanting to keep the mother and kittens around, try calling your local animal shelter. Wish i could help you more, sounds frustrating!

Answer 7

If she feels better in the house, move them to the cellar. It is safer for them in there anyways, they are away from any animals that could hurt them. When they get older, they can then get moved outside. If you dont want to take care of them, bring them to an animal shelter or hospital, they will.

Answer 8

i have 7 kittens. set a trap if u wanna tame them all. and give them a room of then own and block the entrances of the room with carboard so they cant get anywhere else. i did this and it worked

Answer 9

shes hungry, and she knows you provide her with nourishment, and would you want to have your babies outside where other dangerous animals roam? neither does mama cat, let her be inside, she knows what is best for her two kittens

Answer 10

let them inside it's safer for them