Dead kitten :(

Question
Hi Karen,

Last Friday,I had a stray cat (about a year old)have her kittens on my porch in a store bought bed that I put out for her. She gave birth to 4 kittens and they were all doing fine. I checked on them daily and they were moving,making noises and eating. Upon checking on them yesterday,I noticed that one of the kittens was "sleeping" in the corner and I didn't think anything of it. When looking in on them this morning,I noticed that the kitten was in the same spot. When the mother left for a short break,I went out and lightly tapped on the side of the bed to see if there was any movement and there was not. Sadly,I think that it has passed away :( My question is...should I remove the kitten from the nest? My fear of doing so is that I might leave my scent behind and I don't want the mother to abandon the others. Please help!!

Thank you!
Jackie

Answer
Hi Jackie,

Yes, remove the kitten. She may nose around a bit looking for it but she will settle back down and take care of the others. She might move the kits to another area. Keep an eye out for that. It is safer to remove the dead kit then leave it. Keep an eye on them and see how she does. There is a very long shot that she might abandon them but it is very long. If she does write back and I will tell you how to care for them. Good luck.

Ciao, Karen