Bizzare new mommy behavior!

Question
Hi Norman!

I have an odd question about a new mommy's behavior with her kittens.  I am fostering a 1-1.5?? year old cat with a litter of 5 kittens.  She's staying in my guest room (with the door closed most of the time) and she's been moving her kittens around.  I've noticed she moves them any time someone comes into the room to look at the kittens who she hasn't met.  I had a friend come and check on her yesterday because I was on a day trip out of town.  Since I returned I've noticed that she is putting her kittens in the litter box!  They are only two weeks old, definitely not ready for litter training.  I've been moving them back to their original sleeping spot and trying to wipe all the litter off of their faces.  I've been using a clumping litter and I'm fearful that them might ingest some of it and get very sick.   

One other thing...mommy keeps wanting to escape from the room but I have one other cat and a dog so I've been keeping her isolated.  Is it normal for mom to want a break away from the kittens, and if do let her out, how long is it okay for her to be away from them?

Any help you could provide would be so appreciated!!

Ericka
Wilmington, NC

Answer
Ericka,

A word about clumping litter!  Clumping litter and kittens can be a deadly combination.  When the kittens are old enough to go exploring, many of them like to eat clay litter (no one knows why). This would be a disaster with clumping litter, so I would use something else, meanwhile.

You have (probably) a feral cat in a new home with a litter of kittens.  She probably; is unsure of the whole situation, so every new meet and greet with a stranger is considered a possible threat.  She will then, naturally, want to move the kittens to some place she feels safer.

I would keep her confined to the room.  Do you have a dog crate?  If so, when she wants to continually move the kittens, put her in the crate for an hour or two.  She will be so glad to get back to her kittens she will probably forget about moving them.

You are wise to keep your other pets away from her.  She has no need to go outside the room.  As she feels the room is not totally safe, she may be looking for somewhere else to stash the kittens out side the room, which is probably why she makes her "escape".  I would keep everyone but yourself and people she is comfortable with away from her and the kittens until they are ready to be weaned (about 4-5 weeks of age).

I hope this is helpful.

Best regards... Norm.