Queen, keeps moving her kittens.

Question

Hi there :)

I have a tabby cat, whom is about 2 years old. She has had 3 litters prior to the most recent that she has now. For all her previous litters, and this one, She has delivered all kittens in the same general area.

She for some reasons, loves my laundry room. And I dont mind, I just make appropriate space for her, to tend to her kittens.

Tonight however, she did something that is completely out of nature.

While watching TV tonight, I heard what I thought was a distress meow from one of her kittens. I immediately ran into the laundry room, and found one of the kittens gone. The queen looked at me, and seemed to be distressed as well. I found the kitten, behind my washing machine. I promptly picked it up, and put it back with its brothers and sisters.

My husband said perhaps something was bothering her about the general area. That didnt make sense to me. These kittens are almost 3 weeks old, and she remained in the same area to nurse them. Then we got scared, and thought perhaps she was trying to remove and kill that kitten, perhaps she sensed it was sick, and wanted to abandon it.

So, about a half our later, we heard another distress call. I went back in, and again she removed the kitten, from the rest. I looked at the bedding in her area, and decided maybe she wanted it changed. I removed all the kittens, put in fresh blankets, and placed all the kittens back.

About a half hour later, I popped my head in to check on her, and her babies, and they were all gone. My queen, took all her kittens, and removed them behind my water heater. She has never done this in the past. All the kittens are fine. But she moved them to an area, that is so small, and cramped. So for now, we decided to leave her alone because obviously she is moving them, for a reason.

Would you happen to know why, all of a sudden she decided to move all her kittens to a different area? Should we be concerned, she is going to hurt them? This is the first time, she has done anything like this.

Your comments would be much appreciated, and I thankyou in advance. Also, I apologise, for the lenghthy letter, but I felt a detailed explanation would help you with your answer.

Thanks ..

-Kristy

Answer
HI Kristy,

You're right I think she is worried about something. In this case I would move her and the kittens to a confined, quiet place where the kittens can't get into danger and monitor them carefully. A small bedroom or even a large dog cage would work well. I hope she settles down in the near future. Keep a close eye on the kittens to ensure they are all getting food!

Good luck!