My barn cat wants to move her 3-week-old kittens. Should I let her?

You can move the kittens - if you are planning to socialize the kittens and either keep them yourself or adopt them out it would actually be ideal to handle them when they are young. It is unlikely that the mother will reject them, but she may try to move them back unless you cut off access to the other room. Depending on how social the mother is you may need to wean the kittens early to be able to fully socialize them to people - ask your vet for pointers. http://4fi8v2446i0sw2rpq2a3fg51-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Socializing-Kittens_update.pdf

Because she wants to! Often we set up what we think is the perfect environment for a nursing mother, but she may have other plans. She thinks it is safer or better to have the kittens in a different area. The kittens are also getting older, so they need to start exploring different areas. She may also be preparing them to start weaning, which usually occurs at 5-6 weeks of age.

A natural instinct of mother cats is to hide their kittens to protect them. They will keep their kittens in the safest spot they can find. If she was afraid they might be in any danger, that is likely why she moved them. She will know where that 3rd kitten is hiding. The kittens are 4 weeks old, and will start moving around more and more. Hopefully, the 3rd one should start showing up soon. Try not to disturb her too much in your search, she might become upset if her area becomes "too busy" and may move them again.

I would set up a warm bed for them, and put in something like a hot water bottle covered in towels. They are just over four weeks old, and while it's time for them to wean, they are probably better with their mother. If the temperatures keep dropping, however, I would move them indoors.

How lovely of you to take in this stray cat and her kittens! I would keep your five week old male kitten separate from the kittens. At five weeks old, your kitten will not be vaccinated and can pass along diseases such as calicivirus and feline distemper to the kittens and their mother. Conversely, the mother could pass those along to your kitten as she likely isn't vaccinated. Fleas and intestinal worms can also be passed between them. I would take your kitten into your vet when he's six to eight weeks old to get his first vaccines, and be sure to take the mother and her kittens into the vet in the next couple of weeks to get check ups for them. You can discuss with the vet when to get the mother vaccinated and spayed so she won't have another litter of kittens, and when to start the kittens on their vaccines. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Bissy feels for some reason that her kittens are not safe. I would get Bissy and the kittens and put them in a spare bedroom closet. Use a laundry basket, cardboard box or a large dog carrier with towels. Put her food, water and litter box in the room. Keep people, other animals and children away from the kittens. Have one person she is close with check and weigh the kittens daily. Also keep the bedding clean. In a week or 2 start socializing the kittens and see if you can let Bissy out of the room. I wish you the best!

It is ok that she is bringing them to you. They often move them to keep the safe and protect them. As long as she lays with them to keep them warm and fed it is fine. I would however take them off the bed and keep them on level ground because they can migrate and crawl and we do not want them falling off. They can begin to be weaned between 4-6 weeks of age