My cat keeps moving her kittens. How to keep them in the box?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She could very well be moving the kittens- it’s quite common for them to move their kittens frequently. A hands-off approach works best. Provide access to quiet dark areas (open an empty cabinet, closets, etc). Keep an eye on her and know where she is currently nesting but don’t hover. She’ll take care of things. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Mino!

If you know where she wanted to move the kitten, you can take the box there for her with the kittens. If you do not know where she wanted to move them, watch her move one kitten and then you can move the box to that place, Talk to her and show her what you are doing, so she does not get upset,. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

She is trying to find a safe and quiet place to take care of them. I would suggest providing her with a box in a dark area of the home with little to no traffic. Once she feels secure, she should not try to move them as much.

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!

Unfortunately, when a momma cat feels someplace is safe, she'll be pretty adamant about bringing her kittens there! Apparently, the bed, and you are her safe spot. You may try making a "nest" for her out of pillows or a blanket from your bed and placing it next to the bed so it smells safe like you, but you can't crush it. You can also try making a pillow "wall" to keep yourself separated from the babies as well if you roll over in the night. Otherwise, just trying to make someplace else more enticing should encourage her to move them again.

Mino is super proud of showing off her kittens to you. Obviously she trusts you 100% and think that she wants to raise her babies in HER colony and you are part of the colony. Cats often share the care of their babies with other cats. SO I am afraid you are going to have to put a box into your bed room where she can be with you and her babies. If she already has a box where she suckles her babies, then just move that one. Cat mamas are very very clean and there will be no smell or dirt, and the only thing you may hear at night will be purring....that in itself is a wonderful way of falling asleep. I hope this helps. Oh, and make sure you feed her kitten food so she has the best milk available for her babies, and talk to her a lot praising her and telling her how nice her babies are.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! I am sorry that you are going through this! It is common for mother cats to move their kittens, especially if stressed and they feel that their kittens are at risk. I wold try to leave her be and try not to stress her. You can check on the babies once-twice a day. Her laying on them is some what normal. Unfortunately there is no way for me to tell based on the picture if the kitten will survive. Sadly some kittens don't make it and we don't know why. It is called "fading kitten syndrome." If Tinkiee left him/her behind she may know it is sick. You can try to hand raise the kitten by bottle feeding it with Kitten Mild Replacer (KMR). You have to bottle feed it every 3 hours and stimulate it to urinate and defecate by gently wiping it's anus and genitals with warm wash cloth after feedings. Below is a link to the milk replacer. It is also sold in pet stores or at Veterinary hospitals. https://www.chewy.com/petag-kmr-kitten-milk-replacer/dp/125389?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=PetAg&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1b-Q66bt1QIVRDaBCh1xgwYyEAQYASABEgIBmPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I wish you the best of luck!