Is it normal for a new mother cat to leave kittens and seek attention?

New moms should only leave her kittens for a few minutes at a time for a visit to the litter box or to eat and drink. The older her kittens, the more time she will spend away. During the first week of life, new mom cats should only leave her babies for a few brief times each day. During their first few days of life, not only are the kittens both blind and deaf, but they are dependent on their mom to regulate their body temperatures, for food, and even for stimulation to be able to potty. It is best if you confine her to one small room with the kittens and be sure keep her litter box, food and water near her babies. She should not have free roam of the house. If you find that she is not properly caring for the kittens you may have to remove them from her and bottle feed them yourself. If that is the case she may just not be cut out for being a mom and should then be spayed so this does not happen again. I suggest you get a gram scale and weigh them daily. If they are gaining weight each day then they are probably just fine. If they are not gaining or they are losing weight you will need to take them away from her. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

As long as the kittens are growing, seem healthy and are not meowing in hunger it is normal for the mother to leave them periodically. If you are concerned about weight gain or health of the kittens you could consider supplementing with kitten milk replacer. I would it advise this unless you are concerned however. Once the weaning process starts you can also provide kitten food for them.

She may need to eat or use the litter box, causing her to leave them for a bit. She may have been planning on coming back. It could be that Oya is rejecting her kittens, which can happen. Some cats are poor mothers and will reject their kittens, while others will reject a kitten because they know it's sick and not going to make it. It can take time for a mother kitten attend to their kitten, and I would leave her and her kittens alone for 30 minutes in a room. Come back and see if she has groomed them, and/or started to feed them. If she has started bonding with them, then it's fine. If there is no evidence that she has started taking care of them, then you will have to feed them yourself. This requires a kitten formula and bottles. You can get kitten formula from a pet store or a grocery store. I will put a link below on how to care for newborn kittens. Best of luck, I hope this helps! https://www.2ndchance.info/orphankitten.htm

At this age most kittens begin to stray away from mom and become more independent, which they should be doing in order to build up necessary skills for survival. I would allow the kitty to venture from the mama cat and she will eventually get used to the idea of her going astray. You can also allow mama cat to go with the kitten a few instances, so that she can see that Shunu is safe and free from harm. This is quite unusual for a mama cat to miss her young at this age, but I suppose you have one dedicated mama cat on your hands. : ) Best of luck and take care.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Menace is not eating, she needs to see a veterinarian asap. I recommend taking her and the kittens to be evaluated. She may not be producing enough milk which could lead to dehydration or malnutrition of the kittens. The vet can assess why Menace isn't eating and make recommendations if the kittens should be bottle raised or are ok to stay with their mom. Good luck, I hope she's better quickly.

What sweet little kittens! Those pictures are so adorable! I would not be too concerned about the mama cat just yet. She is probably exhausted from giving birth and nursing. You may want to move her to a location where you can keep a better eye on her so you can check on her regularly. Place a litter box within easy reach so she doesn’t have to travel far away from her kittens to use the bathroom. Try palpating her abdomen as well. It should be soft and doughy, not firm or hard or painful. If it feels abnormal you should probably take her in to the vet to make sure there are no kittens remaining inside of her. You can also try taking her temperature at home. If it is greater than 103 or less than 99, she needs to be seen by a vet. Finally, continue offering her fresh food and water. Keep in mind she will need a lot of extra calories since she is nursing 6 kittens. Feeding her a kitten food would be best. You can also try feeding her canned food or moistening her food with water to ensure she is getting enough. If your cat still refuses to move after 48-72 hours there may be something wrong and you should take her in to be checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Good luck with the kittens!

It could just be that she isn't quite sure what to do. Just make sure she has plenty of food and water and a litter box available, as well as a comfortable place to put the kittens. If she isn't eating, seems lethargic, or has a rectal temperature over 103 or under 100, then she should be evaluated by a veterinarian to see what could be going on.