Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi there, I can share my experiences with you.  I always leave some
    of the soiled bedding in the box with mom and babies to reassure
    mom.  If you clean if all out, mom might take the babies and go
    looking for it.  It has happened to me.  I also recommend not bathing
    mom for a few weeks after the babies are born, since they recognize
    her by sent until their eyes are open.
    
    I always handle my kittens from the minute they are born, and
    throughout kittenhood.  I think it helps them to be very well adjusted
    to humans when they are older.  It certainly makes it easier to
    handle them for trimming their nails etc.  Maybe some of the other
    breeders have different ways of doing things.  
    
    Another thing I have noticed with my females, they *always* move
    the kittens when they are three weeks old, so I keep a second box
    ready or else the kittens end up somewhere that I don't want them,
    like in bed with me, or in the laundrey hamper.
    
    Jo

    Please make sure you replace the crate with clean bedding after
    you have thoroughly cleaned the crate with soap and water.
    
    My Lilac Point Siamese had four (4) kittens last November.
    One afternoon when I wasn't home, a friend of mine came over
    to see the kittens because she had been promised two of them.
    My mother didn't know any better, but let the women hold the
    kitten at two weeks of age.  Please don't handle or let anyone
    else handle the kittens until their at least three weeks old.
    The mother kept taking the one kitten out of the bed, and 
    placing it by itself in the hallway, in the closet, and
    just leaving it cry.  I finally cleaned the kitten with
    soap and water and placed it back into the bed.  The scent
    of the woman's hand was gone, and the mother accepted the
    kitten again.
    
    Good luck!
    

    There seems to be more than on school of thought on this subject.
    
    My Patch had kittens on Tuesday.  They were born under the sofa
    bed in the sun room on the rug.  It is VERY warm in there and I
    want to move them.  I have made a bed for them in the dining room but
    have not as yet moved them.
    
    I have handled the kittens on a couple of occasions and although
    she is not really happy about it, she hasn't rejected any of them
    for it.  Last night, Patch was in the kitchen eating and I went
    in and picked up one of the kittens.  It started to cry and Patch
    was there like a shot.  She laid on top of the other three and looked
    at me with pleading eyes.  So I put the baby down and she covered
    it with her paw.  I don't want to upset her, but I don't think where
    they are is a very good place for them.  Any suggestions?  I may
    try moving them over the weekend.
    
    Janet
    

    It will not hurt the babies for you to handle them.  It may upset
    the mother if you let other people handle them.  All of my cats
    are very people oriented and do not object to having their kittens
    handled.  Probably since they were raised the same way.  I am raising
    kittens that may be destined for show someday so they need to get
    used to handling very young.  I have never lost a kitten due to
    handling and I have never had a mother reject one because I handled
    it.  
    
    If the your cat is not real familiar with you then maybe you should
    play it by ear, being careful not to upset her.
    
    re: -.1
    
    If the babies are too warm they will not pile up on top of each
    other but instead spread out to cool off.  If they are warm, then
    you may have to move them, but keep in mind that a cat's body
    temperature is much higher than a person and they may be very
    comfortable.  Usually moma cat knows best.  If she thinks it is
    too hot then she will move them.  I always put a heating pad in
    the birthing box for my females, they seem to prefer the warmth.
    
    Jo

According to my cat behavior books, you should NOT handle the kittens unless the
mom knows you REAL well.  If this is a recently adopted stray, I would not
handle the kittens until they were moving around quite freely on their own.  If
you handle a kitten too soon, the mother may reject or kill the kitten because
she does not recognize it as her own...cats operate on smell.  As someone
earlier said, you should not wash mom's tummy because the kittens each claim
a nipple as their own and find it by smell - washing mom off removes the
smell.  Mom will move her kittens to a clean nest (if she can find one) when
the kittens are about a week or two old (again, I'm quoting some books
here) so maybe if you offer her a clean, quiet and well-protected area she'll
move them there.

I would suspect that you could VERY CAREFULLY remove the most soiled bedding
and replace it from the birthing bed (provided she USES the bed you have
offered her) as long as you don't disturb the kittens....I would put lots
of towels in the "intended" nursery and then carefully remove the worst of
them after birthing is complete.  Of course, odds are not great that she
will accept your choice of bed unless you lock her into a room with the
only possible acceptable area being your selection for her birthing bed.

		Good Luck!

    
    The mother cat (and only the mother cat) knows what's best for her
    babies.  You do NOT need to wash anything, especially with soap.
    She will do all the necessary washing herself and clean and after
    birth away.  Do not move the kittens until she decides to move them 
    herself, which she will do after about 3-4 weeks when she has found 
    a better place for them (safer etc.) 
    
    All I did when Elsa (RIP) decided it was time to move (by this time 
    the kittens had started walking around and could get out of the 
    bed/basket where she had them was to wash the bed and replace it, 
    where she had decided was the best place (which was behind the sofa), 
    inside a large box 6ft high x 3ft wide x 3ft high so the kittens
    couldn't get out and get stomped on by humans not looking where
    they were going and when they were big enough to get out of there
    they were big enough to stand up for themselves!!
    
    Handle them by all means if she approves but DO NOT try to clean
    them as she will kill them for sure.
    
    Sharon, Dillan & Sammie in UK
    

    
    OOOooooh!  All this baby kitten talk!  I can hardly wait for my
    (that is, The Bicket's) next litter.
    
    Marion

    I know what you mean,  Joui is due in September.  I don't know how
    I will be able to stand the waiting.
    
    Jo

    My lilac lynx siamese queen, Snowy, was funny as a mother. Once
    we realized she was pregnant (a couple weeks before the vet could
    confirm) we had the male fixed. I had never been around a litter
    of kittens and wanted to see what it was like.
    
    Well Snowy got pretty big, and when she was x-rayed we could see
    4 little backbones. One day, she kept following me around as I got
    ready for work,howling up a storm. I said to my wife- "I bet she
    has those kits today." One of the kids stayed home sick that day.
    I told her to call me if Snowy started to give birth to the kittens.
    
    At about three o'clock, I called home to find out if she had started
    to deliver yet, as I was going to be away from the phone. Nope.
    Just as I started to leave the office, the phone rang. Snowy had
    given birth to a kitten under the comforter! So I went home.
    
    Once I got home, Snowy went wild. She was howling at me, trying
    to get me to follow her. I looked at the kitten. She had taken it
    out of the box and brought it about half way up the stairs. I returned
    it to the box. She had stopped giving birth after the first kitten.
    For over two hours she followed me around, howling.
    
    Finally I took her back to the box, and sat with her. I started
    to pet her. Her body began to tremble, and out popped another cat.
    She started to clean it. i got up to leave. She abandoned the kitten
    and came after me. I took her back to the box and petted her some
    more. Out plopped another kitten. That's all she had (or all we
    found). The fourth kitten never materialized.
    
    I was amazed at the little needles (claws) on the babies. they were
    so cute. they all went to nice homes. I'd LOVE to see how they look
    now.
    
    The Doctah

    re:9 Is this the same DOCTAH that fishes for cats during the winter
    to keep his fishing arm in shape???
    
    Jan
    

    You betcha!
    
    It's the cats favorite way to play. My teenage girls have those
    little elastic knitted rings that they put in their hair. Well,
    the cats love toplay with them. It seems that they like the way
    it feels when they chew on it. So I've got a little fishin' pole
    that's easy to cast inside the house. I tie one of those little
    rings on it and cast it across the floor. As I retrieve it, the
    cats come from far and wide to catch this "intruder." They simply
    love it.
    
    Despite the way the note sequence in FISHING:: turned out, there
    really aren't any hooks or anything. That note degenerated but was
    pretty funny (I thought).
    
    Jan- show up to a tourney next year (maybe we'll go somewhere that
    has fish) :-)
    
    The Doctah

    Where did you get your handle?  I keep thinking of Doctor Who.

    It's a reference to my high school basketball days. I was being
    compared (some say contrasted) with Dr. J (of the 76ers) who was
    known as The Doctah.

    Also a complimentary reference!  Thanks for the info.