There isn’t an easy yes or no answer to the question: My cat had kittens, can I move them ? You’ll see that the answer varies depending on who you consult.  This is why Fluffy Kitty wanted to delve deep into the topic to find the best and most accurate information regarding whether you can (or should) move newborn kittens within the first few hours or days of your cat giving birth.

Caring for kittens takes a lot of attentive patience.  While sweet momma cat will give her best effort to take care of her newborn litter, sometimes human intervention is beneficial and otherwise necessary.  For example, if a weak or sick kitten is not properly getting it’s nourishment or warmth from the mom, it will be at risk of death.  According to The Cat Doctor, kittens cannot defecate on their own for the first 2-3 weeks; the mother needs to lick their stomach and genitals in order to help them go potty.  This is an example to show how human intervention would be necessary (taking kitten to the vet immediately).

Otherwise, is moving kittens and momma cat really helping them? Let’s find out!

Should you move newborn kittens? Why or why not?

To explain in two words: it depends*. Before moving kittens, ask yourself these two very important questions…

• What is the behavior of the mom cat?

• Is the birthing location safe, quiet, clean and accessible? 

*If the above birthing location conditions all check out and if the mother is calm and healthy – then the kittens do not need moving** and you can begin handling them with momma’s supervision after 2 weeks.  However, there are some situations in which your mommy cat and her newborn babies will need moving.

**If you move the kittens prematurely, the mom could get anxious about her babies and will most likely try to move them back to the original location anyway or worse, abandon them, so if the birthing location’s conditions are safe, quiet, clean, and the mom and babies look healthy, let nature do the rest – meaning trust in your sweet new mommy cat to do her job well (still check up on them frequently though just in case).

Let’s look at these two areas more in depth.

Momma cat’s behavior

One of the first things you should do (other than analyzing the conditions of birthing location) is to observe the mother’s behavior.

Ideally, your momma cat will already be comfortable with you and should trust your ability to care for her. If this is the case, then it’s most likely that the mother will not be anxious or worrisome if you approach her and her babies.

Personal experience: My family once took in a stray kitten that we named “Kitty”. She was very young (around 1 yr old?) when she got pregnant (I know, our fault for not taking her to get spayed sooner).  Needless to say, we noticed her belly getting rounder and rounder.  I put my ear up to her soft belly and I could hear her babies moving around.

The day came when she decided to give birth, but the way she acted right before was strange.  She meowed at us ceaselessly.  We got up and followed her to the bathroom where she would meow some more and stare at us.  We would leave, but again she would have us follow her to the bathroom.  Then it hit us!  She was wanting us to stay in the room with her while she gave birth.  We laid a towel down in the corner and sat around her; moments later she began to give birth.

It was so sweet how she wouldn’t have her kittens until we were there with her.  Her behavior was very welcoming and calm.  We did not handle her kittens right away, nor should we have in this situation as her location was secluded, comfortable, clean, with a fresh towel, we provided fresh water right next to her and even moved her litter box in there.

Once she was done giving birth, we caressed her some and closed the door half way and left the room.  We let her and her kittens have some family time.  We checked for any weak kittens needing attention; checking up on them every half hour or so.

What I wanted to convey from this personal experience is that, in our case, our momma cat’s location was safe, quiet, and clean so there was no need to move her and her kittens.  We provided fresh water, gave her food at normal times, and checked on them to see if the kittens were being properly fed and cared for.  Kittens should be feeding from their momma at least once an hour.

Over the next few days the kittens should be gaining weight at a normal pace.  If they are not, it is recommend to call a vet right away as this could be a sign of near death.  Another sign of death with young newborn kittens is if they are not moving much and are constantly crying as this could signal they are sick and/or are not receiving the care they need to survive.

Healthy kittens should have round bellies from being well-fed, they should sleep more than cry, and they should be kept warm.

Birthing location’s conditions

As mentioned above, the place where the mother cat gives birth to her kittens should be safe, quiet, clean, and accessible.  The only reasons for which you can move the kittens is if they (mom included) are not safe, in a quiet or clean location, or not easily accessible.

SAFE

It is very important to make sure that the location where momma cat gives birth is safe.  So what does “safe conditions” entail?

A safe place is somewhere that is away from humans and other animals (even daddy cat), and hazardous areas (next to stairs, for example).  Basically no where in which the mom or the newborn kittens can get hurt or disturbed.

Examples of safe locations include (but are not limited to): a clean and spacious closet, a bathroom (not heavily used), a box with towel, a small secluded spare room, under a bed (this is debatable and depends entirely on the space and cleanliness under there) – {Any that I’m leaving off? Let us know below!}

Examples of non-safe locations included: a high foot-traffic area in your home, a garage/crowded room with lots of places kittens could get lost or stuck, areas where kittens can roam and fall (next to stairs, on a bed, etc.), and any other areas that you deem not safe or quiet, unclean, and inaccessible.

QUIET

It’s also crucial for the new mommy and kittens to have a quiet place to have some family time.  Especially for the mommy, who may get anxious or upset if it’s too loud and may try to move her babies somewhere less noisy or disturbing.

CLEAN

Make sure the area is clean and not cluttered.  Kittens are very fragile for the first 3-5 weeks of life.  Keeping the area clean and safe for mom and kittens will ensure less potential hazards.  Provide them with fresh towels or blankets to keep them comfortable and warm.

ACCESSIBLE

If the mom gives birth to kittens in a place that you do not have access to (small spaces or such) then it may be best to try to move them.  For example, if momma cat gives birth to her kittens under the bed where you cannot checkup on them this way properly, it is best to try and move them to a more accessible location (like a closet).

Otherwise, if the location is easily accessible for you to checkup on them several times then the kittens do not necessarily need moving, unless the conditions are of course not safe, unclean, or not very quiet.

My cat had kittens can I move them ? Final thoughts

Though newborns are adorable and we all crave to hold them, resisting to touch them for the first 1-2 weeks is more beneficial.  If mom detects strange scents or is suspicious of her babies being messed with, she could react negatively and even abandon one of her newborns.

Also, taking care of the kittens may not be as important as taking care of the new mommy.  For example, making sure the kittens nails are trimmed will ensure that momma doesn’t get her mammary glands scratched which could lead to infection and inflammation.  Checking the mother’s 8 mammary glands for pus, tenderness, size, etc. can help in determining if the mom is healthy enough to feed her babies.  If her glands are bloody, oozing pus, or otherwise not normal-like, you should take her to the vet right away.

We hope you enjoy this incredible experience of a mother caring for her newborn babies! We hope everything will go well and that they all stay safe and healthy.  Please use this advice as need be, but be aware that this information should not replace the advice from your local vet! We are happy to help in each way we can based from our own experiences, research, and knowledge of cats.

Thanks for following and reading Fluffy Kitty!