Nursing cat acting strange

[meredithw189]

My cat had kittens two weeks ago. Everything has been going smoothly until tonight when her entire personality changed. Suddenly she started moving the same kitten to different places and staying with it. She’s not a very vocal cat but as of five hours ago she is meowing at me nonstop and jumping on my bed and then back down every 2 minutes and I can’t tell what she wants. I tried making different places for her to keep the kittens but she still just seems restless and on edge. I changed the bedding to the original area she was keeping them and she kept all of them there for around 2-3 hours and then she moved the one kitten again, but I am confused because she still doesn’t seem happy after moving her because she is still constantly meowing at me. I am also concerned that she might be rejecting the other 2 kittens. I tried moving them with her earlier after she moved the one kitten and she let them nurse and cleaned them but she still moved the other kitten away after awhile. As I’m typing this she just moved it back with the rest but then immediately started meowing so loud and for a long time. She just seems so anxious about something out of nowhere. I only got her a month ago and I took her to the vet the day after and the babies didn’t show up on the x-ray, so I didn’t know she was pregnant until she gave birth. I am completely inexperienced with all of this. I’m sorry if this entire thing just sounds dumbbut it’s currently 6 am and I haven’t been able to sleep because of how she is acting. She normally just sits with the babies for awhile and then does her own thing.

 

[di and bob]

She may want a more concealed place to keep them? Like in a closet or a box with a hole in it? This is strange, especially since it is just the one kitten. SOMETHING is bothering her and if she keeps moving, it sounds like she is not happy where the kittens are. Are they all gaining weight? Get a kitchen scale and weigh them daily to make sure they are thriving. I will contact some 'kitten' people to see if they can help you! Sarthur2 and StefanZ

 

[Sarthur2]

Is the baby she singles out eating well and gaining weight? Have the eyes opened? It sounds to me like mom wants you to check this baby to make sure it’s okay.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes a little odd. Cat moms usually abandon a sick kitten, not to endanger the healthy ones.

But sometimes they instead give extra care to the sickly one. Or giving some extra time to one whom is bullied by the others...

Perhaps if YOU did some work as grandmother? Ie let her leave the kitten with you in your care and supervision?

And yeah, keep extra eye on their weights... Its usually the easiest way to notice if something is amiss - because its usually visible in less weigh gain.
Also, you handle the kitten, and thus look see them.

 

[meredithw189]

She may want a more concealed place to keep them? Like in a closet or a box with a hole in it? This is strange, especially since it is just the one kitten. SOMETHING is bothering her and if she keeps moving, it sounds like she is not happy where the kittens are. Are they all gaining weight? Get a kitchen scale and weigh them daily to make sure they are thriving. I will contact some 'kitten' people to see if they can help you! Sarthur2 and StefanZ

My closet is one of the places I tried to set up for her when she was acting like that and she kept them in there for around 5 minutes before moving the one kitten again. They are all gaining weight but hers isn’t as significant as the others. Yesterday she had only gained 4 grams in 24 hours while the other two gained 9 and 15.

 

[meredithw189]

Is the baby she singles out eating well and gaining weight? Have the eyes opened? It sounds to me like mom wants you to check this baby to make sure it’s okay.

She is not gaining as much weight as the others most days. Some days she will gain 10+ grams and others it’s lower than the others. When I weighed them all yesterday she had only gained 4 grams in 24 hours while the others gained 9 and 15 grams. She first opened her eyes last night and she was the first of the three to open them.