Setting up your kitten room and nursery is fun and exciting!! Here are some tips to help you setup your space that will be safe and cozy for both the Queen and her kindle.
Your Queen and her kittens will go through several phases before they go to their new homes. Each phase will require some different items to accommodate her and the kittens needs. Remember, there’s more than one way to set your nursery up, so just test different methods until you find what works the best for and your cats.
Phase 1: Labor, Delivery and Newborns
When preparing the nursery for your Queen and her new babies, be mindful that her number one priority is to feel safe. This means offering her a quaint little spot where she can deliver her kittens. In a natural environment, she may seek out a quiet, dark covered space. Keep that in mind when creating a delivery room for your Queen. Check out this episode to learn the signs of your queen being in labor.
There are several options for building a birthing box for your mom-to-be. Some of these are mentioned in the podcast episode, and some links to these specific products are in the Show Notes down below.
The kittens will stay in the birthing box for about 3 weeks. After that they’ll want to start coming out and exploring other parts of their new world. This is when they will graduate to “Phase 2”
How to Manage Multiple Litters of Kittens in one Space
Phase 2: Litter Training the Kittens
During this phase the kittens are learning to play, interact with each other more, and explore more of their environment. They will leave the “nest” and start wandering around on their own. They’re not litter trained at this age yet, and the mom may still be toileting her young. Usually by the time the babies are eating real kitten food, the Queen will stop doing booty duty.
Be sure that you’re giving the kittens plenty of litter boxes in their kitten room and that the pans are shallow enough for a little kitten to get in and out of. You can use the boxes that the case of kitten food comes in! 🙂
There are some other awesome tips about litter training in the podcast episode. Be sure to listen in!
Phase 3: Big Kittens
By 6 or 7 weeks old, the kittens should be litter trained and ready to be big boys and girls. This means lots of toys, things to climb on, and boxes and tunnels to hide in.
Be careful about the height of your cat trees, since babies have no fear. They love to jump from high places and chew on everything in sight. The episode goes into more detail about things you can do and the appropriate height for kitten trees.
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