She is a determined mom! The cage we built for her, I was having a hard time containing her at the top. She wanted her kittens and she ate through wood, moved a huge litter pan, slid down through a plastic grate- anything she could do to get back to her kittens, she would do.

Normally, I would just leave her be with her kittens, but she has  “adopted” so many of them since her initial five were born, that she is just plumb tuckered out. In the photo below, you will see the birthing box and the cage system we built for her. At the top, is where ideally at night, I would like her to stay. There is a large hole in the floor of the top cage where she can get through and blocking that hasn’t been very successful.

I needed Mike’s help with this, so yesterday, he came into the bedroom and looked over the situation and came up with a brilliant plan. He told me to screw the litterpan over the hole- so she can’t move it. Worked like a charm!  She slept above the kittens all night, and around 1:00 a.m. when she got really busy trying to dig out, I put Griffin (the runt of the litter) in with mom for some one-on-one time.

They have all zapped her so badly and even though all but three are now eating on their own, the minute she lays down- they all pile onto her milk bar. It also worked because before, she didn’t want anything to do with the three older kittens who just arrived and last night, because they laid with her babies and played with them, the scents have mingled and she doesn’t look like she wants to kill them anymore.

In this photo, the hole is open and she is back with her babies while two more are playing where she slept last night. The whole front of the bottom closes with a hinged screen door so everyone can be contained while I clean up kitty messes in the room! 13 kittens can destroy a master bedroom in 5 seconds! LOL