A query on kitten age and train travel

[phoenixglass]

In the story I'm currently working on, one of the main characters has a cat who's about to kit. That part I'm fine on and won't have trouble writing when it comes to it, but my plans were to have him take a train trip that would be about four hours and he's taking the cat and kittens with

Comments

[twilight2000]

Check out this kitten fact site!

[phoenixglass]

Thank you. This helps a lot. :)

[phoenixglass]

"Not sure what you mean by "would they be able to handle a train trip" -- they're not going to keel over and die, if that's your question?"
Yeah, that was pretty much it. Sorry, I should have phrased it better there. And thank you for answering the main question I had.

He'll be using a pet carrier, probably with something soft stuck to the bottom for them, and it's a kind of alternate Earth that hasn't had a specific city picked out, so he'll be allowed with those kittens. He is doing the travelling legally.

Thank you for your help. :)

[dinogrrl]

Depends on the conditions of the trip and the health status of the cats. 4 hours isn't too long of a trip--for reference, most 2-week-old kittens can go 3.5-4 hours between feedings. Obviously it's not ideal to be moving around kittens that young, but if travel conditions are good and everyone's healthy and not too stressed, they'll probably come out of it okay. If we're talking about ill kittens in rough conditions and momma's too stressed to pay attention to them, it's possible they won't make it.

[hinky_hippo]

All he has to do is pad the carrier well with a soft shirt or some towels. By two weeks, kittens are starting to regulate their own temperature instead of relying upon their mother for that. They still should not be chilled. Mom will still be feeding them. If the carrier is small, you may want to consider bringing the mother in a separate carrier or just ensure it's large enough for her to move safely without squishing kitties. ;)

Four hours isn't a very long time. Many of our clients have a round trip approximating that when they bring their puppies or kittens to us with no ill effects.

[phoenixglass]

Thank you so much! This pretty much is what I needed to hear for good details on how to make sure I wouldn't be inadvertantly killing small kittens in my story through lack of knowledge. Aside from just having to add in something about him getting a bigger pet carrier to carry mother and kittens in, it sounds like what I had originally planned out will be okay. :)

Thank you. :)

[lindenfoxcub]

I don't think your problem would be the kittens - there's no reason the kittens should have trouble with being on a train. It would be the mother I'd worry about. If a mother cat is sufficiently disturbed when her kittens are that young, she'll abandon them. When they're newborn, they've been known to abandon them just because they've been touched by humans or moved. On the other hand, some cats have been known to accept orphaned kittens into their litter, or even orphaned species of other animals, so it really depends on the mother cat's temperament. It could be a laid back, experienced mother cat though. If the owner knows cats I'd be satisfied with reading about him worrying about how she'll react, and impressed when the mother was fine with it. I'd have an easier time believing it if he knew she was not a first time mother, or if he didn't know, perhaps speculated that she wasn't.

[corvideye]

I had that thought too. I wonder if sedating the mother would help or be warranted? That's fairly often done when people take cats on planes.