How can I move new born kittens if the mother has them in a bad place?

Question

I have a 50-60 day pregnant cat, which goes freely in and out of the house, but prefers being outside 80% of the time, usually coming in at night to sleep. I read that newborn kittens need to be kept warm, and I've seen it suggested that a heating pad was used. Specifically an article stated that the kittens wouldn't be ready for 70-75° F temperatures until a few weeks of age.

First, is this accurate? I live in Louisiana, USA, a warm climate, so I'm not sure if heating would really be necessary.

I would assume cats are capable of taking care of their kittens just fine without help, but articles I've been reading seem to dictate otherwise.

If warmth is necessary, and my cat chooses to have the kittens outside, which is highly possible, should I move them and if so, how?

If I pick them all up into a box and carry them inside, would that scare the mother?

Also, I live in a x3-wide trailer with an enclosed lower skirted area, where the cat seems to go at night for safety if not yet inside, what if the kittens are had under there where I can't find / get to them, will they be ok?

Answer 1

We've had 2 females having litters over the course of their life-span, and it was the same situation, the cat would live outdoors freely and just come in whenever it wanted to "chill" or sleep. One thing you need to make sure is that the cat feels very comfortable indoors, set up a bedding that it's well covered, "hidden" and make sure she finds it, in our case we would only show the place to the cat and she would have the litter there since I feel she trusted us with the location of her litter. Put some old newspapers or old rags you don't mind disposing, an area big enough for her to lay down but not larger than twice her size, they seek comfy small areas so they feel they have control over the area and the litter.

If you really need to move the kittens(in case she has the litter outdoors) make sure she knows where you're moving the kittens, I had to do this several times, and I'd say the best thing is to move them all in one trip; it makes the cat less anxious.