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Mom won't let her kittens go!

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We have three 5 week old kittens with their mother. All are still nursing and a week ago they managed to climb out of their shallow box and wander around a bit in the room they were staying. After two days of being quite mobile, the mother decided to move them behind my wife's night table, where they couldn't wander beyond the box. We expanded the area so that the box and very small area to walk in was enclosed; however, even only 2 feet away, the mother cat still picks them up and brings them back to the box! They're clearly frustrated and I think so is she. How do we get her to let the kittens explore, even a little?