Expert: Marcia Owen - 3/31/2008

Question
Hi!  I just asked a question, but I remembered another question I had.  My stud Max has food allergies so he is on a trial diet of Hills Diet Allergen Food.  I wanted to make sure that this food was also okay for my pregnant Himalayan, Chloe, as they live completely together so they eat the same food.  I also wanted to see if I should separate them whenever the kittens are born.  They spend a lot of time together and Max has never shown any aggression, but they are both Mommy's kids and 3 or 4 more attention getters might not be welcome.

Answer
Hi again Meg

I would feel that Max's present food would be OK for Chloe, but if you are able to give Chloe some normal food under supervision to make sure Max doesn't get it, it would do her good.  However, when she has the kittens, she may need to be given food other than the Allergen food and certainly that food would not be suitable to rear kittens on.  You may need to have a think about how you can manage that.  

When the kittens are born you may find Max will be put off by the smell of birthing and of course the kittens crying may cause him to keep his distance.  Depending on how he is later on, he may become curious and want to investigate.  I usually find cats that start off keeping their distance become curious at the time the kittens start to find their way out of the box and then start to play with the kittens.  I do know of some studs that help to raise the kittens right from the word go and that I think is absolutely magic to see.

One thing to consider with Max and Chloe though, is that some girls may come into season again anything from 3 weeks after giving birth and I am sure you will agree that it would not be adviseable for her to be mated again so soon, so you may need to keep a close eye on her and separate them for periods should Chloe be one of those cats.

Regards

Marcia.