Expert: W - 4/24/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a male and a female cat and decided that i wanted to mate them once so as to give her the right to be a mother and i have good homes for the litter to go to.  I was going to get the male castrated as soon as she gave birth but unbeknown to me she was a month further gone than i presumed and gave birth 3 days ago. My tom cat now however has decided that mating her is the next thing to do.  I was told that it would be 7 weeks before she falls again I would like this checked thank you.  As i don't want her pregnant and nursing at the same time and have now separated the good friends for the time being.

ANSWER: Dear Miss Hayes

Once a cat has given birth she may be receptive to tom's attention and could in fact become pregnant if she was mated within a very short time after birth. However some females may start to allow a mating to begin but would roll over and prevent the sperm from actually entering the vagina in search of eggs.

The seven week timescale is when she may next come into heat that is when she may start calling again. I would suggest that if you wish to keep the friends together until you get the male castrated then you could invest in a cat nappy that would prevent the male from mating with the female during nursing.

Do all that you can to prevent her being mated whilst she is nursing.

Regards

Ray




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Like I mentioned in my comment and do apologise, i have never heard of a cat nappy but shall look for 1, this morning my male cat tried mating with the nursing mum who was laying on her side at the time and was not impressed, could she have moved her kittens so as to prevent the male cat from getting to her as cats are not allowed in my room and she knows this and has put the kittens in there!!!!!!

Answer
Hi
I am not sure where you live but do see
http://www.dog.com/item/sanitary-pants/?srccode=SHOPPING

She would move her kittens to protect them from potential harm and if she keeps them in your room with no access to other cats then it should be OK

Regards

Ray