Expert: Marcia Owen - 5/6/2008

Question
QUESTION: omg ive just caught my tom cat mating with one of my other cats and shes onli 5 months old what should i do, as you know my bengals expecting but thats not a problem as shes 18 months old but im worried about the 5 month old please help

ANSWER: Hi Gail

Well if he has mated her successfully there is not much you can do at this stage and time will tell if she is pregnant.  However just in case she is not pregnant I would separate them so that he doesn't get another chance.  

If she is pregnant then you will need to keep an eye on her and make sure you are with her when she has them as she is not yet fully grown and she may have problems that require veterinary assistance.

Marcia

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

QUESTION: thank you sorry to be a bother, i have seperated him from the other girls now for the time being, but what are the risks to my cats if she has them so young

ANSWER: The main risks are that she is small and may not be able to pass the kittens which would mean a caesarian, and also that as she is so young, she may reject the kittens which would mean you would have to hand rear them.

Hopefully she will be OK and best of all that she will not be pregnant.

Marcia.

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

QUESTION: hi marcia its me gail again sorry to be a pain but you know my bengal whos expecting kittens round about 2 and a half weeks time well i made her a bix box with shredded paper in as a birthing box and put it in a quiet corner and now shes pinching the blankets out of the other cats bed and carrying them into her birthing box, is this ok why shes acting strange like this thank you

Answer
Hi Gail

Each cat differs in how long before the birth that they start nesting.  Some seem to do it for a couple of weeks before, some leave it right till the end and some never do it and hope we will provide for them.

Keep an eye on her in case she is further on than we think.

Marcia.