Sexual maturity in question.

First time poster here, I'm was a bit hesitant to post.

I noticed someone else had posted a question on sexual maturity in cats, mine is I think more of a serious -now- question.

Here is my predicament. My boyfriend and I own two sister, black short haired, cats. They are about, eh, between 10 and 11 months. Neither have gone through their first heat as far as we can tell. Neither have gone to the vet yet due to lack of our time management and money. I know, stupid pet owners, but that isn't my point here. Neither are spayed.

I have a black female living at my mother's who went through her first heat at about nine months old.

Anyways, to the issue, my "work" so to say has a male feline about 5-6 months old. They've taken him to the vet and I guess they have said he is "safe". My work is my boyfriend's 27 year old mentally handicapped aunt, so it's abit of a family affair. When MoMo, the tom, is unable to be at "work"'s apartment, he usually comes to ours. He's yet to be neutered for what I think the vets have claimed to be his age.

Two of our cats, my black female and my boyfriend's spayed russian blue, don't enjoy MoMo's company and swat him away whenever he approaches. Raven, my boyfriend's black female, finds him interesting but if he gets too close, she'll give him a swat and simply walk away.

MoMo and Raven do alot of playing, but he will take after Poe, my black female, and refuse to leave her alone.

Okay, now that story time is over my question is this: Is it wise to have him stay at our place due to the circumstances of none of the cats being neutered or spayed?

What really has spawned this question is one reason, his last visit was a few days ago. I noticed that he had been "calling", his meows were alot different than his normal "mew"s and they resembled more of what I had heard from the two full grown toms living with my mother.

Even after the vet has claimed MoMo as "safe", I really question if he is. Seeing as there are reports of toms as young as 5 months siring kittens.

I've brought this issue up with my boyfriend and his response worries me. "Worst case we'll have kittens." I can think of alot more worst things than having kittens. Financial instability, time management, or perhaps a physical issue our girls could have with carrying kittens. (I know the last happens, a good friend of mine's cat had major complications with her pregnancy.)

Should I bring the issue up again with him and be stronger about my insistance that MoMo does not stay with us until the girls are spayed or he is neutered?

Our next MoMo visit, I've been told, is going to be Thursday. This is short notice, but I'm abit frantic about it.

Anything helps.

some cats can have a silent heat ... TRY NOT to leave the boy with the girls until they are spayed and or he is neutered and a month passes( boys can carry sperm for a bit after surgery ....

It's possible one or both girls are already pregnant. It only takes once.

Have you tried to find a low cost spay/neuter clinic?

They are all of breeding age. The male may not be mature yet but he is right on the cusp. Newly neutered males need to be kept separate from unspayed females for a month - that's how long it takes for the sperm to die. (for lack of a classier explanation)

If you can only fix one, fix the boy asap. Then schedule the girls as soon as you can and make it as much of a priority as you can. If no one around you believes it is important, then you will have to be the responsible one. Kinda stinks but you will be doing all the kits such a huge favor.

Many people don't really consider all the responsibility involved with kittens, sounds like you have a handle on it

There are low cost spay and neuters available in most areas. Let us know how it goes for you

At 10/11 months they are sexually mature. If the male is 5 months old he's almost certainly not, but if he's 6 he may be. Putting them together sounds like a time bomb (or "kitten bomb"). Not sure where you are located, but in cold climates this is not kitten season, but that doesn't mean you are safe.

Having unspayed and unneutered cats WILL result in kittens. If you can't afford to get them neutered/spayed, the LAST thing you can afford is another batch of kittens or two batches of kittens running around the house.

Call around to local shelters and find some low cost spay/neuter places. One of the responsibilities of owing a pet is to spay/neuter. If you can't do that, then maybe you don't need to be owing them.

Kittens need to stay with mom/siblings for 10-12 weeks - do you have the money/time to care for 1-2 litters? Of up to 8 kittens each? Do you have money for extra food, vet bills for shots and spaying/neutering these kittens before they leave your house? Do you have money if mom cat has complications and needs a c-section? Or what if mom can't nurse the kittens - can you have the time to bottle feed kittens 24/7?

Its FAR cheaper to save some money and spay them. Give up a few of your entertainment things to do that!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Having unspayed and unneutered cats WILL result in kittens. If you can't afford to get them neutered/spayed, the LAST thing you can afford is another batch of kittens or two batches of kittens running around the house.

Call around to local shelters and find some low cost spay/neuter places. One of the responsibilities of owing a pet is to spay/neuter. If you can't do that, then maybe you don't need to be owing them.

Kittens need to stay with mom/siblings for 10-12 weeks - do you have the money/time to care for 1-2 litters? Of up to 8 kittens each? Do you have money for extra food, vet bills for shots and spaying/neutering these kittens before they leave your house? Do you have money if mom cat has complications and needs a c-section? Or what if mom can't nurse the kittens - can you have the time to bottle feed kittens 24/7?

Its FAR cheaper to save some money and spay them. Give up a few of your entertainment things to do that!

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First off, there is no need for a personal attack. I came here for advice about a male cat that -is not mine-. I do not need you to lecture me on how to take care of female cats, I know how to, I've had them before.

I -know- our females need to be spayed and they will be, but work does put a giant stab in this. I don't live in America anymore, where cheap vet clinics are a dime a dozen. I'm in a country where they refuse to do a spay on a female cat until they've gone through a their first heat when it comes to in-door females. (Or so I've been told by many people.)

As for affording them. We could afford to get our cats spayed, but by time we have realized it, our paycheck has gone to bills, food, cat supplies, family supplies in the middle of the month. I don't know how your being payed, but one paycheck a month without strict financial planning can be abit of a strain sometimes. We can afford our cats just fine, they live happy lives. If we lived in an area with a giant population of strays, I could see the urgency to get the girls spayed. But we lived in a controlled community, second floor of an apartment complex.

MoMo, is not my cat, he's not my responsibillity. I can't -force- them to get him neutured and to my knowlege their last visit to the vet he told them he wouldn't do it until spring. I have no control over this. My concerns and question was if I should put my foot down and give my boyfriend a distinct NO about letting this tom stay.

If you would notice in my post, these are -my- concerns. -I- don't want kittens, I don't want MoMo to stay if he is going to continually harass my females. -I- don't have the time for kittens, I know I don't. Like I said before, my concerns were to my boyfriend who is taking a lax stand on this.

*edit* After reading this a few times, I've come to the conclusion I need to add more. MoMo is not my or my boyfriend's tom. He does not live with us and only visits on occasion. He first visited for a few days when he was 12 weeks, then again a few days when he was four months. His last visit was one day a few days ago, not even, less than 18 hours. His calling is what flagged my curiosity and concerns. I assume those are his ages because I'm not exactly sure how old he was when "work" got him. According to my boyfriend, MoMo is about 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 months.

You question my responsibility in taking care of my cats, yet you fail to consider that I may live in different conditions than you. The cat population here isn't as rampant as it is in the USA. I know, I lived there for nearly 19 years. If I lived in an area that was heavily populated with toms and strays, or if I lived in a house that is easily escapable, yes, I can see the urgency to get the girls spayed. But our situation does not call for an -immediate- need for our girls to be spayed. We live in on the second story of a four story apartment building. According to the building owner, we are the -only- one with cats in our building square, beyond the cluster of two-story complexes across the yard. The only contact our females have with any male cat is with MoMo, and he has been so young we have thought nothing of it. The vet MoMo has gone to has even expressed little concern when posed the situation. Even if our girls escaped our apartment, they still would have no contact with males. Our apartment area is connected 9 apartments to one four story lobby. They do not make any contact with outside unless they are in pet carriers.

Because of our situation, I find the need to spay our girls to be less important that say, feeding them, making sure they have a warm, loving home and fresh litter. So, please, before you make rash, rude comments such as the one you have offered, please do your research in understanding the situation.

Taking into consideration that I am trying to -prevent- cat pregnancies until we are able to schedule our girls to be spayed, I personally believe I am being very responsible. I am trying not to put my girls in a situation that could very possibly be harmful to them and our family home. If I were to allow him into my home without a care of wether or not pregnancy may occur or letting my girls roam the streets intact, that would be irresponsible.

My post was not a question of wether or not I should have my girls spayed, I -know- they need to be spayed. It is quite obvious about that in my post. My post was centered around a small, young male kitten that -visits-, who up until the other night, has not "called" for any female and wether or not I should allow him in my home over break. It was not opening a door for you to call me out on my ethics of cat raising.*edit*

Originally Posted by CharmsDad

At 10/11 months they are sexually mature. If the male is 5 months old he's almost certainly not, but if he's 6 he may be. Putting them together sounds like a time bomb (or "kitten bomb"). Not sure where you are located, but in cold climates this is not kitten season, but that doesn't mean you are safe.

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I live in Sweden, it is getting cold and because of the rain it is humid, only making it seem colder. I know it's not insurance against kittens, but just letting you know.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

They are all of breeding age. The male may not be mature yet but he is right on the cusp. Newly neutered males need to be kept separate from unspayed females for a month - that's how long it takes for the sperm to die. (for lack of a classier explanation)

If you can only fix one, fix the boy asap. Then schedule the girls as soon as you can and make it as much of a priority as you can. If no one around you believes it is important, then you will have to be the responsible one. Kinda stinks but you will be doing all the kits such a huge favor.

Many people don't really consider all the responsibility involved with kittens, sounds like you have a handle on it

There are low cost spay and neuters available in most areas. Let us know how it goes for you

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"Work"'s other helpers have taken the tom to the vet, they refuse to do his neuter until spring.

I'm not sure spay clinics exist around here, and if they did, I wouldn't know where to look. I pretty much yanked myself from an entirely English community, to one that knows English as a secondary language. I can function here with the help of others, but I just don't the specific words in Swedish for "spay clinic" or if there is even one.

*edit* I'll have my boyfriend do an extensive search for me, but I'm afraid because of the christmas holiday that none of the clinics or pet hospitals will be accepting any. I just don't know how the veterinarian system works here. The medical system is drastically different than the American medical system, I can only assume the same about pets.

Thank you all for your advice!


*edit add* I've talked to my boyfriend and MoMo is finding someplace else to stay this holiday season. The reason he was going to be staying was one of the helpers with work has dogs. He's unable to leave them anywhere and must take them to work with him. They are affraid MoMo is unable to hold his own against two very cat-aggressive dogs.

My boyfriend also is going to be in contact with vets tomorrow morning to see how quickly we can get our girls in to be checked up and spayed. Vet clinics around here are very difficult to get ahold of. They do not run on 8AM - 5PM phone hours, but 7AM -12 PM, then 1 - 2 PM. There are no free/cheap-spay clinics in our city, vets do the spaying and neutering, hopefully we can get can get an appointment before the holidays.

As for affording them. We could afford to get our cats spayed, but by time we have realized it, our paycheck has gone to bills, food, cat supplies, family supplies in the middle of the month. I don't know how your being payed, but one paycheck a month without strict financial planning can be abit of a strain sometimes. We can afford our cats just fine, they live happy lives. If we lived in an area with a giant population of strays, I could see the urgency to get the girls spayed. But we lived in a controlled community, second floor of an apartment complex.

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I kind of noticed this after posting, but, I mean affording the cats we have and spaying. I -know- we can't afford kittens. We don't have the time for it nor the money to pay for extensive vet bills. I don't want this to happen and I'm trying to prevent it.

There's a member on this site with the username Sol who's a breeder in Sweeden. Perhaps you can send them a PM and they can help you find a vet?

Thanks, but we found one. ^.^ Our girls are scheduled to go in for spays and shots Monday Morning.

Thanks for the advice, though!

I'm sorry Wolfie - your post was not really clear when I read it. I would not allow an unneutered male to be brought in my house if I had unspayed females. I don't care who owns the cat - its not right to just take your pet to someone else's house and turn them loose.

If you had to babysit the male for a few days you would confine him to a kennel or room, but not let him run loose to harass your females and get them pregnant.

Originally Posted by wolfiepunk

Thanks, but we found one. ^.^ Our girls are scheduled to go in for spays and shots Monday Morning.

Thanks for the advice, though!

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yay! Please post photos of them when you can. They must be adorable