Keeping a mother and kittens in a cage

I recently rescued a stray female who I call Dixie. She is pregnant. I cared for pregnant cats when I was younger. Last year I adopted a male cat Frankie and he is really sweet and neutured. He gets along well with Dixie but I think he could harm her and kittens. I'm thinking about renting or finding a large cage to restrain Dixie and the kittens. Does anyone think this will work well or has anyone done this in the past.

Do you have a separate room you can keep her in? Even in a crate, she might become stressed with a hostile cat around.

Do any of your friends have a crate they could loan you? You could also try Craigslist & the classifieds in your area.

Get the largest one you can fit in your home. That gives you room for the litterbox, food and water and the mom & kittnes.

I keep my mommas and their kittens in a large wire dog crate. It's big enough for a "nest", food, water and litter box. Once the kittens start to move around, I move them all to a big puppy play pen that I have. They stay in that until they learn how to climb out, then they just have run of the room! By that time, they're using the litter box reliably so it's fine for them to have the freedom.

I'm going to be keeping them in my bedroom I have a large closet and I'm making room for them in there I got a dog cage from my uncle earlier today. Right now Dixie is restrained in the cage each time my male cat is around. I put a birthing box in the cage for her. Dixie should be due in a week. My mom will be taking them in a few weeks because I will be having nose surgery and I will need some alone to recuperate. Once I feel better I will bring them home again. So far I'm thinking of keeping Dixie and at least one kitten.

I do this with Shinobi and her kittens, though they only go in a night now. I think it's a fine idea, just put the cage in a corner so they'll have some place to retreat if the other animals are pestering them. And a blanket over at least part of the cage may help.