Tom. cat won't leave pregnant females alone

We live in the country and have some feral cats that showed up so we have been feeding them. Two have become pregnant. We have a cat we believe is the father but we have never been able to get close to him. The female come up to our porch and hang out there and in our barn they are both very loveable and enjoy being petted. We have had many cats show up over the years at our farm but never had a Tom act like this. Both females are due any day now but the Tom will not let them out of his sight. He is always sitting in the yard no less than 20 feet from them and he keeps calling to them. What does this mean? They have always got along.

Awesome that you are taking care of these cats. I don't know much about tom cats, but hopefully he will not disturb the kittens when they are born. One of the experienced advisors on here will respond soon. Good luck!

Maybe they are not his and wants to kill the kittens as soon they are born

snibbormd said:

We live in the country and have some feral cats that showed up so we have been feeding them. Two have become pregnant. We have a cat we believe is the father but we have never been able to get close to him. The female come up to our porch and hang out there and in our barn they are both very loveable and enjoy being petted. We have had many cats show up over the years at our farm but never had a Tom act like this. Both females are due any day now but the Tom will not let them out of his sight. He is always sitting in the yard no less than 20 feet from them and he keeps calling to them. What does this mean? They have always got along.

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If they are best friends otherwise, he will probably accompany and help them.

I think you can do it, if the mom wants it tii.  There shouldnt be any risks.  (supervise at first if you can).

The only real problem is, she may get pregnant shortly after delivery, especially with a tom very near.

An unfriendly tom may be a real thereat to the kittens, but a tom whom is best friend with mom, verry verry seldom is, even if he isnt the biologicla father.

Quite a few studs / toms are even acting as help moms.

If mom allows and wants his company she too, you can let them.

But if she doesnt want his company as now, separate them.

Re the bold letters.  Feeding the hungry is a praiseworthy deed, but for it to become excellent, you must spay / neuter them too!  Otherwise they will just multyply, as you have noticed.

Find some low cost clinic nearby, etc....

Im sending our links for  pregs, but please, come with reports and further questions if you have any.

Good luck!

Most of these links have been readied by our forumist  Red Top Rescue:

We have a good collection of articles in the Cat Health section which you can access by scrolling up to the brown bar, clicking on Articles,and then choosing the Cat Health section and scrolling through the choices.  To make this super easy for you, I am copying the links regarding birth, delivery and newborns for you here.  After reading this information, let us know if you have any more questions.  And good luck with your approaching new arrivals.

 Birth, Delivery and Newborns

How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant?

Cat Pregnancy

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth

Help! My Cat is Having Kittens!

Premature Kittens

Post-Birth Complications in Cats

And also:

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens     ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  

http://www.kitten-rescue.com/
http://www.kittenrescue.org/index.php/cat-care/kitten-care-handbook/
http://www.hdw-inc.com/glop.htm

Fleece or flannel good to use in the bedding for kittens.

If they are his kittens it's very likely that he is keeping a close eye over both of his wives. Male cats actually take good care of their own kittens, even helping to hunt for them and feed them. If they aren't his or if the female cats think he is going to put the kittens in danger you'll know. If they all seem to get on well, nothing to worry about.

What are your plans for these kittens, are you happy to keep them as barn cats? It would be a good idea to start trapping and neutering them soon. Those three cats will soon become as many as 15, you could have more than 50 by this time next year. 

Yes, many organizations participate in trap, spay/neuter, release programs, and will either loan out the traps or come set them up for you. The cat can be fixed and returned to your property. A little extra effort but worth it to have healthy barn cats & also limit the population. Of course not when full pregnant or nursing. Of course if you go ahead and neuter the dad, a big problem is solved for now! Keep us posted!

One mom is missing today.  Don't know if maybe she was close to delivering and went to the farm across the road gonna check with her when she gets home.  We were going to get

'"Darla" fixed a while back but she showed up and had been hit by a car and we ended up taking her in and she had to have her tail removed.  Before we could go back to get her fixed she ended up pregnant.  My nine year old is called a "cat whisperer" by many in our family so they will have good homes and fixed as soon as time permits!  the tom "cow-cat"  is still hanging around just not sure where the momma is.  Will keep you posted and thanks so much for all the responses!!

Hope she shows up soon! You are very caring to take them to the vet, especially after the car accident.