Neutered male hurting new kittens?

My husband and I have four cats, all indoors: Ace, a nine-year-old neutered male we've had about four years; Skittles, a year-and-a-half old neutered male; Pepsi, a year-and-a-half old female; and Ozzy, a nine-month-old neutered male. A few months ago, we were unexpectedly fostering Ozzy (before we adopted him), and he hadn't been fixed yet. We kept him apart from Pepsi and got him neutered as soon as we could, but apparently not soon enough, 'cause last night Pepsi had five kittens.

My concern is that Ace, who is pretty territorial with cats that wonder around outside the house even though he's a completely indoor cat and has been neutered for years—I think since he was a kitten—will kill the kittens if he gets a chance. My husband Shawn saw him sort of bite Pepsi's neck several times while she was pregnant, and he said that that's what toms do to kittens.

Right now all the males are locked in the garage (poor babies), and I was wondering what the danger is and how long I should keep them out there. I'm really not too worried about Skittles, 'cause he's a total sweetheart and completely non-aggressive, but I am concerned about Ace because of how he has acted in the past. Also I'm concerned about Ozzy because he's still a kitten and sometimes acts like a complete fart; he loves to chase Pepsi (and the other cats) until they get so tired of it they hiss at him and smack him.

So ... when is it safe to let my guys out?

You may have to keep them seperate the entire 12 weeks you have the kittens. If he is aggressive there could be problems. Never keep cats in the garage as they can come in contact with chemicals that could be deadly to them or if the temp gets too high or too low they could die. Keep the mom and babies in a spare room with food, water, and a litter box. They should be kept there with the other cats running around the house.

Mom cat will be very busy with her kittens and won't miss you too much the first few days. You should go in for a few hours in the evening or early morning and visit and make sure everyone is eating OK and gaining weight. I use a mail scale that is digital for weighing and it helps alot.

Darn. I was afraid of that. Ace isn't normally aggressive to our other cats, but like I said, a few times he did sort of bite Pepsi's neck, almost like he wanted to mate. Not hard, and she didn't really mind, but still.

She is in the living room behind a chair right now, so how do I go about moving her and the kittens? Pepsi was a rescue, feral till about three months old. She loves us but is scared of anyone else and is scared of people walking toward her, even us, although she wanted us with her last night and even let us touch the kittens (we had to cut two of the cords) and is wants to be petted today when we check on her.

Oh, FYI: Our garage doesn't have anything in it but boxes of books and the empty fish tanks we seem to accumulate effortlessly, plus food/water/litter/rugs for the cats, and it's climate controlled. They're only "poor babies" because they are lonely for their people.

Outdoors (in the "wild"), some male cats will kill kittens in order to get the female cats back into heat so they can mate. Don't know how relevant that is to your situation...but if your "Pepsi" still isn't fixed, etc.

You really need to keep all of these cats separate until those kittens are weened off Pepsi and you can get your entire crew S/N'd.

Originally Posted by Nano

Outdoors (in the "wild"), some male cats will kill kittens in order to get the female cats back into heat so they can mate. Don't know how relevant that is to your situation...but if your "Pepsi" still isn't fixed, etc.

You really need to keep all of these cats separate until those kittens are weened off Pepsi and you can get your entire crew S/N'd.

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Yeah, I've heard of that behavior, though all our male cats are neutered, and none of our cats are ever let outside; Pepsi especially won't go anywhere near an open door, even when in heat; she runs for the hills. So, no worries about more kittens, though she will be getting spayed after the babies are weaned. (Because she was feral for the first three or so months of her life, it's a challenge, to put it mildly, to get her to the vet's office. But I got some tranquilizers from him, so we should be able to manage it. I wish someone did "spaying house calls" ... )

Please make sure you get these kittens fixed before you place them..there are now many clinics that practice pediatric spay/neuter which will fix a kitten early as 8 weeks of age and 2 pounds. That way, none of Pepsi's kittens will have kittens. Also, definately get Pepsi fixed once the kittens have been placed.

Katie

Originally Posted by TNR1

Please make sure you get these kittens fixed before you place them..there are now many clinics that practice pediatric spay/neuter which will fix a kitten early as 8 weeks of age and 2 pounds. That way, none of Pepsi's kittens will have kittens. Also, definately get Pepsi fixed once the kittens have been placed.

Katie

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No worries there. I have no wish to contribute to the cat overpopulation problem. I'm sure that they will be ready by 8 weeks, most likely, because they are big, healthy kittens (though I haven't weighed them), and they all seem to be getting milk so far.

Speaking of spay/neuter, how much does it cost in your areas? Is it less expensive for younger ones? Thinking in advance of what to do with our litter of 8 before letting them go.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Speaking of spay/neuter, how much does it cost in your areas? Is it less expensive for younger ones? Thinking in advance of what to do with our litter of 8 before letting them go.

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I am not sure, but I think it was about $70 each for Skittles and Ozzie ... maybe my vet will give me a bulk discount for all five.

I do know that the Humane Society will do it for less. I'll probably have it done there.

Oh my, I don't think I can afford that for 9!

Well, I haven't shopped around. I'll have to check with my next door neighbor; she's been doing a one-woman TNR thing with the neighborhood feral colony, so I know she knows how much it is.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

Oh my, I don't think I can afford that for 9!

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Typically it isn't cheaper to get them fixed earlier...but it means the kitten will never have to worry about having a litter. Here is what I could find for Colorado for low cost:


COLORADO
Planned Pethood Plus
Denver CO
303-433-3291

Humane Society of Boulder Valley
2323 55th Street
Boulder, CO
303-442-4030 ext 680
Low cost spay/neuter clinic for all.

MaxFund Animal Adoption Center
Low Cost Clinic
1041 Galapago Street
Denver, CO 80204
303-595-3561
Low cost s/n and vaccinations for pets of low income people. Open Monday through Saturday.

Every Creature Counts
Lyons CO
303-823-5941
Mobile s/n clinic serving the Denver and northern Colorado areas.

Peak View Animal Hospital
Fowler CO
719-263-4321

Dreampower Animal Rescue Foundation
Colorado Springs, CO
719-390-7838
Low cost spay/neuter for pets of low income people.

Hamlett S/N Clinic
Colorado Springs CO
719-475-1800


Eagle Valley Humane Society
Eagle CO
970-328-7387


Friends of Cedaredge Animal Control
Cedaredge CO
970-856-2319
Volunteer for the Friends group and earn credit per hour toward spay/neuter of a pet.

Where I am, there are only a handfull of vets that will perform the procedure before the age of 6 months - with weight and size being a part of that consideration as well. The one vet I trust who can do it early charges the same for it as he does for an adult. *sigh*

Wow! Thanks much, I probably could've done that! Lazy me.

I think it depends on the individual cat. My male nuetered cat, Seti, goes nuts if he sees another cat outside (he is supposed to be an indoor only cat, but he often takes advantage of company ... resulting in large vet bills for surgery on his abscesses). He will even start attacking myself and my husband if he sees a cat he does not know outside.

However, I often keep kittens for a no kill adoption service I work for until they are old enough to be put up for adoption. I will not say that Seti likes the kittens, but he will not hurt them. Some of the especially brave kittens will walk right up to Seti. He just makes strange little monkey noises and walks away.

Originally Posted by Jellilorum

I will not say that Seti likes the kittens, but he will not hurt them. Some of the especially brave kittens will walk right up to Seti. He just makes strange little monkey noises and walks away.

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*smile* This made me laugh. I know exactly the noises you refer to - my stud boy, Tonka does the same thing to his own kittens. He is as gentle as a lamb with them, but he doesn't engage in play with them at all. He just sort of looks at them with this perplexed look on his face and makes those "monkey noises" (GREAT description, by the way!) as if to say, "Gee, they should've thrown you back for being too small!" *grin*