Newly Adopted Stray is Pregnant, Need Advice

[zoomango]

I adopted a young stray cat that was being very friendly towards me around mid-February. I took her to the vet on February 20th and they did a full check-up. I was concerned she may be sick because of how much she meowed and her enormous appetite. After testing, the vet said she had roundworm and that was probably the reason for her 'potbelly' appearance and increased appetite. So they dewormed her and gave her first rabies vaccine. They also wanted to give her FVRCP vaccine, but I refused because I would prefer to do it separately from the rabies vaccine in case there would be any side effects. I'm glad I held off!

Yesterday, March 13, I took her for a follow-up visit to re-test for worms and to give her FVRCP. That's when the vet said the cat is actually pregnant. I've decided to let her give birth. I was concerned about the rabies vaccine she was already given, but fortunately it wasn't a live vaccine and the vet said it should be ok. I have 3 questions:

1- I have 2 male, neutered cats that are 3.5 years old. I've been keeping the stray cat in a separate room (because she had worms) and have not introduced them yet. If she is all cleared for worms, would it be ok to introduce them before she gives birth? Keeping her in a separate room she seems lonely and often meows. It's also inconvenient because I can't check on her as easily. I have read about male cats around kittens, so I would be cautious, but is it a bad idea?

2- I've been reading about pregnant cats (including the articles posted in this forum). They suggest doing an x-ray to determine the number of kittens, so you can tell when the cat is done giving birth, etc. or if there's complications. I don't know how far along she is, so how can I determine the right time to do the x-ray?

3- After she gives birth, I plan on keeping her but giving her kittens up for adoption. Is it ok if I keep one of her kittens or is that a bad idea?

 

[StefanZ]

The easiest first. Skip the X-ray, save money for real need problems.


B). Its Ok to keep home a kitten, esp if she is pal with it.

 

[di and bob]

Male cats very rarely hurt kittens, especially with a protective mama. Neutered males would really be no threat. even an x-ray can't determine sometimes how many kittens there are. Mama will clue you in by not acting restless after giving birth, meowing, pacing, and ignoring the kittens are all signs something is not right. don't stress mama out with the two males bugging her, you could put a door/gate up to let them all see each other and see how they all react. It may be fine, but hormones may cause her to be aggressive with them.

 

[zoomango]

The easiest first. Skip the X-ray, save money for real need problems.


B). Its Ok to keep home a kitten, esp if she is pal with it.

Thanks for the tip on the X-ray. Good to know about the 'if she is pal with it' on the kitten, I'll look for that.

Male cats very rarely hurt kittens, especially with a protective mama. Neutered males would really be no threat. even an x-ray can't determine sometimes how many kittens there are. Mama will clue you in by not acting restless after giving birth, meowing, pacing, and ignoring the kittens are all signs something is not right. don't stress mama out with the two males bugging her, you could put a door/gate up to let them all see each other and see how they all react. It may be fine, but hormones may cause her to be aggressive with them.

I see, great, so I will introduce them now and keep this in mind to give them space/barriers when she is closer to giving birth and during the time after. I didn't realize the pregnant female could be aggressive to the neutered males. Appreciate all the helpful tips.