Seeking help with microchip selective large Catflap

[Willowy]

Cats don't take long to mate---they can do it so fast you won't see it if your back is turned. They aren't like dogs who need to tie for half an hour. So I wouldn't rely on supervision to prevent mating. And males can retain sperm for awhile after neutering, so even if he were done right away they would still need to be separated. To be honest, I think the best thing would be to have the female spayed right away. It's a lot healthier for her. And especially if she's timid, because the stress of having babies might be detrimental to her, and the babies might inherit the timidness. There are usually a lot of kittens available every spring, I don't think there will be any trouble finding one for the people who want a kitten.

Oh, and if the neighbor's cat is able to get into your house, and he isn't neutered, there could very well be a paternity issue .

 

[sunshineclare]

Thanks Willowy yeah that brings us nicely to the original point of this post haha, the new Catflap to stop any others getting in!! I've no idea if it was a male or female, as we had only seen it the last few days. It was ever so sweet though, it looked so guilty when I found it, haha, like... Oooooooooops I never thought of that... It's not come in since, haha!! I'll reply to the other issues later [emoji]128578[/emoji]

 

[talkingpeanut]

Is there any update here?

 

[sunshineclare]

Hi Talkingpeanut sorry I've been super busy this week. So yes to update. We ordered the pet door, not got it yet but the silly cat flap we have lets any other cats in, no cats have come in despite the opportunity lol, even the other visitor, I think he/ she was scared not getting out that one time. Even though I stroked it and spoke kindly to it and even brought it Orijen food lol  - not exactly a shit welcome lol - So should get the pet door monday or tuesday next week. I"m pretty handy, can fit it myself.

You wont like this but the vet said she thought our cats would have beautiful kittens and if we really wanted to do that to just take it very carefully and wait for at least another 6 months, Mia is still growing, so we all agree on that she is still young, so we will keep them separated and inside for the next 6months or so. As I've had a super busy week I've not called the local animal rescue centre to ask about fostering but I have tided our middle room a lot and continuing to do so, so we do have the 3 separate areas for cats, I will ask about fostering pregnant mommas so i can learn more about kittens and their birth my partner says he's cool with that and interested also

 

[talkingpeanut]

Hi Talkingpeanut sorry I've been super busy this week. So yes to update. We ordered the pet door, not got it yet but the silly cat flap we have lets any other cats in, no cats have come in despite the opportunity lol, even the other visitor, I think he/ she was scared not getting out that one time. Even though I stroked it and spoke kindly to it and even brought it Orijen food lol  - not exactly a shit welcome lol - So should get the pet door monday or tuesday next week. I"m pretty handy, can fit it myself.

You wont like this but the vet said she thought our cats would have beautiful kittens and if we really wanted to do that to just take it very carefully and wait for at least another 6 months, Mia is still growing, so we all agree on that she is still young, so we will keep them separated and inside for the next 6months or so. As I've had a super busy week I've not called the local animal rescue centre to ask about fostering but I have tided our middle room a lot and continuing to do so, so we do have the 3 separate areas for cats, I will ask about fostering pregnant mommas so i can learn more about kittens and their birth my partner says he's cool with that and interested also

Sorry for my delay in responding. The issue is not whether your cats would have beautiful kittens; I am sure they would. My question is whether that's worth keeping your cats separated, allowing them to take on possibly irreversible bad behavior, like spraying, and whether it's worth risking your girl's health. I would always choose the happiness and health of my girl. You do not seem to be taking the disposition of your girl into account either. If she is a shy girl, she's not a for a traumatic experience that she can't understand.

I would know. I have a retired mommy cat; I got her from a breeder. She is a shy, sweet, beautiful girl, and I believe she was permanently traumatized by her experience. She has been with me for 4 years and is only getting more comfortable now.

I understand wanting kittens; I don't see how it's worth it.

 

[sunshineclare]

Hi talking peanut, hope you're well [emoji]128578[/emoji]
I was wondering what happened, every single post I'm reading on here - this forum in general not just this thread - the first advice immediately is - get them spayed - get them neutered - she's had kittens a week ago - get her spayed - she blinked - shit is she spayed, get her spayed... was wondering why you'd not come back to say that ... Sorry please excuse the sarcasm but as a relative newbie to this site I've really found this stands out on this forum, don't have any other cat forums to compare it to!

I do honestly appreciate why y'all say this and I don't blame you. Cats are very effective and persistent at mating! I do realise and respect this! Anyway to get to the point of this thread - and hopefully conclude it [emoji]128578[/emoji]

We bought the pet door after someone's super helpful advice saying the different settings for different pets one ate batteries and wasn't reliable. We had to cut a bigger hole in our door, it's all fitted now and a perfect size, still figuring out how to program it but it's all good [emoji]128578[/emoji] Still would prefer one with different settings and times for each cat but it's working out ok.

Re: kittens, as I just posted on another post here , one other thing our vet said was to take all forum advice with a pinch of salt. We have seen 3 vets all working at different branches of the same awesome vet practice in london we take our cats to. On the various visits checking mias paw abcess was ok which it now is.

All 3 said the same thing. They agreed with you since Maine Coons grow slowly that if we really wanted kittens to wait until Mia is at least 18 months.

So we all agree on that. You say cats can develop bad behaviours if they aren't spayed or neutered as they get older. Surely it depends on the cat? Some neutered male cats spray, I've read that on this forum. Some unneutered male cats never spray, I've read that here too. Someone had a momma cat neutered within a couple of weeks after having kittens and it sounded awful for the poor momma.

So for us, our cats are super chilled and sweet. Mia is actually on heat now which is her 3rd one. It was over a month since her last one. So that's good as it means she isn't pregnant. [emoji]128578[/emoji] She makes some special little chirrups occasionally and we scoop her up and give her a special cuddle and she calms down and normally falls asleep. As we have been home last few days we can watch over them. Often they are both sleeping separately, when mojo tries to do the biz, we separate them and they soon calm down. We bought more toys for them [emoji]128578[/emoji]

We shut mia in the lounge at night with this thrive food columbine on here told us about, mojo sleeps in the bedroom with us [emoji]128578[/emoji] It's all good. She's not distressed. We will see how she grows in the next few months. She's already large and around the same size as her mum, just skinny. She's loads more confident now than even when I first started writing this post. Well thread not post lol.

So we are keeping an open mind. If now it's spring here she comes on heat every other week for a week and doesn't fill out at all we might reconsider; as it is they have a lovely life with loads of attention and love, and we are just taking it day by day. We don't have any issues. [emoji]128578[/emoji]

I'm sorry to hear your girl you think was traumatised. We were just discussing earlier it must be awful if cats from serious breeders are kept in cages, until they are of age, meet a suitable mate, etc. Please post a photo of her Xxx do you just have one cat or several?? I'd love to see photos of however many cats you have [emoji]128578[/emoji][emoji]128512[/emoji]

 

[talkingpeanut]

Hi talking peanut, hope you're well [emoji]128578[/emoji]
I was wondering what happened, every single post I'm reading on here - this forum in general not just this thread - the first advice immediately is - get them spayed - get them neutered - she's had kittens a week ago - get her spayed - she blinked - shit is she spayed, get her spayed... was wondering why you'd not come back to say that ... Sorry please excuse the sarcasm but as a relative newbie to this site I've really found this stands out on this forum, don't have any other cat forums to compare it to!

I do honestly appreciate why y'all say this and I don't blame you. Cats are very effective and persistent at mating! I do realise and respect this! Anyway to get to the point of this thread - and hopefully conclude it [emoji]128578[/emoji]

We bought the pet door after someone's super helpful advice saying the different settings for different pets one ate batteries and wasn't reliable. We had to cut a bigger hole in our door, it's all fitted now and a perfect size, still figuring out how to program it but it's all good [emoji]128578[/emoji] Still would prefer one with different settings and times for each cat but it's working out ok.

Re: kittens, as I just posted on another post here , one other thing our vet said was to take all forum advice with a pinch of salt. We have seen 3 vets all working at different branches of the same awesome vet practice in london we take our cats to. On the various visits checking mias paw abcess was ok which it now is.

All 3 said the same thing. They agreed with you since Maine Coons grow slowly that if we really wanted kittens to wait until Mia is at least 18 months.

So we all agree on that. You say cats can develop bad behaviours if they aren't spayed or neutered as they get older. Surely it depends on the cat? Some neutered male cats spray, I've read that on this forum. Some unneutered male cats never spray, I've read that here too. Someone had a momma cat neutered within a couple of weeks after having kittens and it sounded awful for the poor momma.

So for us, our cats are super chilled and sweet. Mia is actually on heat now which is her 3rd one. It was over a month since her last one. So that's good as it means she isn't pregnant. [emoji]128578[/emoji] She makes some special little chirrups occasionally and we scoop her up and give her a special cuddle and she calms down and normally falls asleep. As we have been home last few days we can watch over them. Often they are both sleeping separately, when mojo tries to do the biz, we separate them and they soon calm down. We bought more toys for them [emoji]128578[/emoji]

We shut mia in the lounge at night with this thrive food columbine on here told us about, mojo sleeps in the bedroom with us [emoji]128578[/emoji] It's all good. She's not distressed. We will see how she grows in the next few months. She's already large and around the same size as her mum, just skinny. She's loads more confident now than even when I first started writing this post. Well thread not post lol.

So we are keeping an open mind. If now it's spring here she comes on heat every other week for a week and doesn't fill out at all we might reconsider; as it is they have a lovely life with loads of attention and love, and we are just taking it day by day. We don't have any issues. [emoji]128578[/emoji]

I'm sorry to hear your girl you think was traumatised. We were just discussing earlier it must be awful if cats from serious breeders are kept in cages, until they are of age, meet a suitable mate, etc. Please post a photo of her Xxx do you just have one cat or several?? I'd love to see photos of however many cats you have [emoji]128578[/emoji][emoji]128512[/emoji]

This is a pro-spay and neuter website, so I don't think that's surprising.  However, I think you can agree that we've been engaging in a respectful conversation with you.

I will say that you should take all advice with a pinch of salt; you are already getting a wide variety of advice if you post on a forum.  Your vet is not an expert breeder, and I suspect you feel relieved about his input because he is in agreement with what you want to hear.  No vet is not always correct either.  You should really be talking to their breeders about any health issues in their lines.

Developing bad behaviors does depend on the cat, I'm sure.  You have young cats so their behavior and urgency to mate isn't fully developed yet.  
 

My girl was not kept in a cage at all.  She was in a home, where she was loved.  She was also put through painful matings and deliveries, where she did not understand what was happening.  Then the babies were taken away.  You and I would understand that they were going to excellent homes; she didn't.