anyone had kittens? how much work? how expensive?

[hatwoman]

we have two female cats. the eldest one was spayed today and dd1 is gutted. she's desperate for one of them to have kittens and is quite shocked (as am I tbh) at the whole operation business. dd, bless her, has just offered to pay for the kittens' food if we let the younger one have some. am I mad to even consider it?

I have had a cat who had kittens and it is an awful lot of work especially if as happned in our case the cat turns out not to be a ntural mother, I was feeding, weaning and cleaning up after 5 kittens as well as a moody cat.

i had a baby.....

baby shbaby . we're talking mewling, blind scraps of scraggy fur here. are they worth it?

Awww bless her, but I think letting your cat have kittens to make your dd happy really isn't a good enough reason. Rescues are overflowing with cats and kittens because people think it would be nice if their pet had babies, forgetting that there is a good chance that the lovely little kittens may end up in rescue (or worse) later in their lives. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you take your dd to the nearest RSPCA or Cats Protection League so that she understands the importance of responsible breeding. If she is interested in cats, maybe she would like to help out at the rescue (depending on age of course), or she could fundraise for the rescue .

if you let her and she has a large litter - how are you going to feel about keeping them forever? Because it can be very difficult to rehome cats - ask the cat protection league.

I have had kittens(not literally)and it was fine I really enjoyed it The mum does all the work for the first few weeks and then all hell breaks loose and they run around everywhere BUT they are so sweet and before you know it they are off to new homes.It is a lovely experience for children

In my youth I had 2 cats, one was a natural mother and did very well, making no work for us. We had another cat that only ever had one litter and never knew what to do with them. I remember my mum setiing up a heater and trying to feed them, it was a nightmare!

Don't do it.

Far, far too many cats in need of homes.

If you want to go down the kitten line then get her one from the Cats Protection League.

putting my animal welfare hat on--- it sounds lovely, but you do need to make sure that you ahve good homes for the kittens and be responsible for them if those homes fall through.
There aren't too many little kittens around for rehoming, but alot of 1-5yr old cats who just have no homes... maybe dd can use the money to sponser a cat at a rspca cattery until it gets a home.

i know it sounds a bit MN preachy, but there really are enough vcats in the world... and plenty needing hoes so no need to add to this.

don't do it. what if she has 6 kittens and you can't find homes for them? what will you do with them? keep them? and how much will that then cost as you'll have to pay for vaxinations/spaying as they'll all have to be newtered so as to prevent inbreeding. if she really wants kittens, get her to play

this game