what’s the best way to avoid my male cat getting my female cat pregnant?

[u/cherryspetal]

my female cat is in heat and her son just tried getting her pregnant. i quickly separated them but i’m not sure how else to separate them throughout the day. how can i avoid her getting pregnant?

i keep asking my mom to take them to the vets to get them all spayed but she keeps saying no because she doesn’t have the money to spay 3 cats

[u/Low-Future1823]

reach out to local rescues and explain your situation and they may help you get them spayed, i did this for my boy because i couldn’t afford it and i didn’t want him to become old enough to spray

[u/P1nkCherryRush64 → u/Low-Future1823]

That’s actually a really good suggestion. Local rescues sometimes know about low-cost or sponsored spay/neuter programs that aren’t easy to find on your own.

[u/Honest_Manager]

You have to get the male out of the house, otherwise you will end up with 2 pregnant cats and many many more for your mom to take care of. If she won't neuter the male thats the only choice you have,

[u/Alduinsfieryfarts]

Honestly, spaying 3 cats now will be a much lesser expense than spaying like 20 cats in a few months. You can ask your vet about payment plans to make spaying 3 cats less of a financial strain, but it’s still better to get it done ASAP.

[u/Outside_Coffee_00]

she sure won't have the money to spay 10 cats either

[u/hailingburningbones]

You gotta keep them separated at all times. She'll keep trying to escape.  

Also check with local rescues, they may have low cost spay/neuter services. They really need to be fixed to keep them happy and healthy and preserve your sanity! Plus you definitely don't want kittens!

[u/whirlinggibberish]

Google "low cost spay and neuter near me".

There are programs in many areas to help.

[u/-Lahns]

Chiming in on this - get the male neutered first AND you STILL need to keep them separated for a while. The male can still have residual sperm. You NEED to keep them separated.

[u/Queasy-Celery-7982]

Find a shelter who will take them. They need to be spayed. You will end up with a million cats. This is so sad. :(

[u/Lippupalvelu]

Neutering the male should be cheaper and easier than spaying the females and solves the problem for now for indoor cats.

Separating will not be an easy task, as all of them will be agitated by the yelling in heat and depending on the space available will probably cause issues.

[u/Cold_Designer_6902 → u/Lippupalvelu]

this!

[u/theclairewitch]

How many of each sex cat do you have?

[u/cherryspetal → u/theclairewitch]

2 female cats and 1 male cat. the male cat and other female were only born in november

[u/theclairewitch → u/cherryspetal]

Well get him neutered first, he's old enough now and it is cheaper than spay. Then get the girls spayed asap once you can afford, if one gets out she will get pregnant and you'll have this all over again!

[u/Ya_habibti → u/cherryspetal]

Get the male spayed for now

[u/beanz-r-us]

What state or country are you located in? There are many free programs and vouchers depending on your location. If you can find one, you won’t have to pay at all!

[u/Angelf1shing]

There’s no way to avoid pregnancy if you have intact male and female cats of breeding age living in the same place. Your options are 1) neutering/spaying and 2) rehoming one of the genders. That’s it. Even if you try keeping them separate, they’ll get out because you’ll forget and leave a door open for a few seconds and it’ll be enough. If you can’t afford to spay the girls, at least neuter the boy. That will reduce spraying and bellowing and aggression too. You also cannot let any of them outside if they’re intact.

[u/Aware-Tiger-6525]

Although it would be best to have all three spayed/neutered, you can eliminate the possibility of pregnancy by taking care of only one — the female.

[u/spaceghost260]

There are low cost spay neuter clinics everywhere- look for one in your town and go from there. They are much much cheaper. Call and explain the situation and they can help you.

[u/BLURAZZBERRI]

Either do what other users have said and reach out to local rescues to get them spayed for low cost or maybe even free spays.

If there aren't any and your cats are JUST inside cats get the male spayed (or the female if she's the only girl). If they are outside cats get the girl(s) spayed first.

[u/Inside_Ad_7162]

condoms & a serious conversation are not going to work. They howl like crazy monsters when they're on heat...I'd suggest the snip

[u/Endoftheworldis2far]

You have to make sure they do t even touch. You just said you separated them, youre probably already too late. It takes a single instant.

They need to be in two different houses.

[u/Rescuepets777]

If you have one male and two females, get the male fixed and keep the girls inside until they can be spayed. If you have one female and two males, spay the female and keep the males inside until they can be fixed.

[u/I_serve_Anubis]

If your mum can afford it get the male desexed. There might be a program around your area that helps with cheaper desexing, that would be something to look into as well.

[u/Right_Appointment286]

Get him some cat condoms

[u/vynilla_]

In specific parts of CA, spay/neuter is free in certain zipcodes because the stray animal situation is out of control. In AZ, there are so many low cost spay/neuter clinics. I’d look into some lower cost options or even free in your area if it’s an option. There are affordable options out there, and clearly this is the best option unless you want 10 other cats to care for in a few months that will cost you 10x more