The Pet Owners Corner

June 26, 2025

 

Dear Cattalker:  Why won’t the breeder let me have one litter of kittens with my pet, just to show my kids the wonders of kittens? I promise to spay it after that litter.  – Gayle R

Dear Gayle:  There are many reasons why the kitten was sold as a pet. Perhaps mom had trouble delivering kittens? Perhaps she has a fault according to her breed standard? I realize you want to breed a litter of pets, but maybe this mom isn’t up to it.

People tend to think cats have kittens unassisted, especially after seeing kittens born to feral moms. This is a false impression. Approximately 30% of mothers die in the wild having kittens and more than 50% of kittens do not live. Just like human moms, cats benefit from assistance and care during labor and delivery.

The cost of prenatal care, an ultrasound to assess number of kittens, possible C-sections, euthanizing deformed or very sick kittens, post-natal care and vaccines make a litter a very expensive proposition. And what happens to the kittens?

You want your children to see the birthing process, but do you want them to see kittens born dead, deformed, or mothers struggling?  Would you know when to take a laboring mom to the vet for assistance and perhaps that $3000 C-section?

Cats most often do not like an audience when delivering and tend to deliver at night. Thus, your children would not witness the births anyway. But you will be up in the night checking the mom and assisting. Will you be willing to take off work to be nearby for what could be a delivery process perhaps taking 24 hours?

New breeders have experience with delivering kittens, and have a trusted mentor on call to help with questions … They don’t just wing it.

I totally get wanting your children to see fragile babies and moms taking care of them, so I think I have a win-win situation for you.  

There are numerous great videos of the birthing process you and your family can watch together. Prior to doing that sign up at your local rescue or humane society to foster a new mom and her babies. You will receive instructions, the organization will be responsible to worm, vaccinate, spay/neuter the kittens for free. Some even provide you with food and litter. You will help a mom cat in need, be responsible to socialize, weigh and care for the tiny ones up until 12 weeks. The shelter will place the kittens for adoption and you do not have all the worries, but have the fun of a new litter born and doing well. Should you decide to keep mom or a kitten as a pal for your pedigreed cat, the shelter will be more than happy to let you do that. Maybe you will find you just love doing that, and then you will want to purchase a pedigreed cat for breeding and show, and obtain an experienced mentor to guide your journey.  

I hope this helps answer your question.

 

Pet Owners Corner is designed to answer common questions that pet owners may have. Answers will be simple and straight forward. No questions are too silly to ask; if you have that question, others probably do as well. No medical advice will be given because diagnosing and treating is not possible without a proper veterinary examination.

You may send your questions to: Cattalker2024@gmail.com