Architectural Designs

Ideas for quarantining a stray, pregnant cat?

Long story short, there's an abandoned, stray cat in my neighborhood. She's extremely friendly and sociable, so I plan on bringing her home with me so that she can deliver her kittens in a safe place. I plan on adopting the kittens out only to approved homes as indoor, neutered cats. I also hope I can adopt out the mother after I have her spayed, but realistically she will probably take longer to adopt out than the kittens, and she'll probably grow on me in the meantime. However, I have two dogs, two cats, and a rabbit. The dogs and cats have free roam over my house except for my bedroom, and my rabbit is free-roam in my bedroom. Because I don't want to stress this cat out by forcing her to tolerate and mingle with the other cats and dogs while she is pregnant, I want to keep her in my room. At the same time, I recognize that my rabbit is a prey animal, and that while my own cats have never hurt my rabbit, this cat may not feel the same way. So, how best to quarantine this cat in my room, so that she is both comfortable, and all of the animals are safe. I'm considering building something using cubes and zipties, like these... http://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/CoolHabitats/tabid/71/Default.aspx But I've only ever found cubes online, so it may take me a while to get them. Or, I could buy a pen like these... http://www.amazon.com/Wildwhiskers-Outdoor-Feline-Funhouse/dp/B000AL5C1Q/ref=sr_1_18?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1307897044&sr=1-18 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14629&cmpid=08csent&ref=3665&subref=AA But I want a cheaper option... What do you think? Any cheaper options? Any ideas? -Alika613 Innocent, the problem is that she lives in a barn that is boarded up and can't be entered without breaking into it. I'm pretty sure that is where she will want to have them. The other problem is that if I leave them without taking her in, and socializing and neutering them, the feral cat population in my neighborhood will grow.

Public Comments

1. You could Just.set up a comfortable house (a box just big enough for her to lay out and turn around in) outside in a safe place like a garage etc. Show her the box and feed her next to.it and if she likes it she without sleep there and have her kittens there! (Keeping her locked up isn't a good idea)
2. Honestly, I would get a pen to keep the cat in (a dog pen so nice and spacious) , Let the rabbit have run around of the room in the mornings and the cat kittens have run of the room at afternoon-evening. I think thats the only option, Unless you can give up another room for the cat? (big bathroom maybe)
3. A bathroom is inconvenient but works. Otherwise a large dog kennel will work if you can find one on Craigslist or something - could put either the rabbit or the mom/kittens in it. Or perhaps you could close off one of the other bedrooms for the stray cat? Good luck!