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I’m housing two of my friend’s cats for a month and a half while they are away on vacation.

Both cats (1 male and 1 female) are 6 months old, they aren’t related, but were raised together from a very young age, behave like siblings and become distressed when separated.

Unfortunately, neither is desexed (I wasn’t aware of this prior to agreeing to house them, so the female cat going into heat while sharing a room with the male cat may be a problem soon).

My question is; the safe room I have for them is relatively small ( similar to a large pantry), but they have all their necessities including things to keep them entertained; however, I feel like it’s too cruel, but they cannot freely roam the house as our front and back doors are rarely closed and there’s many territorial strays around my backyard.

Is a month and a half too long to keep 2 cats in one room? (I let them roam around the house for 20 minutes every night).

And should I separate them if the female goes into heat?

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    Welcome to pets.SE :) Did you ask your friend this questions too? And if yes, what did the friend say?
    – Allerleirauh
    Nov 12 '20 at 5:58
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    First and most important: The chances of the female going into heat are extremely high at that age, especially if she is short haired or you live on the southern hemisphere (due to the days getting longer there right now). Call your friend ASAP and agree that you get the cat(s) desexed and your friend will cover the cost when they return. If the female does go into heat and you cannot seperate them, there will be kittens, guaranteed. Heat in confinement will stress her out, because she'll want to search a mate.
    – Elmy ♦
    Nov 12 '20 at 6:58
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One small room to keep two cats for such a long time is too small. Cats are very territorial and even if they get along well, they need to have some alone time, too.

As Elmy already pointed out, the female cat will go into heat and she will have kittens. Do try to reach out to your friend as suggested and see if you can't at least have one of them desexed.

Since you already were in this situation it might be interesting to hear your answer, so maybe you can write your own.

To anyone who might get into a similar situation:

If your friend wants you to take care of his cats, it would be ideal to just leave the cats in their home and visit them to take care of them. It is the least stressful solution for everyone.

If you do have to foster your friends cat at home, make sure you are equipped for it an have the space; otherwise, you may need to decline.

Last but not least, talk through everything you need to know with your friend. What food they get, what kitty litter and if they are not desexed whether they want kittens. Maybe the cat is already pregnant, but you need to know. If you are not comfortable with the situation, decline.

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