Tom cats stopping female cat coming home

Question
I have a young cat who I think has come into heat and attracting the Tom cats,  I was hoping to let her have a  litter and then get her spayed afterwards.  However she has just been stuck outdoors for 24 hours as she was trapped by two male cats.  They did not appear to harm her although she did cry at times.  I am now not sure whether to let her outdoors again or not as I am worried that the male cats could force her to stay out for too long without food.  Is this normal behaviour, I assumed the cats would mate and then the male cats would leave her alone but this does not seem to be the case.  She is also desperate to go back outdoors so I presume the ordeal was not too bad for her.  My first cat which is her mother didn't seem to have this problem at all. Any advice would be great. Thanks

Answer
Sarah,

It sounds like you have some pretty persistant toms around. If this was my kitty she would not be going out again - I seriously doubt if the boys will let her be and the concern that I have is that they may keep her away from home too long or they may even chase her into a roadway where she'd stand a risk of being hit by a car.

To be honest, in my view I wouldn't hesitate to have this little girl spayed as soon as possible because once the hormones are gone, the toms will be too. I'm sure that you're aware that pregnancy does come with risks in cats just as it does in humans - between the potential risks (some kitties do end up having to have caesarian sections to deliver their babies if things go badly during the natural process of labor and delivery) and the fact that there are most likely many unwanted cats and kittens in rescue centers in your area I would urge you to reconsider allowing your queen to reproduce. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali