newborns

Question
I bought Clover from a petstore on June 2. She was in a tank with 4 other females & 1 male. I was told that she was 2ms old when I got her. She is so sweet. This morning I found that she had given birth to 9 babies.. I am beside myself. Clover & my cat are great friends and I keep her in a cage that is always at arms length. She spends a lot of time with me. Now I have her in my bedroom with her new family but I am worried that she may get depressed & not tend to her babies. Should I keep her in the room w/me & my cat or isolate her..
I also need info. on how to tell the sex of the babies & when I can start holding them. Clover trusts me & lets me touch them but I wanna hold them!!
thanks
ghiagirl

Answer
You can hold them as soon as she will let you hold them, but be aware that they do need to eat often, so just a little handling each day until they are more self sufficient and not nursing quite so often. If your cat ignores her, I would let her stay with you guys. If the cat harasses her and ever acts aggressive, you may want to put the rats in a different room. And never, under any circumstances, leave the cat & rat loose alone together. Ever.

Good luck with the babies.