what kind of pets do you have that you think would not get along with cats? If you take in a kitten? It will grow to get along anything you have (unless you have a killer pet!). Your mom will benefit from learning about the low cost spay and vaccines posted here on another thread and all vets have access to that as well! There is no reason EVER to pay full price these days for spay/ nueter, distemper and rabies (initial visit) you may have to pay full price for testing fiv and luekemia, these vary. but you should find out if those are running through the colony. although, don't make any rash decisions based on test results. It depends on who you test. Hopefully your vet is wise. I had kittens test positive for fiv at age 13 weeks then neg later. They tested positive initially because mom is positive so her milk was showing up in thier blood. But luckily, none of the 3 ever developed fiv. I do have one of the kittens still here (he is probably 9 years old now) and he has likely nose cancer. So his immune system MAY have been compromised by his initial dx- the nose problem showed up as a kitten but he has not needed any treatment yet. Just act wisely... consult with others and do the right thing for the cat's sake- allow no suffering and all will come out ok and to your favor- so far so good, right!?