Pregnant Cat??? I Need Help!! ~~Finally Pictures~~

[Luv2Game]

Hey Everyone!! With all of the recent topics about spaying and neutering and overpopulation I feel so terrible about this. But i have a question. I found a stray 3-4 weeks ago. Here is a pic the day after i found her, and then a pic of her a week ago.



Well, I took her to the vet the day I found her. The vet gave her all neccessary shots, wormed her, etc etc. She weighed 4 lbs. The vet said that she should not be spayed in that condition, and also that she probably wouldn't come into heat as malnourished as she was.

Well, the last week, her nipples have gone from barely visible, to sticking up quite a bit abover her skin. They don't look like they have milk in them, yet. Also, her belly is quite round. Her nipples are not pink, they are like, a whiteish color. Is her belly going be bigger just because now she is gaining weight back and all. Or would she gain ir proportionally, meaning all of her gains weight at the same time. Are these signs of pregnancy or not???

Let me know what you guys think???

If she is pregnant, I would keep all of the babies. What is the average little size by the way?? I would take mom, the other kitty we have, and all of the babies(once they are old enough) to our local animal shelter and see if they would give me a deal price, on altering all of them. That way none of them could contribute any further to the population. Well, anyway, Thanks everyone!!!!!

[Kelly4NC]

long time ago, we thought our cat was just fat, until she layed on my lap and i was petting her belly, and it moved alot. I freaked. So it seemed she was just fat, then she had a litter of 8. All I can say it that her nips were pink normal, but the glands around the nip as she got further along became hard and you could feel the different sections of nipple glands. Sorry, if that wasn't any help.

[joschrock]

Is she still a kitten maybe?? Did the vet check her teeth to try and determine her age? She looks young by the pic. Cats are pregnant for 9 wks and milk is the last thing to come in. Do you get milk/calosterum when you squeeze her nipples?
Good for you for rescueing her. I rescue kitties too and its so rewarding. She looks happy with you!! : )

[gbarmranch]

You should know soon if she is with little ones - our cats usually have three or four kittens...

[Luv2Game]

The vet said, by looking in her mouth, she is at least a year old, to a year and a half. Well, the part that gets full of milk is flat. The only part sticking up is the actual nipple. For lack of a better term, she is "nippy". I don't know if that helps explain it any better or not. :0 Sorry if i am not describing it very well!!

[bettymo]

you shouldn't feel terrible at all, as your vet told you, it wouldn't have been a good idea to get her spayed when she is that weak and malnourished.
not all of those pics are showing for me, so i can't see what she looks likem but if she is just barely preggers, but healthy enough now to be spayed, the vet can still spay her. the kittens would be aborted. that sounds terrible, but it's better than trying to catch her when she isn't pregnant. if she has the kittens she will go into heat and get pregnant again as soon as they are weaned...so unless you can keep her from getting pregnant again (assuming she is now) i'd recomend looking into getting her fixed now.

*edit*
and females can get pregnant at 6 months (though...the kittens might not survive sense they aren't fully grown themselves when they are that old)

[joustinggirl]

Check with your vet and make sure that the vaccines that she got will not affect the babies if she was pregnant before she was vaccinated. Some do and cause birth defects and other problems.

[joschrock]

At the animal hospital I work at, our doctors won't vaccinate if they suspect an animal is pregnant. I'm sure there are hundreds that are, not knowing.
We also will spay a female if she is not that far along. Sometimes a routine spay ends up being one that is pregnant. They are only the size of kidney beans...not that that makes it any better. I have brought home many litters that were not wanted by the owners once we opened them up for the surgery only to find almost full term kittens. None of our doctors or staff has the heart to euthanize full term babies.
Perhaps your stray had kittens recently which would explain her poor body condition. I have a foster mother kitty and her babies and she is sooo thin. She eats like a hog, but with those kittens still nursing, she can't keep weight on. We see it alot at our clinic.

[HorseLover121203]

Bring her back and ask if you can get an ultrasound done on her. That is how we found out my min pin was pregnant. She too started getting large nipples and was getting round in the belly and so we took her back and sure enough she was!! Good luck!

[QuarterCowGirl]

First off let me thank-you for taking in a stray!

At a year and a half old, yes she is old enough to have babies. If her gut is hard and her nipples are full then I think yes, she is pregnant. Looking at the pics, she looks fairly small and with her age I think 3-4 babies would be an ideal litter for her. Good luck and let us know what happens!

[OSUJillyBean]

I know you've said you'd keep the kittens, which makes me happy. Just keep in mind that, if you'd rather not have five or six or seven of them running around (which can happen), that it's never to late to have her spayed. It sounds cruel but here at OSU they will spay an animal (which also aborts the fetuses) right up to the very moment the cat gives birth. I think that's a bit excessive. But if she isn't showing yet, don't think you HAVE to have the ktitens if you don't want them.

If you do - congrats as you're on your way to becoming a kitty-grandmother!

If you don't consider the spay surgery.

Also - don't forget to have all of the kittens altered when they're old enough!

[Orchid]

Do keep in mind that if she does have kittens, she can get pregnant again almost immediately - so you will want to keep her confined from the time she kindles to the time you take her in to be spayed.

[Luv2Game]

Well, if she is pregnant, I will have to make sure it doesn't happen again!! I will be getting her spayed as soon as the babies are weaned, if she is pregnant, and the babies will be altered as soon as they are old enough.

Thanks EVERYONE for your responses and advice!! I truly appreciate it!!

[Luv2Game]

OK, Tonihgt i was checking out my kitty! And the hair around her nippples is gone, and her belly is pretty firm, she doesn't "look" real fat yet though. Am i still looking at a pregnant cat, or do you think it is a no??? If she is pregnant, can I make her have her kittens in a certain spot?? Like, our barn has a bunch of old chicken coop boxes, up off of the ground about 2 feet, and i was wondering if i put some towels in there, and maybe start putting her food in there, if she will perhaps have them in there?? Well, thanks everyone!!!

[Orchid]

Originally Posted by Luv2Game

OK, Tonihgt i was checking out my kitty! And the hair around her nippples is gone, and her belly is pretty firm, she doesn't "look" real fat yet though. Am i still looking at a pregnant cat, or do you think it is a no??? If she is pregnant, can I make her have her kittens in a certain spot?? Like, our barn has a bunch of old chicken coop boxes, up off of the ground about 2 feet, and i was wondering if i put some towels in there, and maybe start putting her food in there, if she will perhaps have them in there?? Well, thanks everyone!!!

I would say she is likely pregnant. She may cooperate and have the kittens where you want her to, but then again, she may not. Cats!

I really would suggest confining her to a room where no male cats can get at her after she kindles until you can have her spayed.

[farmergal]

Hello,
Can you get a belly snap shot for us? Can Christopher take the picture while you hold her? I bet with a good pic you will get an answer to your question.
My barn cats have on average 2 to 5 babies. Giving that she is run down I'd put her on a dry kitten food and a cat vitamin. You want to give her an extra treat try an egg.

One of the problems with an outdoor cat is you can't get them to have the babies where you want them too. Try as hard as we might, they pick their own spot. Most of the time I don't see the kittens until they are 5 weeks old. If you want to monitor her you will have to build a cat cage. They can be store bought but are expensive.

I'd say from your pic you have a cage that might be adequate. Add a resting shelf if you don't already have one.

One can feel the babies moving a week before mom delivers. This is how I determine that my cat is going to deliver soon.

Don't use a flea med. on a pregnant cat. I learned the hard way.

Good luck and keep us posted. Post those pics if you can!

[Luv2Game]

OK, thanks so much! I will try to get a picture of her belly today and I will post it today or tomorrow. You're right, that would help you guys in telling me if she is or not. Well, thanks again you guys!! Don't worry, I will post lots of pics if there are going to be babies.

By the Way farmergal- I cannot even believe your memory. I think I put my son's name in the post, "meet my pygmy and cat", but I can't believe you remembered it. WOW!!! I am thoroughly impressed!!!! If only I had a memory like that!!

[Luv2Game]

OK, I need all of your help!! When i went and fed her this morning, I waited until she was done eating, i thought eating might stir the babies up a bit. So, i picked her up and held the underside of her belly softly with one hand, and lo and behold, I felt movement. Felt like little feet poking me. Now, she isn't real fat though, so I am thinking it may be only 1 or 2 babies in there. I did take a pic of her belly last night, but don't have the pics developed yet. SO, how soon can i expect the little rascals, and what will the signs be 24-48 hours before the big event???? She is very GROUCHY!!!!!!!!!!!!! She almost constantly growls at me and at the other kitty we have. So I guess what I am wanting to know is the signs that will show up just prior to her giving birth. I put some towels in an old chicken coop bos, like i said, and i fed her in there last night and this morning. SO, i am going to hope she has them in there-but who knows!!!! Also, I am feeding her canned food mixed with kitten food. I put her on this originally because she needed the extra calories and nutrition because she was so mal-nourished. But should I keep her on this as she is a pregnant cat?? Or is there anything else I should feed her?? Thanks guys!!! I cannot thankyou enough!!!!!!!!!

[QHJewel672]

Yup you do have kitttens!!! I would keep her on the kitten food until the babys are weaned (sp?)As other people said you can put her where you would like her to have the baby, but most of the time they wont. When grizzly had her babys we were planning for her to have them in our old dog carrier but she had them on my bed ..... So you dont have much say as to where they have them.

Good luck

Allie

[OSUJillyBean]

Yep - keep mama on the kitten chow until the babies are weaned. ANd she'll likely try to have her babies in a very secluded area where you and the other animals can't / won't bother them.