I think my 5.5 month old kitten is pregnant :(

girlyhappyface · 12-08-2010 4:31pm #1

So, I think my gorgeous little kitten is pregnant. Her tummy has been swelling over the last week or two, but her body isnt getting any bigger. She doesn't leave the garden so I reckon some horny Tom caught her! She was due to get neutered this month. She's so small, so didnt think it would be the best idea to get her done before the 6 month mark. Big mistake!

I've looked on the net and found that her nipples will change to pink within the three week mark. I've also read that her appetite will increase, and it definitly has. Is there anything else I should be aware of? Do I need to bring her to the vet or will I just wait and see. I'm pretty clueless!!

suziwalsh · 12-08-2010 4:32pm

I would bring her to the vet straight away....she may be too young to give birth to kittens or might be dangerous for her

girlyhappyface · 12-08-2010 4:44pm

Thats a good point. I just wondered was it the "done thing" to bring them for a check up, but she is very little for her age.

Lillylilly · 12-08-2010 5:01pm

I'm in the same predicament as you, OP. Our 6.5 month old kitten is looking fairly pregnant the last week or two, and some days we look at her and she seems to have grown overnight. She's eating a lot, but isn't gaining weight anywhere other than her belly. And she's long- haired so it's hard to see weight gain. Will be takin a trip to the vet with her this weekend to have it checked out. She's still so young.

Tryst · 12-08-2010 5:08pm

This is a pretty common thing cats don't go into season the way bitches do once they are sexualy mature and they can be at four months old or younger sometimes they keep going into oestrus every 2-3 weeks for several months until mated or spayed. You should have been advised to keep her in until she was neutered as this happens a lot. I'm sure your vet will be used to dealing with pregnant cat spays and while they are a little bit more complicated to do if you don't want kittens (and i wouldn't advise her having them due to her age as her pelvis isn't fully grown yet which could cause dystocia) get her neutered asap.

morganafay · 12-08-2010 6:13pm

She might be pregnant, or might not, it could be worms or something else. I'd take her to the vet to see. Hopefully she isn't

If she is, then she might be fine, or might have difficulty cos she's small. The vet would probably be able to advise you on whether it'd be safe for her to have kittens at her size. They might suggest to neuter her now, or that she might be ok to have the kittens if you want.

ArthurGuinness · 12-08-2010 6:15pm

sounds like worms

Dublin_Muttley_ · 13-08-2010 12:51pm

I agree with morganafay and arthurguinness, it could be worms, to be definate pop her into the vet and they could have a feel and let you know for definate. And if it's a thing you don't want her to have the kittens (due to her size etc.) If she is pregnant, some vets can abort them at time of spaying.

Graces7 · 13-08-2010 2:35pm

Dublin_Muttley_ wrote: »

I agree with morganafay and arthurguinness, it could be worms, to be definate pop her into the vet and they could have a feel and let you know for definate. And if it's a thing you don't want her to have the kittens (due to her size etc.) If she is pregnant, some vets can abort them at time of spaying.

That is a horrible thing to do to a cat; would never go near a vet who did that.

morganafay · 13-08-2010 2:49pm

Graces7 wrote: »

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That is a horrible thing to do to a cat; would never go near a vet who did that.

If the cat was likely to die giving birth, then what else would you do? I personally wouldn't spay any of my cats if they were pregnant (unless a vet advised me that I really should for some reason). But most vets will do it because there are way too many cats without homes anyway. And some people can't look after all the kittens. I wouldn't do it, but that's because I'd be able to look after the kittens, if someone can't look after the kittens, it's different.

13-08-2010 2:54pm

Graces7 wrote: »

[/B]

That is a horrible thing to do to a cat; would never go near a vet who did that.

for the sake of the cat ? ?

cotton · 13-08-2010 3:13pm

Graces7 wrote: »

[/B]

That is a horrible thing to do to a cat; would never go near a vet who did that.

You might find your choice of vets is extremely limited then as they all do it.

I have no problem spaying pregnant cats, I've done it countless times with ferals. What alternative would you have suggested? With the amount of unwanted & stray cats in this country, the luxury of emotions like that just doesn't come into it.

OP, your kitten hasn't fully grown herself yet, to let her have kittens before her pelvis is fully formed is far from ideal & should be taken into account when you make your decision, along with the fact that there are so many kittens being born this year that can't get homes.
Plus having kittens is not cheap, feeding, vet checking, defleing, worming & vaccinating up to 7 kittens for 12 or so weeks costs a lot!

Lillylilly · 14-08-2010 3:30pm

I brought my kitten to the vet on Fri and thankfully, she's not pregnant, and she doesn't have worms either!! She is in heat/ season now though. I was so worried.. maybe she's just having a growth spurt but just around her tummy at the minute.

Graces, I felt the same when having to contemplate whether or not we were going to allow our little one, Squid, to have a litter if she was pregnant. You have to think of what's best for your cat, and Squid is still really really small. I would rather a termination than for her to have died during the birth. Thankfully, she wasn't pregnant and she's booked in to be spayed on Tuesday

OP, go to the vets as soon as possible. It'll put your mind at ease either way... and I don't know whether they stop doing "late spays" at a certain point in the pregnancy. It's best to have her checked out. Good luck!

Hellrazer · 14-08-2010 5:09pm

Graces7 wrote: »

[/B]

That is a horrible thing to do to a cat; would never go near a vet who did that.

Grace weve been down this road before ie. you and your "right to life" of an unborn animal and I think I told you that I dont want this discussed on this forum.

Once again Ive had complaints about your standing on this.

So can we please keep it out of the forum.

I dont see animals and pets as the place to have a discussion about pro-life or pro-choice.