What to do with pregnant cat!

BlueCatNails

Hi folks, new the site & hoping for some non-judgmental advice:

We adopted a female cat who we had booked in to be spayed but turns out she was already pregnant, so being the softies we are, we allowed her to go full term. We now have 4 kittens & were hoping to get mum spayed once they'd weaned but financial constraints meant we couldn't afford it for another couple of weeks, and now it appears she's caught again :-(

Firstly, I need advice on where to advertise the kittens as most facebook pages won't allow ads for pets - I've tried local post office, main pet shop & small local shops but had no luck so far.

Secondly, I'd booked her in to be spayed next week, but being suspicious that she may be pregnant already, how should I handle that? Should I ask the vet to check first? Will the vet automatically abort the kittens if there are any? My heart feels terrible about the idea of aborting them, but at the same time my brain is telling me that a) we can't afford to keep any more -we already have 4 adult cats including mum, she's the last to be neutered, and b) it's so hard to rehome them & shelters are already under strain.

Any constructive advice welcome :-)

Nody

Yes they can abort the kittens and that's exactly why you should never let a non neutered cat outside (inc. kittens) for that exact reason (they can get pregnant while dealing with the existing kittens).

PucaMama

Let her have the kittens, rehome them with a fee and neuter the mother. We took a stray that had adopted us(!) down to be neutered and it turned out she was already done by whoever dumped her. Had to pay the full neutering price even tho she was already done.

Bunnyslippers

I would take her to the vet to get speyed regardless of wether she is expecting more, I've seen it done and it is far better for the cat, even if the kittens are a decent size they are all under aneasthetic and the whole uterus plus kittens is removed in one go along with their oxygen supply so they just stay asleep, not cruel at all, far better than more unwanted cats! If you can't find homes for the first lot can you cope with another lot, which will also all need to be neutered? Rescues and places like donedeal are heaving with free kittens and you often still see them advertised weeks later, as they get past the 8 week 'cute' phase they are very hard to find homes for. I would advise against advertising them for free though charging even a small fee will hopefully cut out people getting a cute kitten on a whim!

Have you contacted any local rescues/charities you maybe lucky and find folk on their books who are looking for kittens, worth trying? Or maybe put an advert in your local super market/farm shop etc.
Just make sure you keep them all indoors until neutered, female cats can get pregnant as young as 5 months and as you've found out a female cat can get pregnant a few weeks after giving birth while still feeding her current litter! Well done for rescuing the mother but you definitly need to get her done before you end up creating more rescues and totally out of pocket neutering a whole herd of cats!!

Ms Doubtfire1

agree with bunny slipper to a degree. A cat carries 9 weeks. Once I can feel the kittens moving,I will let the cat go full term. usually at +-/ 4.5 weeks of pregnancy. Any earlier than that, have her spayed.

For people who don't know: A vet will not kill the kittens he/she has aborted unless specifically requested because the euthanasia fluid is expensive.
The kittens will remain inside their cocoon and suffocate.So, to me, spaying a cat who is far in her pregnancy is cruel.Well done Op letting her carry out the first.


I am not sure where you are, try contacting rescues to see if they can help with the kittens.