Could foster cat be pregnant?

Hi all. This is my first time posting here. I joined for a specific reason, though if all goes to plan you will be seeing more of me.

My boyfriend and I are currently in the process of adopting a cat. The woman we're adopting from found a stray in the middle of a horrible cold snap, and she's been fostering the cat for a month now. The cat's been looked over by a vet, who wasn't able to find a spay scar, so the foster mom wanted to wait a while to make sure she wasn't pregnant when she offered her for adoption.

We went to meet the cat last night and she's lovely. A real charmer. The only problem is, the fact that there's no spay scar makes me a bit nervous.

I haven't spent a huge amount of time around female cats, but this cat's nipples seemed unusually noticeable to me. I only saw them for a moment while the cat was having her belly scratched, but they were readily apparently. Weight gain is harder to notice, since she was pretty skinny when her foster mom found her. Also, since then, the cat has been kept in a limited amount of space, since she was harassing the resident cats all the time, so she's had less exercise than normal. She was perhaps a tiny bit on the chunky side, but I didn't notice her being swaybacked or anything like that.

So what do you think. After fostering for four weeks, would the foster mom definitely be able to tell if she's pregnant? Is the lack of obvious spay scar and the other issues I mentioned cause for concern?

We really want to adopt this cat, but we're not sure we have the time and space for a litter of kittens. I'm also concerned because I know that female cats are often more affectionate than normal when pregnant, and we love her personality the way it is now.

The lack of a scar is a good key that she could be prego and the fact she has big nips. But she could also be in heat soon maybe I bet if she is prego in 2 weeks she will be noticable.

U said she is a bit chunky where is she kept and is there unfixed males around. How long has she been kept away from a intact male matters. If it has only been a week r 2 then she wont show. The nipples are usually a sign of 3 weeks along sometimes 4.

Your answer it is possable.

Wow, that was quick! Thanks for such a fast reply.

She is not being kept with intact males. The other cats in the household are neutered. So it's been four weeks since her possible exposure to intact males outdoors. She hasn't shown any signs of being in heat since her foster mom found her.

The foster mom attributed the chunkiness to the fact that she's excited to have food whenever she wants, and because she hasn't been getting all that much exercise.

If she's pregnant, she's at least four weeks along. Would there be any reliable signs I could ask the foster to check for?

not really but 4 weeks no heat is a sign but not to reliable. If she is chunky she might be able to feel babies but then again she could have just 1 and at that rate you wont feel the baby. HMMMM Ask the foster mom are the nipples really pink.

When I e-mail the foster mom today I'll ask about the color of her nipples.

The vet hadn't said that she's definitely not spayed. He couldn't find a scar, but said that it was possible she was spayed and had just healed very thoroughly. It's obvious from her behavior that this cat was someone's pet before she was either dumped or lost.

Thanks again!

See if you can get the foster mom to take a picture and post it to us of her nips. It is possable she is spayed. Ok need to get the kids to school back in 30 min.

I'll e-mail her to ask the questions you suggested and see if she'd be willing to take a photo. I do feel bad questioning her assessment of the situation, though, since she's done quite a bit of rescue work and fostering in the past. We just can't take the risk of ending up with a litter of kittens.

My boyfriend and I are already so attached, so this is really stressful.

have you told the fostermom your concerns...and if your preapproved for adoption can she jsut take the cat to vet for a spay...or at least have verify one way or other...I don't think she would want to adopt out a pregnant cat if its a reputable organization or if just her a resposible rescuer. If shes not willing to help vet wise(very least i think she should have a spay exploratory surgery done if no kittens are felt and be sure) I would go to another rescue.

I just e-mailed the fostermom to tell her I'm a bit concerned about pregnancy, and to ask her a few questions. I'm guessing she'll be more than happy to talk to us about it. If necessary, we could probably get the cat checked by a vet to get a definitive answer before committing to the adoption.

She's been fostering for a long time, and used to work with a local rescue group. She stopped when her own cats started getting older and crochety, but this cat literally walked in her front door, so she decided she might as well take her in and find her a home.

She decided to go with the wait and see approach to determine whether the cat was spayed, pregnant, or unspayed and not pregnant. She doesn't particularly mind finding homes for kittens if there are any, though she is concerned about the fact that the foster cat is a little too boisterous for her resident cats, which is why she's adopting her out.

She'll probably be happy to work with us on this one, either way, we're just impatient and stressed. This cat is really terrific. My boyfriend, of course figures, Hey, worst case scenario we find the kittens a home. I think it's good to know what we're getting into, though.

That is good and she is experienced so she might be able to feel for kittens also.

The foster mom e-mailed me back. They actually took the cat in 5 and a half weeks ago, not 4, so it should be pretty obvious at this point if she were pregnant. Also, apparently her nipples have been prominent since they found her; it's not a recent development.

Hopefully we'll be picking her up tonight!

WOW that is almost 6 weeks ya I think she would of showed something by now.

I guess she had a litter prior to losing her home...well glad whatever it is is behind her and she has a home lined up. My mom cat of 5 still has nipples that are very showing. Vet even asked are you SURE shes not pregnant. She did nurse for 3 months tho. What color is she? good luck with your baby !

She's home! We've hesitantly named her Audrey. She's a little goofy for the name right now, but she's still a bit on the kitten side so she'll probably grow into it. The vet who checked her out thought she was between one and two years old.

She's amazingly confident! Totally comfortable, sprawled out on the bed. I was giving her belly scratches and she was so content she just slid right off the side. We're so happy to have her.

She's also gorgeous. Russian Blue coloring, right down to the green eyes. When I get a good photo I'll start up a thread in the appropriate subforum.

Thanks everyone for all your help!

congrats on bringing her home. im glad everything is going well.

How did the night go. The first night usually needs adjustment but she seems to be a good cat so far OOOOO Please post pics now I can not wait LOL. Let us know when ya do.

She's transitioned really well. I started up a thread in the new members forum. It's called Introducing Audrey.

ok cool I will look in a min trying to finish my food and keep it down

I saw your beautiful pics of Audrey but I see why you think she is pregnant. I don't want to scare you, but I fostered a cat that was pregnant and she looked like Audrey did when I got her, and I had her 9 weeks before she gave birth. Has she been to a vet recently? They can usually feel the mother's abdomen and verify if there are any babies in there.

If you do end up with a pregnant cat, this forum has so many wonderful people to help with any questions you may have.

Oi, does she really look like she could be 5.5 weeks or more along? She's definitely got a bit of a belly on her, but I keep telling myself it would be more obvious at this point.

We're going to bring her in to a vet soon for a round of immunizations, basic tests, and a second deworming, just to make sure. At that point we'll ask for a professional opinion. That should give us a definitive answer.