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stray cat- pregnant or not?

post #1 of 35
11/20/10 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
I'm visiting a friend this weekend and while playing outside with her kids I noticed a cat hanging around... she was incredibly sweet and affectionate, and I asked my friend about her. Apparently she's been hanging around for about a month, and as they're on a military base that means her owners were restationed and put her out before they left and they're not going to be coming back for her any time soon. While I was petting her later on, I realized that her nipples were hugely swollen, and her belly rounded. My first thought, of course, is that she's pregnant, and my friend's husband said he thought the same as they'd noticed her nipples before. My friend, however, said she thinks the cat has such a big belly because several people have been feeding her. So, then, how can we tell? I have already called my husband to tell him about her, and we're prepared for me to take her home tomorrow because if she is pregnant I couldn't bear the thought of her getting hit by a car (I couldn't bear the thought, period, but throw the possibility of kittens into it...) but I live a couple hours away and don't have access to a vet to find out one way or the other. Is there anything else I can check or look for that might indicate she's not just overfed?

Thanks y'all =)
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post #2 of 35
11/20/10 at 1:57pm
I'm betting that she's pregnant. Cats' nipples don't get big from being overfed. Depending on how far along she is, you might be able to feel individual kitten balls along her sides. Can you get pictures?
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post #3 of 35
11/20/10 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, that was what I was pretty sure of. I took pics with my phone; give me a few minutes and I'll have them up. =)

edit: here we go

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post #4 of 35
11/20/10 at 2:59pm
Awwww, what a doll, she is beautiful, she def looks like she's expecting to me, thankyou for taking her in.xx
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post #5 of 35
11/20/10 at 3:14pm
It seems you both were lucky in finding each other.


Tx and good luck!
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post #6 of 35
11/20/10 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 
i can take her home, but we can't keep her... we had a hard enough time finding a place to rent that would let us in with the three cats we already had... asking to be allowed to have a fourth miiiiiight be pushing it lol

but we have a very spacious second bathroom we can keep her in and keep the other cats out of, with a big tub we can make a bed of towels in and make her comfy in until we can find either a rescue or a new family to take her. my friend's neighbor said she was gonna take the cat to a shelter later this week, but i'm not cool with that. two or three more nights outside is two or three nights too many as far as i'm concerned. ^_^

thank you all for your input ^_^
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post #7 of 35
11/20/10 at 7:42pm
A military family can get in BIG trouble for leaving their pets behind. . .if you know their name you could turn them in.

Yes, I agree she looks very pregnant! It's hard to tell how far along she might be, but that's not just fatness. It's good she found someone to care about her and her babies!
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post #8 of 35
11/20/10 at 9:35pm
Thread Starter 
sadly, this is not the only kitty roaming around this base, from what i've seen. my friend i'm visiting says that this kitty and two or three others have been sleeping in her bushes in her front yard for a while now. i've seen a couple other kitties running around. i wish i could help them all, but i can't, so if i can only save one, i'll take the one who's gonna have kittens!!! it gets FRICKIN' COLD here in the winter, and no way they'd survive past a few weeks, if they made it past the first two nights!

and i, not living here, don't have a prayer of finding out who any of these owners were. all i can do, then, is pray for these poor furry orphans v.v;
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post #9 of 35
11/20/10 at 9:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SiddyMeowmy View Post
and i, not living here, don't have a prayer of finding out who any of these owners were.
Oh, I thought maybe your friends knew who left her. It's always good for the bad guys to be penalized when possible. The military doesn't play around with this kind of thing---they expect their people to be responsible. Doesn't mean it isn't common. . .most don't get caught. But there are penalties if they are caught.

Are you going to keep her long enough for her to raise the babies in your home, or will you try to find a foster home/rescue to do that?
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post #10 of 35
11/20/10 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
i'm going to see if any of the rescues around us have room for her... i know of several no-kill places and fostering programs, i just hope that people booting their animals as a result of the economy hasn't overwhelmed them. i don't want to just hand her over to an individual who says they'll take care of her and the pregnancy and the kittens- i don't trust people farther than i can throw them- so if i can't find a rescue, we'll do what we can to care for her and then find homes for her and the kittens, or, again, a rescue that can take them. my research today would indicate that, assuming she's as healthy as she appears, we'd only need to worry about an initial vet visit for a pre-natal check, buy her kitten food towards the end of the pregnancy, and then take them all in afterwards for shots and such. it'll be tight, but i think we could afford that. or at least my conscience tells me i could >.>

we already have three cats, and we're renting, so there's no way we could keep them, not even long enough to raise them beyond the time they need to stay with her. that should, however, give us plenty of time to find someone or somewhere.
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post #11 of 35
11/21/10 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
I've got her in a carrier in my car with food, water, and a towel... now we just need your prayers for safety on our three hour trip home!
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post #12 of 35
11/21/10 at 11:25am
Prayers are send on way!!!
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post #13 of 35
11/21/10 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
we're home safe and sound and devouring a can of trader joe's kitty tuna XD a nice quiet night in our new private suite, then to find a vet who won't charge us a first-born kitten to check up on our health
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post #14 of 35
12/8/10 at 6:05am
Thread Starter 
Aaaaaand we have kittens! My husband came home from work last night to find a little squirming pile of warm fuzz in the downstairs bathroom lol it looks like we have three callies, a dark one, and a tuxedo who sadly didn't make it =( i'll send pictures of the babies and momma as soon as he finally sends them to me ^_^ ironically, i'm out of town, visiting the same friend whose house i found her at lol
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post #15 of 35
12/8/10 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
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post #16 of 35
12/8/10 at 10:26am
Oh my gosh, look at those sweeties! Sounds like Dad was an orange tom!
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post #17 of 35
12/8/10 at 10:34am
Awwww! baby kitties Can't wait for more pictures.
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post #18 of 35
12/8/10 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kluchetta View Post
Oh my gosh, look at those sweeties! Sounds like Dad was an orange tom!
Actually the red (orange) gene is passed on by the mom, so dad could have been any color and you can still get red in some or all of the kittens.
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post #19 of 35
12/8/10 at 10:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldyCat View Post
Actually the red (orange) gene is passed on by the mom, so dad could have been any color and you can still get red in some or all of the kittens.
Wait...it's passed on the x gene, right? Dad passes those to girls, just not to boys?
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post #20 of 35
12/8/10 at 11:06am
Thread Starter 
my husband said there were callies, but i haven't seen any red in any of the photos or videos he's sent... oh, i wish i could upload video! they're all squirmy and mewling and adorable!!!!! i'm so sad i wasn't there v.v neither of us were home, and i can't help but feel there'd be five kittens now if we had been... v.v;
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post #21 of 35
12/8/10 at 11:25am
If you or your husband were home for the birth maybe there would be five little squeaky squalling kittens, maybe not. But from what you described if YOU hadn't brought her home with you momma cat very likely would not have survived to give birth and none of the kittens would have made it.

Look for the good in what is, rather than regrets for might-have-been.
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post #22 of 35
12/8/10 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kluchetta View Post
Wait...it's passed on the x gene, right? Dad passes those to girls, just not to boys?
Yep. The only way you get a red girl (like my Goldy) is to have the red genes from both mom and dad passed on via the X chromosome. If only the mom has the red gene, she can produce calico or tortie girls or red boys, along with other colors.
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post #23 of 35
12/8/10 at 11:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldyCat View Post
Yep. The only way you get a red girl (like my Goldy) is to have the red genes from both mom and dad passed on via the X chromosome. If only the mom has the red gene, she can produce calico or tortie girls or red boys, along with other colors.
Oh, OK. I'm easily confused. I was thinking the momma was a blue cat.
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post #24 of 35
12/8/10 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kluchetta View Post
Oh, OK. I'm easily confused. I was thinking the momma was a blue cat.
In order to produce any kittens with red in them, she'd have to have red hidden somewhere. The pictures are too dark to see the colors well, but I what I see looks all black and white, no red. Guess we'll just have to wait for more pictures.
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post #25 of 35
12/8/10 at 12:41pm
WOW! Just in the nick of time!!!

Mommy doesn't look that old, either -

Maybe a clinic will do the spay for free (?). We have scholarships, here, where people sponsor free spays and neuters.

I guess you already know that she will continue to nurse after she's spayed (?).

The former feral we took in (and spayed) continued to nurse her two until they were over 4 months old. They all are now "inside" cats. (We now have a total of 8 living inside the house with us.) I couldn't give any of the kittens away, or separate them from their mommy - I wish I was stronger, but - oh well. .)

You and your hubby are heros!

Food: we also feed Trader Joes - but nixed the tuna because of the health issues tuna causes - especially (urinary) crystals.

Can't wait for more pics as the kittens get older - but, - really - that Mommy is just the sweetest -and- obviously very smart for finding you!
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post #26 of 35
12/8/10 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Momma is blue, which is why we named her Selkie, which is Welsh/Scottish for "seal" =)
Here's another one... I don’t have any other really clear shots of them yet... but no, I don’t see any red...

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post #27 of 35
12/8/10 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
We use the trader joe's tuna only supplementally, as a once or twice a week treat. Our own cats are raw fed, and i'd much rather feed them pure tuna parts than random, unidentified meats and fillers that have no place in their diet. i didn't know that about tuna, though, and though they've been enjoying it as a regular part of their diet for two years now without any problems, i will keep an eye out. =)

i will definitely get better pictures when i get home... my hubby's cell is crap lol
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post #28 of 35
12/10/10 at 9:25pm
Thread Starter 
pictures!!!!!! videos!!!!

photo album | hello, kitties! | dinnertime!
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post #29 of 35
12/10/10 at 9:56pm
Awwww! So it looks like you have three black and white kittens and one tabby. Are there some tabby markings in one of the black and white ones as well?
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post #30 of 35
12/10/10 at 9:58pm
I held my breath through the video - I kept counting kittens to make sure one wasn't under mommy. She also seemed to know where they were when she took her steps - her back leg almost stepped on one, but somehow she felt it before she put her weight on her foot - oh, my heart, my heart

thanks for the video!, and the pics!!!
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