Pregnant Cat (I think!)

Hi all! I have a 14mnth old cat whom we rescued from under the hood of a truck at my husband's work. She is in the list to be spayed at our local Spca. Long story short she is an indoor cat, but managed to get out on Sept 12th while in heat.. As soon as I realized that she was out I found her right away. I figure she was out no longer than 1/2 hr. Anyhow she has since gotten a little plump and has been really nasty to my neutered male whom she was best of friends with. I thought I could feel small bumps in her belly last week although this week nothing. Her nipple are more prominent but not very pink. She has her yearly exam in a week and a half with our vet but I wondered if anyone had some insight. Is it probable that shes pregnant or am I just being paranoid?

She is 6 weeks if she is pregnant - it should be pretty obvious and you have described several of the signs of pregnancy.

Thank you for your input. I've been researching like crazy and I've been getting mixed info. She's certainly not huge and she hasn't "pinked up" but she has the other signs described above. I've had several cats and dogs my whole life but have never founf myself in this position. I just hope all goes well for her. She will absolutely be spayed ASAP after her kittens are weaned. Thanks again

What a shame she wasn't spayed soon as she'd been out while in heat. Half an hour is more than long enough, mating takes only a few seconds. 

The nipples go bright pink around 17-21 days, but they don't stay pink. At 6 weeks along the nipples will be larger and easily felt, a light pink colour. 

She will be spayed ASAP when it's safe to do so after the birth. I just couldn't do the pregnant spay.
That said, I am pro spay/neuter and all of my other household pets were done before their first heat. She has only ever been out that one time (my front door had the handle break after being slammed by one of my kids and I didn't norice right away). I feel just terrible this has happened, but what's done is done and now I just need to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible in order to provide the best care for Alice and her babies. Thank you for the info re: nipples, that got me a little confused, and explains why her nipples don't really look pink right now. It's all very new to me and I appreciate the input

It is quite probable she is pregnant. It is not so she did happened to get out unlucky as she was in heat.

Chance very big she got out BECAUSE she was in heat, and heard a tom calling her from the outside. (yes, all toms a mile around do knows where there is a female in heat).

So you did decided to have a litter, as you didnt went as soon as convenient to the vet?

Not before and not after either.

I understand, it is nice to be grandma.  

Read on, read on, and do prepare as well as you can!

Begin also to search for homes for the kittens to come.   If you get too many homes, the extra homes you can tip them about shelters and rescue groups, whom do also need adoption homes, both for kittens and adults.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply. You're right I did decide to have the litter as I just couldn't do the pregnant spay. That said, Miss Alice will be spayed just as soon as the vet gives the thumbs up after birth. I am 100% pro spay and neuter and all of my other pets were spayed/ neutered before 6 months. I like your idea about sending extra families to adopt shelter pets. I have adopted some of my sweetest pets from our local shelter. I am researching like crazy and praying all goes well for my sweet girl and her babies.

She is without a doubt pregnant! I saw/felt movement yesterday when we were snuggled on the couch. I've started feeding her kitten food (canned Science Diet). I've set up a nest in her fave spot, my stand up shower in my bathroom in my bedroom. She loves it already. So I've been reading and reading and reading. She's only 14 mnths, I hope everything goes okay. Any other way I should be preparing?

If a cat is spayed as soon as she gets back from escaping when in heat she probably isn't pregnant at that point in time - sperm has not met eggs, and they certainly haven't implanted.

Whilst spay-abort sounds nasty and if the pregnancy is advanced probably is, so is putting to sleep a perfectly healthy cat or kitten because the shelter is full and it didn't find a home in whatever length of time was allowed.  Personally I'd prefer to spay-abort kittens which are not yet here than pts those which are.

Respectfully, I'm not entirely sure why you're giving me a hard time. I have already expressed that I feel terrible that this has happened. I understand all to well the overpopulation problem in shelters, and the dangers of my baby mating with a random tom off the street. I have had cats and dogs my entire life and all of them were spayed or neutered before 6 mnths of age. Currently I have 2 dogs and another neutered male cat (rescue). They are all well taken care of, up to date on shots, see the vet regularily for a wellness exam, are treated year round for flea and parasite control. I am an animal lover and a responsible pet owner. Frankly your last point is moot. She is 6.5 weeks pregnant. Done and I don't appreciate you being rude. You can't possibly make me feel worse than I already do. I came here for some advice and some informatio, bc as stated I've never experienced this before. I have found some great and informative threads in this forum which I'm grateful for. If anyone has some tips on how else I can prepare it would be greatly appreciated. I want to do everything I can to ensure a safe delivery. Thanks

Good evening/morning everyone.  The decision to spay-abort is a personal one and the OP has made it clear she is not going to do that.  The kitty is already pregnant and the OP has stated it was an accident and the kitty will be spayed.  Our job now is to support and educate each other.

Alicemama; this is a link to the sticky at the top of this forum.  You might find some helpful information here as well if you haven't reviewed it already.  Good luck with the kitties! http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/...regnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads

Feeling the movement is quite exciting isn't it At least you KNOW exactly when she got pregnant so her due date should be fairly easy to estimate.  Nov. 14th or around there.

I currently have a foster cat that they "think" is pregnant. She feels full but I"ve felt no movement yet. These waiting games can be agonizing.

Please post pics of Alice!
 

Very exciting. Yes I know the exact date/time she was out. Her first and only time ever being outside!!
Oh that's so hard waiting and wondering. I wish you and your foster best of luck.
That's Alice in my profile pic, I took that pic 2 weeks ago. I will post some more just as soon as I figure out how.Lol!! Please keepnus update re: you're foster too. Thanks for the post

Just an update, Miss Alice is eating and eating and spends the rest of her time sleeping. She's become quite vocal when her bowl is empty which is adorable and quite comical bc w normally don't hear a peep from her. I've been letting her eat as much as she wants (dry food down always, and canned twice daily). Is this ok? I've read conflicting info...some say you should limit the food? I'm feeding the Science Diet Kitten wet.and dry. She also has a nibble at my other cats food whenever she walks by lol. Thanks!!

Alicemama said:

Just an update, Miss Alice is eating and eating and spends the rest of her time sleeping. She's become quite vocal when her bowl is empty which is adorable and quite comical bc w normally don't hear a peep from her.

I've been letting her eat as much as she wants (dry food down always, and canned twice daily). Is this ok? I've read conflicting info...some say you should limit the food? I'm feeding the Science Diet Kitten wet.and dry. She also has a nibble at my other cats food whenever she walks by lol. Thanks!!

Click to expand...

you should let a pregnant cat eat as much as she wants as often as she wants, even if she does look like a little vaccum cleaner xD

my cat Emry did the same when she was pregnant, if her bowl was empty, she would come looking for me squawking and sqawking I could only imagine

"WHAT IS THIS!? hello!? pregnant here, bowl is empty, SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS!? "  caps locked words for the appropriate mood swings

kinda like how my sister acted when she was pregnant.....

Great thanks Gibbly. They're so funny, cats have the BEST personalities! I will continue to keep her bowl brimming! I saw your pics of Emry's kittens. They are sooooo adorable!!

What in the world??!! Miss Alice is currently running ( running?) Back and forth between the living room and kitchen!! Playfully chasing Chevy our neutered 1 yr old male. This is quite a change from her recently lazy and grumpy self!! Strange but quite comical!!

Another question, I apologize in advance for being a touch neurotic. Sometimes the problem with researching and researching is that you can get conflicting information.
I have literally read hundreds of articles online in the past weeks. It has me really questioning if Alice is in fact pregnant. Last week I was sure that I felt movement. This week (she's nearly 7weeks) I've felt nothing. Alice is normally a slim girl and she's definitely put on the beef but she's not huge. Here's the big one...she's long haired (long haired diluted torbie I think), and although her nipples are visible they aren't the bright pink I've seen in the pics of other queens. I had planned on taking her to the vet on Friday but I'm concerned be she is easily spooked and going to the vet or anywhere is quite stressful for her. She's been sleeping and eating (loving the kitten food ) yet today she's super crazy running around and being silly all day. Sigh I'm overanalyzing and I'm stumped!! Geesh

Nipples don't stay bright pink, they're often almost white in colour

At 7 weeks movement can be easily felt, even with a singleton litter. Are you certain of the date she was allowed out? Possibly further along than you thought?

No need to stress her with a vet visit, if she's pregnant she'll have them, otherwise she may have reabsorbed the litter or have had a false pregnancy

Thank you. I know she got out Sept 12th, I naively didn't think she was out long enough to get pregnant. 1/2 hour and I didn't see a male near her when I found her, although there was one lurking in my yard the next couple of days. I went away for the weekend on Thanksgiving weekend (3days) and when I came back I noticed a change in her shape...bigger abdomen. That is when I noticed the other signs increased appetite sleeping and aggression towards my neutered male. She was lying on her back sunbathing on the couch last week when I saw twitches in her belly. I had a friend over and said look! She said yep she's definitely pregnant. Yet now I've been really looking and I haven't noticed anything. She won't let me touch her belly at all to try and feel around. I'll just wait and see, I'd hate to put undue stress on her. Thanks again