Another Pregnant Cat?

Okay. So I am getting tired of my neighbor's carelessness of their cats. I took in the oldest and was pregnant cat. She had her babies 2 weeks and 5 days ago. Now, her oldest kitten is pregnant. This kitten is definitely less than a year old. I'd say about 7-9 months old. In my honest opinion, I do not believe in abortion. However, I am already dealing 5 kittens. Should I just deal with this next pregnancy or proceed to spay the cat without the owner's consent? (This kitten's pregnancy is her first). Does her being under a year cause a lot of complications? One again, these owners technically abandoned them. Sadly, I feel responsible for the health of these kittens.

Btw, I called to make an appointment for the kitten but I am not home on time to receive the woman's call. So, for now, I have time to think and get honest opinions.
I am selling the kittens I have right now in 9 weeks to good homes.

Unfortunately, until all of the cats are spayed/neutered, you will be dealing with pregnant cats and more kittens. It is good of you to step in. Have you tried to have a discussion with your neighbor about responsible pet ownership? I know those conversations can be hard and not well received by most people.

If these cats are essentially abandoned and under your care, I would spay/abort. A kitten having kittens isn't a good situation. There is definitely more risk associated.

Lovehope37 said:

Okay. So I am getting tired of my neighbor's carelessness of their cats. I took in the oldest and was pregnant cat. She had her babies 2 weeks and 5 days ago. Now, her oldest kitten is pregnant. This kitten is definitely less than a year old. I'd say about 7-9 months old. In my honest opinion, I do not believe in abortion. However, I am already dealing 5 kittens. Should I just deal with this next pregnancy or proceed to spay the cat without the owner's consent? (This kitten's pregnancy is her first). Does her being under a year cause a lot of complications? One again, these owners technically abandoned them. Sadly, I feel responsible for the health of these kittens.

Btw, I called to make an appointment for the kitten but I am not home on time to receive the woman's call. So, for now, I have time to think and get honest opinions.
I am selling the kittens I have right now in 9 weeks to good homes.

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First, I am sorry to hear you are going through this.

In all honesty, I think spaying pregnant cats is as far away from human abortion as eating french fries is. Cats (much as we love them) are simply not the same as humans.  They lack the capacity (when it comes to mating anyway) to decide for themselves what is best and rely on their owners to 'do right by them', which in my firm opinion means spaying them no later than 6 months.

Her 'owners' sound awful and have put you in an awful position.

That said, I would definitely advocate a spay.  She is too young to be having kittens and her health will be at serious risk.  Moreover, kittens aren't like children as I said above.  These kittens will be very hard to find homes for. They will contribute to the huge cat overpopulation problem. I really hope you will find it in yourself to give this kitten the help she sounds like she TRULY needs and get her spayed and away from her owners.

I too am so sorry to hear this situation is happening. But, many thanks to you for stepping up and trying to help these cats out. They are very, very lucky to have you as a neighbor! 

As for what to do with the newly pregnant kitten: I'm in agreement with tulosai. While your personal beliefs may be against an abortion I think you have to view this situation differently as they are not the same thing. As tulosai points out, cats do not view a pregnancy in the same way that humans do, and would not mourn the loss in the way we would. I would think the reason to not terminate her pregnancy would be to protect unborn life, but, unfortunately, the future isn't a bright one for these kittens to begin with. The Queens young age is definitely a factor and you are right that she is at a higher risk for complications during delivery. There is also the possibility of birth defects since I am assuming there is a high likelihood that the father is one of the litter mates (or shares another biological connection). Even if the kittens are to survive the birth, finding good homes for so many is a difficult challenge, and it's entirely possible that they will end up at a shelter, on the streets, or with an owner like your neighbor who clearly cares very little for their wellbeing. 

There is also the practical aspect to consider that you already have your hands full taking care of someone else's problem. As I'm sure you well know by now, raising kittens is incredibly time consuming and very expensive. And, I think your funds would be better allocated if you were to focus on altering and vaccinating all the kittens you already have to prevent any further unwanted pregnancies than putting money aside to care for even more and risk the chance of it happening again by letting the others continue to grow unaltered. 

The other big issue to address is what to do about the situation in general. Have you tried talking to the neighbor and asking them to relinquish their rights? Or, maybe contacting animal control? This can be a risky move as the cats may suffer for it but it also may result in them finding better, safer homes. Another option is to try and get in touch with a local no kill shelter/rescue. They may be able to intervene and take some of the cats in. They may also be willing to set up some sort of foster system with you. Meaning, if you continue to care for the kittens until they can find them homes they will pay for any and all veterinary costs (including the altering and vaccinations). Not having a ton of details into the situation contacting a no kill shelter/rescue is probably what I would do. Unfortunately they deal with situations like this all the time and may be able to really help you out. 

We all can't thank you enough for what you are trying to do to help them, and if they could talk I know they would express their gratitude as well. Please, if there is anything else we can help you with don't hesitate to ask. There are a lot of us on TCS who do foster/rescue work (which is essentially what you are doing) and know how stressful it can be at times so please, use us! If for nothing else we can provide you with a little moral support, and sometimes that can make all the difference. Essentially, we are here to help you so that you can help them!