stray cat pregnant or nursing?

My family has been taking care of a stray cat for the last week. She's emaciated and we can feel all of her bones. We  give her usually two cans of food a day, and she eats them faster than I knew was possible for a cat. Her nipples are huge compared to our cat's. They are long, pink, and the fur around them is removed. I've tried squeezing them a bit and nothing comes out. The nipple area is sagging, and flabby. It kind of feels like the extra fat, that a fat cat would have, which is obviously not the case for her. We don't feel anything in her stomach, which is very small/almost nonexistent unless you count the drooping nipple region on her underside. But maybe she is just newly pregnant?

Hi there and welcome to tcs!!

Honestly, it sounds as though she is currently nursing.

This will also help explain why she looks so saggy and the big appetite she has.

The missing fur is an excellent indicator, as this happens shortly after momma is nursing.

Perhaps you can do some detective work and find the babies soon? Then have them together so she was nurse them safely and without getting pregnant right away?

She really needs to be spayed asap once you know the ages of her kittens, that they will be fine while she is away.

Poor thing. She is likely a dumped/abandoned cat

It definitely sounds like she is nursing. I have a cat who is/has been nursing and that is exactly what her nipples look/feel like. Of course, this cat could be nursing and pregnant; when I took in my cat and her two kittens she was still nursing them, but after about a week I realised she was also pregnant with another litter. It was quite clear to me, she was very skinny and bony everywhere except for her stomach, which was massive. Cats are very prolific! They can be pregnant with a new litter as soon as two months after giving birth to the previous one. 


This was about a week after I took her in. She got very affectionate towards me very quickly. Poor girl, she wasn't a feral, she was obviously well-socialised, probably the kitten of a pet cat, but she wound up with people who abused/abandoned her. She is just the nicest cat, and meant to be a pet. This was the first time she really relaxed around me, and after all this stretching and showing off I was certain she was pregnant with another litter. 

As you can see, she has a huge belly in this pic, and while her 4 month old kittens were still suckling very regularly (and still try now at almost 7 months), she was also full of more kittens. Cats also lose weight from the rest of their bodies to sustain the babies when they're pregnant, so that combined with being a stray made her very very skinny everywhere else. 


This is a picture of her after being spayed, exactly 10 days after I took her in. This is what she whould have looked like without the pregnancy, and I was actually really horrified because I hadn't realised just how skinny she really was! Even after a week of plenty of good food. 

When I had her spayed, she was about 5 weeks along. Keep an eye on your stray cat, and if she begins to get a bigger belly, or her belly grows disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of her, there's a good chance she's pregnant. When my cat's belly was that size in the first pic, I could count every bone in her body, but her tum was like a balloon. If it turns out this cat of yours is pregnant, you should strongly consider taking her to get spayed before she has the litter. Even if she's not pregnant I would advise you get her spayed anyway. I know it can be tricky/difficult with strays, and spaying can be expensive, but if you're a compassionate person who'll wind up looking after any kittens she has as well, then you'll want to nip that in the bud as early as possible. Like I said, cats are very prolific, and there are enough stray cats in the world already. 

Edit - catwoman's advice to find the babies she is likely already suckling is very good advice, as well as getting her spayed. Don't worry, she will still care for the kittens after spaying.