I'm in desperate need of advice.

I live in South Korea and adopted a rescue cat here. I got her at about 8 months old and she is a little over a year old now. I was planning to get her spayed when I returned to America in August, as a spay here costs about $400-$500 and I don't really feel safe with the vets here. Pets aren't a big part of the culture here, especially cats, and vet science is still a very new thing.There was a life or death situation with a stray tomcat that visits the elementary school I work at. The principal was "concerned for the students health" and was going to have him beaten to death or poisoned. The science teacher, who is a fellow cat lover, asked if I would take him in if she paid to have him neutered. Within a day, she had caught him, had him fixed and he was in my home. We asked the vet three times if he would be able to get my cat pregnant, and he insisted that after he was neutered, it wouldn't be possible. This past week I returned from a four day business trip and became suspicious, because she had gained weight and her nipples were larger and pinker than normal

Obviously, the vet didn't know what he was talking about, because she is pregnant now. I took her in as soon as I suspected for a test, and he confirmed that she was pregnant. I asked if he could spay her as soon as possible, and he said yes, but it would be even more expensive than normal. I made an appointment for today (a week after the one where he confirmed she was pregnant) so that I would have time to get the money together from my accounts back in the US. She's a total of 4 weeks along now. When I went in today and he gave her an ultrasound, the vet said that he didn't think we should perform the surgery because the kittens have heartbeats and the placenta is too well formed. He said that she has a 40% chance of going into shock and dying. 

I really don't know what to do. I'm trying to extend my contract to stay in Korea for another year, but if I don't get granted the extension, I have to return to the US in the first week of August when my visa runs out. The kittens would only be six weeks old at that point, and unable to fly, and half the age they should be when leaving their mother. 

Should I get a second opinion? I have to wonder if this guy is a quack. It is, after all, the same doctor that told me the boy cat couldn't get her pregnant in the first place, and who told me that same boy cat had a skin infection requiring a $200 treatment that was actually just dirt, which washed away when I gave him a bath. 

So, he is wrong that a spay can't be safely preformed at 4 weeks- a skilled vet who knows what he or she is doing can preform spays much later than that- I have worked with vets who can and will preform them up to 8 weeks. And it is also hogwash about the shock and dying... at least if you are dealing with a skilled vet.  Even late term spays are safer than a birth for a cat.

But if a vet doesn't know what he or she is doing, the situation is unfortunately different and spays of pregnant cats do become much more dangerous :/

I would probably personally seek out another vet since there is no reason she can't be spayed now, but I would really try to find one who you think is at least decent... I know it might be hard there :/

And yes, as you have learned the hard way, males can impregnated females for many weeks after neutering as hormones calm down.  It is not the same for females though- once spayed they can no longer get pregnant.

Good luck.  I am sorry you are in this rough situation.

Thanks. The problem really is the culture here. Pet culture is only just now becoming a thing. Obviously, a man who wants to work with children wanted to have an innocent cat beaten to death just because it was "dirty". I can't imagine that ever happening in the states. 

Because people most people don't really have pets, and those that do tend to think of them as possessions or accessories, I don't think there is a very high standard for vet care. The one I went to was the one with the highest ratings in my area. I wish I had known before just how bad it was, because I wouldn't have trusted his word.  Aside from taking her on a 4 hour bus ride one way to Seoul, I don't think there is much chance of getting to a better vet. The stress of a trip down the street was huge for her. I doubt an 8 hour round trip visit would be good at all. 

I just want her to be healthy and okay. She's my baby. I'm doing all the research I can, but I feel stuck. 

Gosh, what a tough situation for you. I was born in South Korea, and I do understand the attitude toward pets there.

All I can suggest is calling around to other vets in your area to see if any have experience with spaying pregnant cats. I do hope you can find a solution.

Yeah. I just can't fathom  the attitude in this country sometimes. My friend called around to a few vet clinics and all of them said the same thing. One guy even told him "Just let the cat have the kittens and get rid of them after." Like really, thats a VET saying that. 

Every clinic I've been to here has felt like a total business and nothing else. They don't seem to have any interest in actually helping animals. I always get a "Just give us your money" type of feeling. My friend explained that my ability to stay in the country untill the kittens are over 12 weeks is uncertain, and asked if he could recommend a safe shelter or rescue society who could take the kittens in a worst case scenario. The vet said "There is nothing like that in Korea." Which isn't true. There are tons of shelters here, just a lot of bad ones, which is why I wanted the advice. 

I guess the bright side is the vet said there is PROBABLY only 2 or 3 kittens. (who knows if he's wrong about that too) I have a close friend with a lot of cat experience who is staying here long term and wants to adopt 2 cats and said she will take one or two of Masha's kittens, so if it turns out to be a small litter, a home might already be taken care of. Even if she doesn't adopt them, she said she would foster them if I have to leave the country in August. 

That's one bright spot! What a wonderful friend! Hopefully there will only be two kittens. Good luck!

Yeah. I just can't fathom  the attitude in this country sometimes.

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It is what it is. You are living in a country and a region that doesn't approach cultural matters the same as in the USA, and the whole "pet culture" mindset is obviously one of those areas.  I'm sure there are parts of American culture that Koreans don't understand or are impressed by either. 

Hey everyone, me again, still in need of some advice!

I decided against going through with the spay, as every vet I spoke to gave the same answer "she will die." I know that's not the case for a skilled vet, but I guess none of them are all that skilled. 

Masha's showing signs of going into labor (mucus discharge with a little blood, restlessness and nesting).I panicked when I saw blood and made the mistake of being honest with my school when I called in sick this morning and they have pretty much told me I can't call in sick tomorrow. In the VPs words "The students are more important than a cat's health."

I'm trying to find someone in the area who can stay with her tomorrow if she still hasn't given birth, but if I can't, should I risk leaving her at a vet? Obviously the circumstances which led to her becoming pregnant have made me distrustful of the vets in the area, and on top of that, she is terrified of new people and new places. The last time I took her to the vet she hid in my shirt and trembled like a leaf the whole time. I guess I want to know if you cat experts out there think her being comfortable, but alone in her own home is preferable to her having a vet there, but so stressed and scared it could CAUSE a problem. 

Also, she's refusing to let my male cat, Gentleman, the father of the kittens, leave her side. I tried to separate them because everywhere I read online says she needs space and privacy, but she cried non stop until I let him go back to lay down beside her. She's also calmed down quite a bit in the last half hour and has curled up and gone to sleep next to him. Is this normal?

Here are some pictures of the love birds. 

In sorry that I don't have any experience at all with kitty pregnancies or birth, so I don't have any great advice, but I did want to write in and say that you have done a wonderful thing helping these precious love birds! Best of luck in all that happens in the next few days. You have made it this far, hang in there just a little longer!

Thank you! I just got the good news that I got an extension on my contract, so I have another six months to prepare to bring these guys home to the states and to find homes for their little ones! I was originally going to foster Gentleman and find him a home, but he fell SO in love with Masha, and I fell so in love with him, these two will end up being an American family. 

I'm glad you didnt go through with the spay, it would put your kitty at a big risk. About leaving her at the vet though, I think you shouldn't. From what you wrote about the vets and the fact that Masha doesn't like the vet, I think it would be a waste of money to leave her there. Masha would be scared and stressed and probably would wait till she was out of there. I think it would be better to leave her at home, where she is comfortable. I don't have much experience in cat birth, but I think you should read over all the cat pregnancy pages in the articles section of the site. Alot of your questions about the birth would be answered there. And I'd say you should go to your school tomorrow. If you have a great bond with your cat, she might wait for you before giving birth. If shes having a smaller litter, then theres less chance for disaster.  Good luck! keep us posted

The three of us are very close. The whole day she's cried if she doesn't have Gentleman or myself with her, and when I am with her, she doesn't want to be in her box. She's pretty much like "Mum! Hold me! I want to be in your lap, Mum!" I hope she waits to have the kittens until I get home from work, because she is a first time mother. When I made the decision to have the kittens, it was to have them healthy and safe, and I worry about how things will go if she doesn't have me there. 

Oh and also to tell roughly when she will have the kittens measure her temperature once in a while. When the temperature changes from the usual, she is veeery close. Most cats find it comfortable to get it under their armpit, but remember that it will be a couple degrees lower than the actual. 

Masha gave birth to 3 beautiful babies today! 2 calicos and one white and orange. I do have a question, though.

Masha and Gentleman, the father, are almost obsessively close. The whole time she was in labor, she wanted him with her. Right now I have him in the bathroom (I live in a oneroom apartment, which is standard for Korea.) My concern is that he is crying for her almost non-stop and she is also crying for him. She even left her babies once to go to the door and try to get to him. 

Gentleman is neutered (these babies were his last huzzah, I guess) and Masha hasn't been in contact with any other males, I'm just worried that if I let them near each other, he might harm the kittens. I really don't know what to do! I don't want to keep my baby confined to the bathroom for the next 12 weeks!

Also, here is a baby picture!