Are we expecting?

Hello all.

I "have" this feral queen, Maminka, that I'm trying to make into an indoor-only, which about I wrote in feral cat section. She is 3-4 years old thath usually has 1 litter a year, and she had this year's, or shall I say 2014 in Spring. Now, I caught her three days ago and I am planning on getting her spayed, but would first like to know whether she colud be pregnant. Here is some pictures of her taken this morning, but she wasn't really letting me turn her around and take shot of her nipples, I will try later. 




The thing is, it would be great to know if we are to have kittens so I can try finding them homes, as I obviously can't keep them since I'm currently in the negotiations with my parents about keeping Maminka herself as a house pet.

It's really difficult to say whether she's pregnant or not from a few pictures, so some extra information would be great.

Has she been allowed to go outside?

Have you noticed any change of behavior? Or, if you just got her, is she eating more than you'd expect her she should, does she ask for a lot of attention or not at all, is she looking for cosy places in the house she could lay around at?

Can you describe her nipples to us, if you can't picture it?

From the pictures alone she doesn't seem pregnant to me, but if she is carying a small litter or she isnt that far along yet, it's possible for sure. If she's not helped yet and allowed outside, you can basically count on it. Some cats get their heats again even if they still have kittens running around. 

She had been an outside-only feral up until 3 days ago. As of changes in behaviour, well, she is pretty much scared and trying to get out of the house, but today she suddenly is a bit more loose, would allow me to pick her and pet her, purring a lot and all that "pet" stuff. She also sleeps alot, mostly in my drawer bed (one bed is the drawer under another). I can't really tell how much food she ate outside, but she and my house tom share food now, and are pretty rapacious about it. She is also starting to act all motherly to him (he's 2.5-3 mo), like licking him and hugging him while they sleep, even though he was pretty mean to her past two days. She sure is chubbier then she usualy is, but seems like she has extra fat all over her body. 

As of her nipples, I managed to trick her while petting and took two shots of two different teats, just to be sure. my problem is, I have no idea what looks pregnant and what doesn't.

Thank you for the extra information ^^!

Looking at all the pictures and the information, I am going to say that she is not pregnant. Usually, pregnant cats have redish nipples that start to occur at around 3 weeks into the pregnancy. They will also slowly enlarge, but as you said this cat has had litters before, the nipples are already larger than they would usually be on a first-time-pregnant cat Her belly doesn't seem pregnant either. She surely seems like a healthy and well fed cat

Also, it sounds as if she's starting to befriend your other cat though! My 2 girls also lick eachother and hug eachother, it's really sweet. I think she's slowly getting used to being inside and having a playmate.

However, do keep an eye on her regardless of what I or others say. You never know, we might be wrong. But from what I can see at this point, I think she is not pregnant

I agree she doesn't look pregnant. I am glad you are able to get her to be spayed. That's the first step. I hope your family lets her stay inside permanently. If she does get spayed please make sure your family understands she can't go outside while she is recovering from the surgery.

Hello all.

Back in January when I decided to try to make Minka an indoor cat I plannes on spaying her, however I didn't have money at the time and now that I saved up, turns out she is pregnant afterall. Minka started showing signs of pregnancy about a month ago, and now her belly is quite large and her nipples changed. She also got a lot more relaxed, we can open doors and she will not try to run out (she did spent her first few weeks running away every few days).  She is also much calmer indoors, will hide into a transporter under my desk or spend time on my window. Here I give you two photos of her nipple, as well as a (not so great) photo of her side belly. I will do my best to shot her from upside, but she is rarely spending time on floor and won't sit still.




So, any ideas of how far along the way are we? 

Sorry, I wont even guess.  Although she is sure high preg.

If you dont know the exact datum of mating, there are two fairly pin-points: when her nipples went rosy (raspberry rosy I think they call it), as it happens quite exactly on three weeks after.

And when you began to felt the kittens move, as it happens at most three weeks before delivery, usually closer to two weeks before.

Otherwise, its just to prepare as well you can, wait and see.   Knowing also, a little too long pregnancies is usually no big deal, but too short pregnancie is worse for kittens than for human babies...

I will send some of our usual links, if you havent got them yet, but you are of course welcome both with reports and further questions about the beautiful Minka:

Good luck!

Most of these links have been readied by our forumist  Red Top Rescue:

We have a good collection of articles in the Cat Health section which you can access by scrolling up to the brown bar, clicking on Articles,and then choosing the Cat Health section and scrolling through the choices.  To make this super easy for you, I am copying the links regarding birth, delivery and newborns for you here.  After reading this information, let us know if you have any more questions.  And good luck with your approaching new arrivals.

 Birth, Delivery and Newborns

How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant?

Cat Pregnancy

How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth

Help! My Cat is Having Kittens!

Premature Kittens

Post-Birth Complications in Cats

And also:

http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens     ( This is a link to a group of articles on cat pregnancy, birth and kittens.   Read the ones on normal cat birth and on " when to wait and when to worry"  )  

Fleece or flannel good to use in the bedding for kittens.

A quick update.

We are still waiting and I feel like we are getting really close. I was affreaid to feel babies for a long time, but yesterday I finally decided to give it a try and I felt something. Today I've been spending every single moment with Minka and her babies are having a rave party in there. Just one question, is it possible to feel a fetal heart beat?

As of this morning our household is wealthier for 3 new baby kittens. YAYS!!!!

Seems like 3 is the final number. I took a sneak peek and seems like we have 2 boys and a girl. I will post some photos in a day or two.

I would also suggest not putting the doors open, as she might change her behavior when going into labor, and you don't want her running away and g

RustyPocket said:

 
As of this morning our household is wealthier for 3 new baby kittens. YAYS!!!!

Seems like 3 is the final number. I took a sneak peek and seems like we have 2 boys and a girl. I will post some photos in a day or two.

Click to expand...

Congratulations! I hope mom and babies are doing well and that the little ones will grow up into healthy cats <3 Can't wait to see the pictures!