Thought she was pregnant but not sure anymore...

Hi there, 

About 3 weeks ago, we took in a sweet little stray.   After about a week, I noticed her nipples became pink and enlarged.  I had never seen a non-spayed cat before, so I'm not sure what the nipples usually look like, so I did some research, and all the stuff I was seeing indicated that she is probably pregnant, and "pinking up".  However, I calculated based on when her nipples changed that she must be around 5-6 weeks pregnant now, but she doesn't look pregnant to me, and reading other posts and looking at pictures, I was under the impression that she should be starting to show by now.  I read a couple articles that actually said by week six you should have " little doubt that she is pregnant" because it would be quite obvious. 

Help! I can't really afford to take her to a vet to confirm a pregnancy, but if she isn't pregnant I'd like to try to find her a loving home as soon as possible.

Two weeks ago she was possibly day 21, so she is 5 weeks now, quite exactly.  If her litter is small, she hasnt yet began to fill out so much.

You must wait a couple of weeks more at least, to be sure.

Unless you want to do it radically and spay, even if it means abortion.  Very few chooses this solution, but medically its possible.  You "should" spay her anyway, sooner or later.

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick response!  I was doing some calculations, and she would be 6 weeks this coming Wednesday.  I definitely wouldn't spay her with the possibility of her carrying babies, but thank you for the suggestion.  So I will wait a couple weeks and see, and if she turns out not to be pregnant, I will have her spayed, and try to find her a loving home. 

Thanks! 

I know of cats who didn't show at all with smaller litters (1-2 kittens). So it's possible you won't see much of a difference on her. However, this is with long haired cats, so I'm not sure how it'll show 1-2 kittens on a short haired cat. But it's surely possible it'll only show very late

if her nipples have obviously changed color, and still have and probably enlarged by now as well, AND she hasn't been in heat since, you can be quite sure she's pregnant.

I'm really starting to doubt that she is pregnant... She had gone into a heat cycle shortly after her nipples had "pinked up", but I read on multiple sites that they can go through a heat cycle even if they're pregnant.  But now, just today she's started acting as if she's in heat again.  Is it possible for her to go into 2 heat cycles during pregnancy? Or is it possible she's rolling around and meowing just because she's uncomfortable?  

The one thing that's been making me think she's pregnant all along has been the enlarged, bright pink nipples, because even if it's possible for them to become enlarged and pink during heat, they stayed this way in between when she was showing signs of maybe being in heat.  Are there any other reasons other than her being pregnant that her nipples would look big and pink like this?  This whole thing is really confusing me.

Hey there!  

I took in a stray that's around 6 weeks pregnant, and I was just looking for pictures for comparison.  Does anyone have pictures of their queen 6 weeks pregnant? And how many were in the litter? 

I'm just trying to get an idea of how many kittens she might have

Thanks! 

jasminlang said:

 
Hey there!  

I took in a stray that's around 6 weeks pregnant, and I was just looking for pictures for comparison.  Does anyone have pictures of their queen 6 weeks pregnant? And how many were in the litter? 

I'm just trying to get an idea of how many kittens she might have

Thanks! 

Click to expand...

This may be difficult.  We had recently a high preg, big as if swallowed a fullblown soccer ball, the biggest adult modell, At least 6, probably 8 or 9, we though.

But it was "merely" 4...

The tread is still visible here.

I am a foster mom to "Lilly" the picture above was taken 3 days before she delivered 5 kittens. I hope that helps give you an idea, but like the other poster said, the size may throw you off one way or another. Good luck. My kittens from Lilly are 2.5 weeks and so adorable!

jasminlang said:

 
I'm really starting to doubt that she is pregnant... She had gone into a heat cycle shortly after her nipples had "pinked up", but I read on multiple sites that they can go through a heat cycle even if they're pregnant.  But now, just today she's started acting as if she's in heat again.  Is it possible for her to go into 2 heat cycles during pregnancy? Or is it possible she's rolling around and meowing just because she's uncomfortable?  

The one thing that's been making me think she's pregnant all along has been the enlarged, bright pink nipples, because even if it's possible for them to become enlarged and pink during heat, they stayed this way in between when she was showing signs of maybe being in heat.  Are there any other reasons other than her being pregnant that her nipples would look big and pink like this?  This whole thing is really confusing me.

Click to expand...

Maybe it is possible, but only very rarely. I personally would say she's not pregnant if she went into heat once, so twice is even more less likely.

She's aroudn 5 weeks now, correct? Her belly should start to enlarge around now, and in a few more weeks you should be able to feel the kittens move. That's pretty much the only indicators you can have yourself. To be really sure, you'll probably need the vet.

But for now, expect a no. As heats usually don't happen during a pregnancy

And this is the belly of a 7,5 week pregnant semi-long haired girl. She had a litter of 5 kittens 1,5 week later.

As Stefan also said, it depends a lot on the cat. Some carry heavy, others do not. All we can do is merely guess

Yeah, that's what i was thinking too. What's throwing me off though is the size ans colour of the nipples. Is there any reason other than pregnancy that they would look like thIs?

I'm kind of puzzled. That surely looks like a pregnant cat's nipple. In heat they can be like that, but as you said it's also as such between heats, that can't be the reason. Fake pregnancies also give red nipples, but then she shouldn't go into heat either.

If you feel her belly (softly), how does it feel? And are all nipples like the one in the picture?

Yes, i think all of her nipples are like this. This is why I'm so confused.

Feeling around her stomach, it feels quite firm and full, like maybe there is something in there, but I've never seen/felt a pregnant cat before so I'm not really sure what to look for.

Is it possible that she has just been rolling around and meowing because she's in pain? She goes in and out of acting like this. For example, she'll be meowing and rolling around for maybe 20 minutes, but then go to sleep for a couple hours, then start again..

This is all very new to me, so i appreciate your help

Need help! 

This week is the week that if she is in fact pregnant, she should be giving birth.   She is meowing a lot (almost like howling) and has been staying in the box with blankets that I left for her.  

We keep her in the bathroom, and I've been checking on her fairly regularly.  Each time I go into the bathroom I notice a few drips of a yellow substance on the floor, and it;s definitely not pee.  The last time I went in, there was almost a donut hole sized leakage on the ground.. Is this a sign that she is going into labour??

Sounds likes it

Looks like stefanz didn't post links for you so here some links
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-pregnancy
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/pregnant-cat-what-to-prepare-for-the-birth
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/help-my-cat-is-having-kittens
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/post-birth-complications-in-cats
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-do-i-know-when-my-cat-will-give-birth
http://www.icatcare.org/advice/my-cat-having-kittens

Thanks for the info. 

How long after the leakage would she go into labour?  Because she still hasn't had any kittens yet and doesn't look dilated.  I also haven't seen anymore leakage.  I'm really confused. 

It a waiting game now

Did she have them yet?