- Joined
- Aug 14, 2015
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 1
Hello!
As the proud mom of three rescue cats, I am obsessed with everything from cat behavior to genetics—but for the first time I'm in over my head with fur babies and could really use some insight.
To make a long story short, my husband and I decided to get involved in fostering cats and kittens because we have the room and are waiting a bit on having children. As luck would have it, we received a call right after applying BEGGING for us to take on a mother and her five kittens so their initial rescue family would not "throw them out on the streets." We had the room and time and research, so we agreed. Two weeks later and we are just in love—the kittens are incredibly social, incredibly playful, and finally old and big enough to stop nursing often and to be spayed and neutered in the coming week. They are estimated to be 7-8 weeks old by the woman who runs our local rescue group.
While we are SO blessed by the condition and temperament of the kittens, their mom is another story. Cleopatra is only about a year old and was VERY skinny when she came to us. She was extremely aggressive when we tried to feed her and did some real damage to me those first few days. Luckily she was never bothered by us handling the kittens and she stopped the hissing and aggression after a few days of settling in and being properly fed. We may have overfed her just a bit, but we have a good schedule now and everyone seems happy. Cleopatra rubs against us, purrs when we enter the finished basement they are staying in, and doesn't mind being petted so long as she is standing up. Her social progress has been great.
Now it's her physical condition that concerns me. Before their first shots and worm treatment (given at our home by the woman who runs the shelter), Cleopatra had put on a bit of weight around her stomach. I assumed we may have overfed her or it was worms, but the rescue leader said "she almost looks pregnant!" Well, now it has been one week since then, a week and a half since we 'perfected' their diets, and mom seems to have an even bigger belly than before. Here's some pictures from today:
Here's what I'm trying to diagnose off of, since she doesn't like being held long:
Not to make excuses for my possible lapse in emotional judgment, but we have already found people interested in adopting the original five kittens through the necessary protocol and all of the homes are very good. If Cleo is pregnant again, I just want us to be prepared emotionally, especially if we don't have a choice in the procedure. It's going to be all the harder because we already have a few people who expressed interest in adopting this potential second litter of kittens through the organization.
I'm sorry for the LONG post, but I really want to do the right things and be prepared if the best thing to do is accept her possible pregnancy will not be allowed to come to term. I want to clarify that I COMPLETELY understand the rationale and ethics behind spaying pregnant cats, unfortunately my own recent circumstances have made me feel guilty about ending her pregnancy if she is pregnant.
Here's hoping you'll tell me she isn't pregnant, but here's to you either way for taking the time to answer me <3 I can post better pictures from different angles if you think she might be pregnant
As the proud mom of three rescue cats, I am obsessed with everything from cat behavior to genetics—but for the first time I'm in over my head with fur babies and could really use some insight.
To make a long story short, my husband and I decided to get involved in fostering cats and kittens because we have the room and are waiting a bit on having children. As luck would have it, we received a call right after applying BEGGING for us to take on a mother and her five kittens so their initial rescue family would not "throw them out on the streets." We had the room and time and research, so we agreed. Two weeks later and we are just in love—the kittens are incredibly social, incredibly playful, and finally old and big enough to stop nursing often and to be spayed and neutered in the coming week. They are estimated to be 7-8 weeks old by the woman who runs our local rescue group.
While we are SO blessed by the condition and temperament of the kittens, their mom is another story. Cleopatra is only about a year old and was VERY skinny when she came to us. She was extremely aggressive when we tried to feed her and did some real damage to me those first few days. Luckily she was never bothered by us handling the kittens and she stopped the hissing and aggression after a few days of settling in and being properly fed. We may have overfed her just a bit, but we have a good schedule now and everyone seems happy. Cleopatra rubs against us, purrs when we enter the finished basement they are staying in, and doesn't mind being petted so long as she is standing up. Her social progress has been great.
Now it's her physical condition that concerns me. Before their first shots and worm treatment (given at our home by the woman who runs the shelter), Cleopatra had put on a bit of weight around her stomach. I assumed we may have overfed her or it was worms, but the rescue leader said "she almost looks pregnant!" Well, now it has been one week since then, a week and a half since we 'perfected' their diets, and mom seems to have an even bigger belly than before. Here's some pictures from today:
Here's what I'm trying to diagnose off of, since she doesn't like being held long:
- Her belly protrudes seemingly more than ever; she is very slender and it doesn't match her frame
- Her nipples are red and protruding. This is sort of a "red herring" because she is still nursing occasionally. I thought the kittens were weaned within the first three days here, but suddenly I saw them nursing again yesterday. I know kittens can nurse for longer than 7-8 weeks, it seemed like they stopped and started again!
- She is pretty friendly unless you try to pet her on the head while she is lying down with her belly out. She'll hiss and almost bite at you! When sitting, standing, or lying any other way, this does not bother her.
- She has lively eyes and can be talkative but is becoming increasingly lethargic. I know nursing can take a lot out of a cat, but she rarely nurses now and has less energy than before when she was! Also, she has absolutely no interest in playing with ANY sort of toys.
- She FREAKED OUT when my husband picked her up like a baby for a second. We know most cats do hate being held that way and perhaps she felt vulnerable, but it was a necessity for a moment and I've never seen a freak out like that from a cat.
Not to make excuses for my possible lapse in emotional judgment, but we have already found people interested in adopting the original five kittens through the necessary protocol and all of the homes are very good. If Cleo is pregnant again, I just want us to be prepared emotionally, especially if we don't have a choice in the procedure. It's going to be all the harder because we already have a few people who expressed interest in adopting this potential second litter of kittens through the organization.
I'm sorry for the LONG post, but I really want to do the right things and be prepared if the best thing to do is accept her possible pregnancy will not be allowed to come to term. I want to clarify that I COMPLETELY understand the rationale and ethics behind spaying pregnant cats, unfortunately my own recent circumstances have made me feel guilty about ending her pregnancy if she is pregnant.
Here's hoping you'll tell me she isn't pregnant, but here's to you either way for taking the time to answer me <3 I can post better pictures from different angles if you think she might be pregnant
