can i spay my cat if she is pregnant?

hello all,

i have been giving my cat anti pregnancy injections to prevent her from getting pregnant, but the problem now is that it seems she is because she looks fatter and her stomach moves so i need to know if she can have a sterilization even if she is pregnant.

thanks in advance.

I did not know they had anti pregnancy injections for cats.

Yes, your cat can still be spayed, even if  she is pregnant, but you will be aborting the kittens, it is more dangerous, and more expensive.

If you can feel the kittens moving inside her the chances are high that she's pretty far along in her pregnancy. You'd be aborting the kittens at a really late stage in development. I would bring your cat to your vet to determine how far along she is, it might be in your cat's best interests to allow her to have this litter and spay her afterwards.

is it save to her?

That's a question only your vet can answer. I'm not a stranger to pregnant cats as I've grown up around cats my whole life and volunteered at a humane society before. If she's far enough along that you can feel the kittens moving inside of her, she likely only has a couple weeks at most before she's going to give birth. While it's pretty common for vets to spay pregnant cats who are in the early to middle stages of pregnancy, it's less common for a vet to spay a pregnant cat that is nearly full term. At that stage a vet might not agree to spay her because the kittens will be too far along and the procedure might become risky for your cat, not to mention the increased expense you'll likely have to pay. If your vet recommends that you allow your cat to birth her litter and you're not able to care for kittens, I recommend that you look for a temporary foster home for your cat until the kittens are old enough to be adopted. Your local humane society likely has a list of resources like cat rescures and willing foster families who will be able to help. 

Some members who have had (rescued ferals) spayed during late term pregnancy reported seeing the cats depressed when they didn't have the kittens.  They recommend against it, since it doesn't seem to be in the best interest of the mother cat.

Handsome Kitty said:

Some members who have had (rescued ferals) spayed during late term pregnancy reported seeing the cats depressed when they didn't have the kittens.  They recommend against it, since it doesn't seem to be in the best interest of the mother cat.

Click to expand...

Not to mention necessarily in the best interest of the poor aborted kittens.

You need medical advice from your vet about what is in the best interest of this mama cat. We can only give opinions and that is not what you need now. Good luck and I hope this works out for the best interest of your mama kitty. :nod:

I did not even know there was even essentially cat birth control injections. You aren't in the USA are you? I do not think that she should be spayed since she seems to be very far along. A spay can be done at this stage but, as the others have noted, its very risky for the mother cat and personally, I think its not right for the kittens. The Vet or whomever who was supplying you with such injections might be able to help you with expense or with the kittens' rehoming when they are of age.

after i took the cat to the veterinarian, it showed that she was not pregnant. Her belly was bloated because of an infection in her uterus and she is also discharging white liquid from her vagina. The doctor told me that she needs to remove her uterus, and she will be fine after surgery, but i'm still worried is this surgery dangerous for her or not ??............. thank you.

Chat Chatton said:

 
after i took the cat to the veterinarian, it showed that she was not pregnant. Her belly was bloated because of an infection in her uterus and she is also discharging white liquid from her vagina. The doctor told me that she needs to remove her uterus, and she will be fine after surgery, but i'm still worried is this surgery dangerous for her or not ??............. thank you.

Click to expand...

You could take her for a second opinion but they will probably tell you the same thing. If the uterus is infected, it's probably safer for her to have it removed than to leave her intact. Vets do these procedures all the time. I'm sure she'll be OK. 

chat chatton

She has pyometra - a potentially deadly infection of the uterus. Therefore she MUST have her uterus removed, which occurs during a spay surgery. She will also need a round of a very strong antibiotic to flush any remaining bacteria from her system. You will see her belly return to normal size following the surgery.

If she's not already exhibiting symptoms of being ill, she soon will - lethargy, vomiting, etc. Left untreated, she may die.

Please get this done ASAP. It's very serious and will not be 100% gone without the removal of her uterus.

Chat Chatton said:

 
after i took the cat to the veterinarian, it showed that she was not pregnant. Her belly was bloated because of an infection in her uterus and she is also discharging white liquid from her vagina. The doctor told me that she needs to remove her uterus, and she will be fine after surgery, but i'm still worried is this surgery dangerous for her or not ??............. thank you.

Click to expand...

None surgery is completely risk free, but this operation is essentially a standard one, and reminds in much of a spaying operation. It IS essentially a spaying.   More difficult than a normal spaying, because she is having an infection and is full of pus, but perhaps not more difficult than taking say, a late abortion.   Anyway, if the vet is experienced and has good equipment, it should go OK.

Anyways, you dont have much choice, not now when she got the pyometra.  If you want try to save her, she must have this operation, ASAP, and get lotsa of  antibiotics too.

A little consolation is, she will be spayed, and this operation was necessary to do sooner or later.

Chat Chatton said:

 
hello all,

i have been giving my cat anti pregnancy injections to prevent her from getting pregnant, but the problem now is that it seems she is because she looks fatter and her stomach moves so i need to know if she can have a sterilization even if she is pregnant.

thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Using  anti-coneption pills has its dangers, among them raised risk of cancer - and pyometra.  The risk becomes bigger with time.

So to buy some time it may be OK, but not for long term use.

The pill may, btw, be used for males, toms, too.  They get less eager, less neady to mate.

Injections are even more dangerous.  They cats often gets dangerous inflammations in the place of injections.    Injections are sometimes used on studs whom shall take a pause.

So, its effective and comfortable for the owner, but extra dangerous for the cat - male or female.

If you must use chemicals, use the pill.

But spaying /neutering  is always best in the long run.

sarthur2 said:

chat chatton

She has pyometra - a potentially deadly infection of the uterus. Therefore she MUST have her uterus removed, which occurs during a spay surgery. She will also need a round of a very strong antibiotic to flush any remaining bacteria from her system. You will see her belly return to normal size following the surgery.

If she's not already exhibiting symptoms of being ill, she soon will - lethargy, vomiting, etc. Left untreated, she may die.

Please get this done ASAP. It's very serious and will not be 100% gone without the removal of her uterus.

Click to expand...

I agree about a strong wide-spectrum antibiotic - I imagine the vet should have discussed the infection, sepsis and antibiotic(s) with you when you went in (and hopefully already her started on an antibiotic!)


I hope she will be okay!

Oh, wow. Yes this is something that needs urgent attention. It will only get worse. I will note that the cost for this spaying will be a bit more than a usual spay due to being more involved and more special care must be taken. I hope she is eating and no vomiting yet.  I hope you can get her spayed before she actually shows more signs of being very ill. Please keep us posted on her.

Why did you choose to do the injections instead of spaying her?

 as you said i don't have other choice she will have surgery done  but i want to know if this disease "pyometra" can be 100% cured after surgery.. by the way she is not showing any sign of what you have said she is playing, eating but sometimes she howls maybe because of pain... so i would like to know about the proportion of this surgery to succeed if you have an idea about it?  i mean is there any stage where it's too to heal even with uterus removal ? thanks.

Chat Chatton said:

 
 as you said i don't have other choice she will have surgery done  but i want to know if this disease "pyometra" can be 100% cured after surgery.. by the way she is not showing any sign of what you have said she is playing, eating but sometimes she howls maybe because of pain... so i would like to know about the proportion of this surgery to succeed if you have an idea about it?  i mean is there any stage where it's too to heal even with uterus removal ? thanks.

Click to expand...

Its actually not a disease. What it is, is a build up of bacteria and linings and things in the uterus and since cats don't actually have a menstrual cycle if you will, if they are not bred or have any litters then it just gets bad and infected. It will be cured as the infected organ is removed and the cat is given antibiotics afterwards. The only thing I am worried is when and if the cat would be too ill to undergo anesthesia. I had one that was ill and she went in the the same day and was fine just a lack of appetite for a few days but I hand fed her and now she's fine. I will note she was a petite 5 pounds.

I think you are asking questions that no one can answer. No one, including your vet, can guarantee anything, except that without surgery, your cat will not get well.

hello again,

the cat has done the surgery and she is fine now thank you all