Pregnant Foster

Hi All!
I am a small animal rescue that is currently trying to take on the task of helping a neighborhood with their colony of cats/kittens. A couple of weeks ago I took in a cat that I suspected to be pregnant. She had a HUGE appetite, a growing belly, and pinking, prominent nipples. I have her in a spare room separated from all of the other animals and tonight when I walked in she was laying in the nesting box I made for her and there was a bloody discharge. From what I have read on here, this is normal and it could mean that she is in labor. My only concern is that I have been looking/feeling for moving kittens in her belly and have not seen or felt anything. I know that once you start seeing them moving it means that there is only a couple of weeks left in the pregnancy, but since I saw no movement I was concerned. This is my first experience with a pregnant cat and have been reading these forums the last couple of weeks just to prepare! Any advice is welcome! Thank you!

ashade1 said:

Hi All!
I am a small animal rescue that is currently trying to take on the task of helping a neighborhood with their colony of cats/kittens. A couple of weeks ago I took in a cat that I suspected to be pregnant. She had a HUGE appetite, a growing belly, and pinking, prominent nipples. I have her in a spare room separated from all of the other animals and tonight when I walked in she was laying in the nesting box I made for her and there was a bloody discharge. From what I have read on here, this is normal and it could mean that she is in labor. My only concern is that I have been looking/feeling for moving kittens in her belly and have not seen or felt anything. I know that once you start seeing them moving it means that there is only a couple of weeks left in the pregnancy, but since I saw no movement I was concerned. This is my first experience with a pregnant cat and have been reading these forums the last couple of weeks just to prepare! Any advice is welcome! Thank you!

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It may be this way, or that.  My guess is she is aborting.

In late pregnancy, shortly before the delivery, they they drop, the kittens doesnt move as much, AND are further down than earlier, and a less experienced caretaker may easily miss their movements.  also, in some cats the movements arent very noticeable, esp if the litter is small.  And you tell you have no real experience with pregs - although I presume you do have quite some experience with cats.

So, really everything is possible - but my guess is  she is in the stage before the kittens movements are easily visible, and she is possibly aborting.

So, you must continue to observe closely, be vigilant and be prepared for everything.   Be prepared also to contact your vet, if complications should arise.

I presume you DO have contact with a vet?  If not, work on it.  If you will continue to work as rescuer, this is practically a must.

Please continue to report - and ask questions.

Tx for caring!

Good luck!

Oh definitely! I contacted my Vet Tech already and she is aware. If she is still bleeding and no other labor signs by Tomorrow night I am going to take her to the emergency vet. Unfortunately since it is Sunday my vet is closed. I have been fostering for three years now and have helped about 70 cats, this is just my first pregnant one!

ashade1

How is she doing now?

Is she still bleeding? Is it bright red? How much blood is it?

She may have dystocia, which is an inability to have productive contractions that will move labor forward. This results in the necessity for a c-section.

If you are no longer seeing kitten movement it is because they are lower down in the birth canal area, or have died.

Are you seeing ripple-like movements that might be contractions?

There wasn't anymore discharge until about a half hour ago, there is a little more bloody discharge. It is like a dark red. It is just a little bit. She is under the dresser now, grooming a lot. I have not noticed any contractions. How long should this go on before I should be really concerned and take her to the vet? I just don't know if I am only worrying because its my first time or not. 

Thanks

ashade1
It sounds like normal pre-labor or early labor discharge to me. I think you need to be patient. Most cats do not need a vet to have their kittens. This could go on for several days. As long as she is not in distress there is no cause for concern.

Still no kittens. I have had her for 35 days so far and I really think that she might have miscarried :/ I feel like if she was going to have her kittens she would have had them by now, or would be getting really close and I would see more signs. I haven't been seeing any sign that she is in pain or uncomfortable. It's so sad. I have never fostered a pregnant cat before.

Are you still seeing discharge? Is her tummy still big? Can you see or feel kitten movement?

Your best bet may be an x-ray or ultrasound to see what is inside her.

No more discharge that I have noticed, it was only a little bit before. No kitten movement, although I didn't see any either before. She still has a belly but it looks smaller to me ( I could just be overthinking it). I will be planning a vet visit soon!

Let us know the outcome!

So today I dropped Miss Molly off to the vet and they said they were going to take xrays and call me back at 12! They called me at 12 and told me that she had a pyometra and that it was going to be $730 for everything with the xrays, emergency spay, medications and all of that. I freaked out. Called everyone that I knew, I was able to get a little financial assistance from the local animal shelter, but being a small rescue, and just having to rush a 5 week old kitten to the vet a couple of weeks ago, my finances were drained. I called them and told them to go ahead and do it, at the least I could set up a payment plan, then I went back to sleep (I work nights). They called me back at 3:30 to let me know that she was done and I could pick her up at 6 and that the vet bill was covered! I cried again. Not only was it covered in full, but I actually have a credit at the vet for $60! From people calling and donating and then also, the vet knows me and what I do because I take my fosters in there ALL THE TIME and he gave me an awesome discount! So now I have a credit to use for my next foster that needs medical help, plus a couple of cash donations that were given to me today for her bill. What a huge blessing! I was getting really discouraged  about not being able to help more animals because I didn't have the funds. So I picked her up and she is recovering at home! What a crazy awesome day!

Wow! What a happy ending to a potentially bad situation!

I'm so sorry it was pyometra, but your efforts have saved her life.

You rock! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

Keep us posted on your cat's healing please! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

I will keep everyone updated! I am at work now but when I get home in the morning maybe I can get some pictures of her to share too! Thank you!

That would be wonderful!

Did they give you pain meds for her?

Yes! A bunch of antibiotics and pain medicine and a pain shot!

That's good! She'll feel more comfortable with pain medicine for the first 3 days. I find they don't need it after that. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Some pictures of Molly! These were all taken before the surgery and everything. She is doing great and is back to her sweet self! She was grumpy when I picked her up yesterday lol. 


Also this is Tonks. They were both taken from the same colony and are best friends! Tonks is the Momma of two grey fluffball kittens that I just made a post about earlier! 

They are both beautiful!

I'm so glad Molly is already feeling better today! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Her belly is so much smaller now! The vet said it was probably one of the worst ones he has seen, it was an absolute mess! The vet office is supposed to email me the xrays that they took, I think xrays are really cool. I'll share them with you guys when they email them to me!

I'm just glad it was caught in time!