The vet refuses to spay pregnant stray?!

Ok, link to how I found this cat here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324271/help-stray-cat#post_4077486

I called the number to the cheaper clinic today to see about getting an emergency spay. The vet told me she was about 2 to 3 weeks out from having kittens. But the vet at the clinic they had me call today, despite saying they would be willing to do the spay friday, is now refusing on the grounds the kittens would be viable at this point. Is it really too late?? I am not in a position to care for a mother cat and her kittens right now. And no one has responded to my posts on facebook or on the vets website. I'm about to be moving in with some friends who have two territorial males cats of their own. Not a good situation for a nursing mother to be in. Not only that, she's a very young cat, and I don't know anything about kitten care!! I'm panicking because I don't know what to do. I really wanted to get her into this clinic because they were charging less than half the cost of my regular vet.

Yes, it's definitely too late to spay her. In your situation, I would suggest you quickly find a no-kill shelter or rescue and see if they will take her and give her to a foster mom. Mom cats generally take care of their kittens very well without any help, but it would be very difficult for you to keep her, so tell them that. 

I live out in the middle of nowhere. The shelters near me are both refusing new entries, I've already tried. I called the spay and neuter clinic that's in the next town, and they're willing to do the spay tomorrow morning. If I could, I would keep her myself and let her have the kittens, but that's just not possible, and I've tried contacting everyone I know to no avail.

To be honest, I'm mostly frustrated I've been put in this situation by another irresponsible cat owner. I fix all of my animals as soon as safely possible so I DON'T have to worry about things like this.

freyaandzelda said:

To be honest, I'm mostly frustrated I've been put in this situation by another irresponsible cat owner. I fix all of my animals as soon as safely possible so I DON'T have to worry about things like this.

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I promise I know just exactly the feeling! The frustration I go through day in and day out having a cat rescue group, being asked constantly for help, AFTER the fact of being an irresponsible cat owner, they call me to clean up their mess!

Of course I do, it's about the cats, but not without requiring them to do at least some part of cleaning up in some way or another.

No, it is never too late, a cat can be spayed/aborted at any point, even the very end days.

The question is that some don't believe in aborting once the cat is in the second half of the pregnancy.

In your situation it does sound completely unreasonable to allow them to be born.

While I have been put in the situations to choose to abort fully developed kittens, I do not make that choice lightly at all, and yes, it bothers me a great deal, but in the rescue world I have seen it all, there is a 'behind the scenes' side that most will never see and choose to ignore and that's okay for them, but I know the options, and sometimes there simply are none.......

I know also that the vet who I would send a very prego cat will abort in the most humane way possible, I also know that there are vets who do not, they simply spay the mom and remove the fetuses, who then suffer a slow death. This is in no way humane and should never be done.

Please make sure that this is not the case and they will be given an injection.

Good luck!

Thanks! I truly feel terrible, because who likes the thought of killing viable kittens? If I weren't moving at the end of the month I may have considered allowing her to carry the pregnancy to term. Unfortunately, since kittens need to stay with the mom for around 12 weeks, it's not possible right now. Also, she's a very young cat, somewhere between 6 and 8 months. When I found her, she was very malnourished and you really couldn't tell she was pregnant. (Wasn't sure if she was male or female at the time, thought it was possibly wormy belly. Turned out to be a mixture of worms and pregnancy.) It was only after I had her a couple of days that you could visibly tell she was getting milk, I assume because she's now getting fed. So there isn't any guarantee that she'd have healthy kittens, either. I'm seriously so grateful to this clinic. The vet was explaining the procedure to me, and said something about an injection that would kill the fetuses, so I assume that's what you're talking about. Hopefully after she's all healed I can find her a wonderful forever home!

Wow, this was ages ago, but if anyone is wondering, she now goes by Nomi and has been in a happy and living furever home for nearly a year now.

Tx for the update. Nomi is her new name??

What happened with the pregnancy?

freyaandzelda said:

Wow, this was ages ago, but if anyone is wondering, she now goes by Nomi and has been in a happy and living furever home for nearly a year now.

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look above.

Thanks for the update!

Aborting that late isnt pleasant, and is done only if in dire need. But with 2-3 weeks to go, kittens arent viable. If we with viable mean may survive.
A couple of days early delivery and its a fight uphill. I know one forumist witnessed delivery four days too early without real problems, but this is record as far as I know. All others must fight for it, and yet many of these kittens die.

A full week too early? They probably are born alive, true, but they die in a few minutes. The lungs arent fully developed.
If the vet is sure its at least two weeks early, there would be no chance, for even being born alive, and definitely not survive.
So, not viable.

With human children its completely different, no real problems with early deliveries. They save infants down to 5 months pregnancy if the hospital good enough. 7 months and even hospitals in poor countries save them - typically using the kanguroo method.

freyaandzelda said:

Thanks! I truly feel terrible, because who likes the thought of killing viable kittens? If I weren't moving at the end of the month I may have considered allowing her to carry the pregnancy to term. Unfortunately, since kittens need to stay with the mom for around 12 weeks, it's not possible right now. Also, she's a very young cat, somewhere between 6 and 8 months. When I found her, she was very malnourished and you really couldn't tell she was pregnant. (Wasn't sure if she was male or female at the time, thought it was possibly wormy belly. Turned out to be a mixture of worms and pregnancy.) It was only after I had her a couple of days that you could visibly tell she was getting milk, I assume because she's now getting fed. So there isn't any guarantee that she'd have healthy kittens, either. I'm seriously so grateful to this clinic. The vet was explaining the procedure to me, and said something about an injection that would kill the fetuses, so I assume that's what you're talking about. Hopefully after she's all healed I can find her a wonderful forever home!

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What was the outcome of the pregnancy?

We terminated.