Is this pinking up?

Hi. New to this and hoping somebody might be able to help. Can anyone tell me from these pictures if my cat is pinking up? I'm sure when I have previously checked that her nipples were flatter and white? The vet has had a feel of her abdomen and examined her; she said there are certainly some "signs of development" but wouldn't commit to saying yes or no as to whether she is actually pregnant (unless I agreed to a costly scan which I feel is silly to pay for when I should be able to see further signs of pregnancy soon enough, if she is, anyway).
I'm a first time breeder so if any of you with more experience could tell me if you think this could be a positive I'd love to know.

Yes, seems so!      You can perhaps also notice some changes in behavior.  Some owners do.

Of course, in phantom pregnancies these outer changes do also occur, so you arent totally safe even if there ARE changes.  Phantom pregnancies not so common, but not unique either.  They are possibly more often happening with pure breds than with moggies.

StefanZ Thank you Stefan! Sooo hard to tell, especially when it's my first time with a possible cat pregnancy. Other changes I have noticed are that she is dleeping A LOT more that usual and wandering around the house a lot. She's doing a lot of licking of her bits and her belly too.
She's a Maine Coon. Not sure if that makes her more or less likely to have a phantom? How common is that?

If she's not spayed and she has been outside around intact males, she's pregnant. The nipples and behavior are those of a pregnant cat. Wait 1-2 more weeks and her sides will likely begin to show.

Yes definitely pregnant and also how old is she is she quote young

Thank you for replying!
Yes, she's intact. Aged about 15 months now so pretty young still.
To me, on the occasions when I'm thinking yes, she does look rounder, it's to the sides rather than underneath and actually more one side than the other. Is that normal?

Yes, it's normal for one side to look bigger.

Ok. That's reassuring. Thank you. Is that to do with womb positioning?
I've heard that first litters of younger cats are likely to be smaller too - but I guess you never know until they arrive?!

It's due to the number, size, and position of the kittens. First litters are not necessarily smaller. Feed mom unlimited dry kitten chow and several wet meals per day.

Do you plan to spay her after this litter weans?

Ok. That's good advice.

Yes, definitely! That's what I originally took her to the vet about but I appear to have been too late. Felt really embarrassed - I've had several cats over the years and have always been so diligent about getting them neutered or spayed. I have no idea how I managed to leave it so long with this one.
As it happens though, it will be lovely for our children to see how the babies are born and grow and for us all to help care for them before they go to new homes (of which we already have plenty of offers, thankfully). And I will pass on a valuable lesson about responsible pet ownership...!

Life gets in the way sometimes. You sound very responsible. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Next question!
Have you ever heard of kitten(s) being 'missed' on an ultrasound scan??
I took kitty to the vet today as my curiosity for confirmation got the better of me. When she felt the belly she said she just couldn't be sure about what she was feeling so she would give me an ultrasound but free of charge because she was frustrated that she couldn't tell just by feeling her.
Anyway, she messed around with the machine for ages (and didn't shave the belly at all - which is VERY fluffy) and in the end said she still wasn't 100% sure but that she "probably isn't" pregnant.
She said that if there is only one kitten then there's a chance it might just be "hidden".
She told me to hold off for another month with the cat booster injections as that isn't licenced for pregnant cats so she didn't want to risk it, just in case.
To me, this seems odd. Surely a scam should give a definite yes or no?!
What do you think?

Your cat's fur may have been in the way. When do you think your cat mated?

I think 4 weeks maximum.
I did ask her why she didn't cut a bit of fur. At first she said "yes, I might need to" but then she just struggled with trying to get a good position on the monitor for about 10 mins and concluded with probably not.
I'm quite happy to accept she might not actually be pregnant but the lack of certainty is very frustrating. And it seems strange when I think she has gained a bit of weight and I did think it looked like she was pinking up (although, as I've previously said, that has stayed the same for 2 weeks without getting pinker).

I ask because an x-ray rather than an ultrasound will show the kittens better through the fur, but you don't want to have one done too early in the pregnancy so the fetuses are not harmed.

I think in this case you did not get a proper ultrasound reading. It sounds like the picture was not clear enough.

Ah ok. I agree that it does seem like the picture might not have been clear enough. She is a particularly fluffy cat (Maine Coon) and all the stuff I've read online says that ultrasound waves get obstructed through hair.
I think I might just give it another week and see if she gets any bigger. In that case she'd be about 5 weeks so I guess it would be fairly easy to tell by then?
This actually reminds me of when I was wondering whether I was pregnant myself... am I pregnant or is it just bloating? Am I pregnant or just a bit tired? Am I pregnant or just being greedy?! Ha - everything has become a potential symptom!

Lol - I remember going through that too! I finally went for a blood test to find out that I was indeed pregnant.

I think you'll have your answer in another week or two. Cats begin to show around the 5th week. If at that point you are still unsure, ask for an x-ray.

I do think your vet erred on the side of caution by not vaccinating at this point. Vaccines are contraindicated in pregnancy. They can cause birth defects and miscarriage.

Yeah, I'd certainly prefer her to be cautious than have horrible complications from an undetected pregnancy. Will wait a bit longer and see...
Thanks for the advice[emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]127995[/emoji]