Could my rescue cat be pregnant?

lulu97 · Mar 18, 2017

Hi I recently adopted (rescued) a young mother cat and her son who is about 3 months. The previous owner informed me that the cat (unspayed) had been in heat (had been yowling all night) so let her out two days during her "heat cycle". (unsure if it was heat as she only mentioned marked behaviour was the vocalizations) She said once for about 4 hours and then again for about 12.. She said she noticed a male cat following her on her way home one of the days in the backyard, but the female showed very little interest and ran inside when she opened the door. The yowling continued in the days after she was permitted access to outdoors. I am wondering how likely it is that she is pregnant? Would she continue to call out if she had mated? Don't most people neuteur their male cats? She is still occasionally breastfeeding the kitten so it will be difficult to determine the nipple changes as her nipples are already prominent. Anybody have any experience with cats in heat getting outside and not falling pregnant?
I do intend to spay the mum but will not book the appointment if it is likely she is pregnant, and I am prepared to accomodate for all kittens if I cannot find suitable homes..
Thank you for your time!

StefanZ · Mar 18, 2017

lulu97 said:
Hi I recently adopted (rescued) a young mother cat and her son who is about 3 months. The previous owner informed me that the cat (unspayed) had been in heat (had been yowling all night) so let her out two days during her "heat cycle". (unsure if it was heat as she only mentioned marked behaviour was the vocalizations) She said once for about 4 hours and then again for about 12.. She said she noticed a male cat following her on her way home one of the days in the backyard, but the female showed very little interest and ran inside when she opened the door. The yowling continued in the days after she was permitted access to outdoors. I am wondering how likely it is that she is pregnant? Would she continue to call out if she had mated? Don't most people neuteur their male cats? She is still occasionally breastfeeding the kitten so it will be difficult to determine the nipple changes as her nipples are already prominent. Anybody have any experience with cats in heat getting outside and not falling pregnant?
I do intend to spay the mum but will not book the appointment if it is likely she is pregnant, and I am prepared to accomodate for all kittens if I cannot find suitable homes..
Thank you for your time!

They can continue to be in heat also after mating is done.

I would recommend a spaying asap. I really do.

Whichever your decision, we will support you with advices for suitable care.

lulu97 · Mar 18, 2017

Thank you so much. I didn't think it would be common for people to not spay/neuteur their animals especially in the neighbourhood she was from (not a lot of strays). This is the first older adult cat I have adopted, usually we adopt males and neuteur them right away.

talkingpeanut · Mar 19, 2017

lulu97 said:
Thank you so much. I didn't think it would be common for people to not spay/neuteur their animals especially in the neighbourhood she was from (not a lot of strays). This is the first older adult cat I have adopted, usually we adopt males and neuteur them right away.

Please do consider spaying her now. It's much too soon for her to be pregnant again.

And yes, unfortunately many people don't spay and neuter. It's a huge problem.

Sarthur2 · Mar 19, 2017

She is almost certainly pregnant. You can spay/terminate now, or let her have the kittens. Spaying is be best done early.

lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

So I made a post awhile ago regarding my unspayed female that had escaped 3 weeks ago while in heat. She had been gone for awhile and we thought she might have gotten pregnant. Prior to this, she was let outside at our cabin only under supervision for short periods of time (90% sure she could not have mated). Anyway, she has not been in heat since 3 weeks ago when she escaped... but she looks as though she is pregnant. Her belly is rotund and distended. When we adopted her she was very very skinny (spine protruding). She is a very small cat. She was also breastfeeding her kitten so we cannot tell if her teats are "pinking up".
On the other hand, we are worried we might be overfeeding her and that has caused her to put on weight. We leave her dry food out all day as well as feed her just under half a can of wet food per day (one serving in the morning and one at night) is this too much? We wanted her to put on weight, and now she has very quickly. Isn't three weeks too soon for her to be showing? Unless she might have somehow gotten pregnant on her supervised time outside?

lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

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lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

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lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

Like I Said, she is a very small, skinny cat normally and so this sudden weight gain is alarming. Also, I have owned fat cats before and their belly usually has folds in it.. hers is firm but large. Also concerned that if she was pregnant, she should not be this large at 3 weeks.

lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

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talkingpeanut · Apr 7, 2017

It sounds like she got pregnant when she escaped. How old is her kitten?

Sarthur2 · Apr 7, 2017

Your cat is pregnant. We recommended a spay several weeks ago when you first asked if she could be pregnant. She is probably further along than 3 weeks now.

You'll need to stop letting her outside at all, particularly after she has this litter, so it does not happen again. This is hard on mom to be pregnant and nursing an older kitten. She can be spayed when the kittens are 8 weeks old.

lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

I do not believe in terminating pregnancies for humans OR cats. Like I said in my first post, she was not in my care (we rescued her from a friend) when she has escaped outside. Everytime we have looked after her before adopting her we have been responsible and kept her indoors. We plan to spay her and her kitten as soon as I graduate. Im sorry that I have not had a chance (or the funds) to do that yet but I am a very responsible pet owner otherwise. My cats are well looked after and well fed.. the kitten is 4 months old.

talkingpeanut · Apr 7, 2017

lulu97 said:
I do not believe in terminating pregnancies for humans OR cats. Like I said in my first post, she was not in my care (we rescued her from a friend) when she has escaped outside. Everytime we have looked after her before adopting her we have been responsible and kept her indoors. We plan to spay her and her kitten as soon as I graduate. Im sorry that I have not had a chance (or the funds) to do that yet but I am a very responsible pet owner otherwise. My cats are well looked after and well fed.. the kitten is 4 months old.

The kitten needs to be neutered now. Otherwise, he will be able to impregnate his mother.

lulu97 · Apr 7, 2017

We found out kitten is actually a girl

so thats all good! Do plan to spay them both asap

Sarthur2 · Apr 7, 2017

That's good. Do not let her outside or around ANY male cats or kittens until she is spayed. Now is a great time to spay. I spay all of mine between 3 and 4 months old. Solves all the problems! [emoji]128077[/emoji]

lulu97 · Apr 8, 2017

Anybody know if she looks 3 weeks along or more? Just wondering how soon to set up nesting box and buy scale/KMR.. any experts? She was definitely in heat the weekend of March 18th and was outside... not sure if previous owners had let her outside before that though so her conception could have possibly been earlier? But owners gave pretty accurate description of her being in heat March 18, Ive heard its rare that females go into heat while pregnant. Set up appt to have her kitten spayed next week as she keeps trying to escape when we open doors!!!

lulu97 · Apr 8, 2017

Ive heard they dont show until around 5 or 6 and shes getting bigger everyday.. im starting to think i need to expect kittens sooner than i thought. I wonder how much vet would charge if I just brought her in too when i brought kitten to get opinion?

Sarthur2 · Apr 9, 2017

You can call the vet's office and ask if they will charge extra to see your cat.

She sounds further along than 3 weeks. Cats begin to show at 5 weeks.

You said in your first post that the original owners had let her out. So that's probably when she conceived. Any idea when that was?

lulu97 · Apr 9, 2017

We looked after her while they were on vacation a few weeks back and let her outside but she was on a harness and didn't leave our sight. Other than that, since we have owned her, she has not been outside. The previous owners (they lived across the street from us) let us know that she had been in heat recently (that was 3 weeks ago) and was yowling, trying to escape the house, bum in the air.. everything... However, it is VERY possible that she had been out prior to that as well as the owners were pretty "laid back".... they let her outside when she was annoying them with her yowling. Why I am confused is that if she was definitely in heat 3 weeks ago, does that not mean that she could not have been pregnant prior to that? Or is it possible that she then conceived AGAIN when they let her out? They even mentioned male cats following her and in the yard.. She was definitely in heat by the sounds of it.. she has not gone into heat since we have adopted her.

I will assume she is around 6 weeks I guess just to be safe.. she started "showing" or looking more rotund about a week ago.

Could my rescue cat be pregnant?

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