How young can a cat get pregnant?

Hey, my bf's kitty is about 9 or 10 months... and she's getting rather thick in the belly! But her head is so small... I don't know. I've seen fat cats before and they look so much more different. It looks like it's all in her tummy and it's not soft or anything. How can I tell if she's pregnant? She has grown nipples too. So, to reiterate:

How young can a cat get pregnant? Is it possible mine is?

and

How can I tell if she truely is? We should start to prepare shouldn't we...

A cat can get pregnant at 5 to 6 months of age. I would really suggest you take your cat to the vet. They will be able to determine whether your cat is pregnant or not.

Here are some other posts to read:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...t=cat+pregnant

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...t=cat+pregnant

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36112

Katie

I also found these articles...but I believe the best way to know for sure is really to have her checked over by a vet:

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-expecting.htm

http://or.essortment.com/pregnantcats_rxcn.htm

Katie

Katie is absolutely right, she needs to see a vet soon.

She is most likely pregnant...please get her spayed as soon as possible.

If she is pregnant the vet can abort the pregnancy and spay at the same time. Or you can wait and let her have the kittens, your choice, but please remember that there are a ton of unwanted kittens out there already, more is not usually the best answer.

If she is not pregnant, please get her spayed so that she doesn't get pregnant.

Spotz

Katie has given you excellent advice there. The very first link will give you some ideas, other than a pregnancy, as to why her tummy may be big. It is possible for a kitten (and yes, she is still a kitten) to give birth succesfully but the dangers of complications are higher. The only way to definitely work out if she's pregnant is a vet visit or, if she's further along in her pregnancy, you will see the kittens moving.

If you decide to let her continue with the pregnancy, the other links will give you good advice about how to prepare for the birth and what to expect during delivery.

We agree, if she's pregnant we'll spay her as soon as the kittens arrive. I know that first litters are usually only 3 kittens and my bf plans on keeping one, and I have a friend who really wants a kitten. So I think we'll be okay on this pregnancy. After that we'll have to fork out the bills to keep our cat (and others) healthy and happy. No worries there spotz, I can see you stressin.

Hey Angel....I know this is a bit OT (and premature until you know for sure)....but kittens really do well in pairs...so if your friend can take 2 if she doesn't already have a cat that would be best.

http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catsinpairs.htm

Katie

Originally Posted by Spotz

Katie is absolutely right, she needs to see a vet soon.

She is most likely pregnant...please get her spayed as soon as possible.

If she is pregnant the vet can abort the pregnancy and spay at the same time.
Spotz

Click to expand...

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Cougar,

Spaying a pregnant cat happens all the time. If I get one here that shows up, if the cat is under a year old, I take her in and get her spayed right away. It is the responsible thing to do. With ALL the kittens and cats needing homes in the world, to bring more backyard kitties into the world is really insane. WE as humans have allowed this problem to reach epidemic proportions.

Spaying pregnant cats is an individual choice, and not for everyone. But to anyone who can do it and to all the vets who support it, I applaud all of them.

Brandon, I don't want this thread to turn into a debate about whether spaying a pregnant cat is ethical or not. The reality is that there are so, so many kittens born during kitten season and unless the owner can definitely find homes for the kittens (as is the case here), sometimes that is the best option. This cat is very young to be pregnant and giving birth and, as I said earlier, this presents a greater danger of complications for the mom-cat and kittens, such as a possible stillborn or a kitten getting lodged in the birth canal during birth, as well as a possibility that the mom-cat won't know how to care for her kittens.

Moving this to Health & Nutrition.

Edit: Our youngest went into season the first time at 5 months to the day. She was spayed 10 days later. My ears still hurt.

~Sue~


We agree. Spaying even if the cat is pregnant is the responsible thing to do.

Jeff & Sue

Angel_Kat, I just wanted to add that you need to wait until the kittens are weaned (around 8 weeks) before you spay the mom-cat. She can go into heat as early as a few days after giving birth so please keep her inside until you get her spayed.

Originally Posted by Angel_Kat

We agree, if she's pregnant we'll spay her as soon as the kittens arrive. I know that first litters are usually only 3 kittens and my bf plans on keeping one, and I have a friend who really wants a kitten. So I think we'll be okay on this pregnancy. After that we'll have to fork out the bills to keep our cat (and others) healthy and happy. No worries there spotz, I can see you stressin.

Click to expand...

Not stressin...not really...just saddened by the unfortunate turn of events.

I'm glad you have homes for the kittens lined up, that's the best thing you can do. The flip side of this though, is that these kittens will potentially take the place of other kittens already looking/hoping for a home.

I know your intentions were not to breed. I know you didn't want her to have kittens. I know you really care about your kitty, and that you will do the best for her and her offspring that you can. And I respect your decision to let the pregnancy go to term, it is your perrogative to decide. Only thing I would like to ask of you, is to strongly consider both options.

Please make sure that all her kittens get S/N as soon as possible. (usually 8-10 weeks of age)

Hang in there with us and we'll all help you out with everything we can. The collective knowledge on this board is amazing, and the willingness of everyone to help each other is phenomonal.

Also please take her to the vet for a checkup as soon as you can, that way you can make sure that she is doing fine, and that there isn't any health concern for her or her kitties. She is young.

Spotz

She is very young, here's hoping it is a smooth delivery.

Ohh, you are all worrying me about this "so young to have babies" thing. Really think there could be problems??? Now you guys got ME stressin! So... she can try and get knocked up again right after giving birth? lol.. durty kats! But really.. how long are cats normally in heat for? I really want to take her to the vet but they cost so much money!! Just to check if there's anything even going on they pull so much from you.

Hey Angel...if you tell us where you live we can do a search for you of low cost clinics.

Katie

Originally Posted by Angel_Kat

Ohh, you are all worrying me about this "so young to have babies" thing. Really think there could be problems??? Now you guys got ME stressin! So... she can try and get knocked up again right after giving birth? lol.. durty kats! But really.. how long are cats normally in heat for? I really want to take her to the vet but they cost so much money!! Just to check if there's anything even going on they pull so much from you.

Click to expand...

We're not trying to alarm you, just helping

Any reputable/responsible breeder will wait at least a full year sometimes a few, before ever considering breeding a cat. While possible for them to get pregnant at mere months of age, they are still Kittens....we don't encourage 14 year old girls to get married and start a family, because their bodies are still developing. Same logic applies to any animal. She is young, problems are definately possible, and not unheard of. They are not highly probably, but I'm personally overly cautious of anything potentially health threatening.

Compared to human doctors, vets are usually pretty reasonable, but $$$ is still always an unpleasant thing to part with, so I understand your hesitation. But please seriously consider taking her to a vet and getting a clean bill of health. It is much easier to visit during normal business hours, than to have to scramble for an emergency visit...if that happens.

She will probably take a few weeks post delivery for her system to get back working, it won't be a long time at all though. This is a highly likely situation, I cannot stress the importance of keeping her seperated from the guys.

Spotz

Just to add, if she is preganant, you need to be feeding her a good quality kitten food throughout the pregnancy and while she is nursing.

My oldest cat Isabelle (10), who really adopted me, was pregnant around the same age as your cat is. So it is plausible that your cat is pregnant. I agree with everyone else that the best way to know for sure it's a pregnancy is to take her to the vet... That's what I did when this situation happened to me. I had no ideas cats got pregnant that early then next thing I knew I had 4 little kittens living in my closet! They were so cute too!