feral kitten in heat?

bugbee

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Hi guys.
Background: I've been fostering two feral kittens for a while now, brother and sister, and my guess is that they're around 6 months old, give or take a couple weeks. They stay in a big cage together most of the time. The boy is probably around 5lbs (quite social), and the girl around 3lbs (still extremely shy); she's very small for her age and a lot smaller than he is.

Now then, when I got up this morning, they were doing the deed! The girl did not seem totally thrilled about the boy on top of her. I moved the boy to my bathroom.

The girl is only sort of acting like she's in heat. I saw her crouch down once for him before I pulled them apart, but no meowing, not wanting to leave the cage to get to him, etc. Now also, I've never heard her meow in my life. She's very quiet and shy, so is it possible that she's not acting crazy because of how shy she is? Has anyone ever had a feral who was pretty calm during heat because of being afraid of her surroundings? Or could it be that she's not in heat at all, and the boy was just being weird?

Also, assuming they did the deed other times while I was asleep, what do you guys think the chances are that my girl is pregnant? They're both supposed to be fixed on the 31st; if she's pregnant, is that too late in the pregnancy to spay her?

I don't really like the idea of spaying a pregnant cat, and since it's not kitten season I think it would be easy to find good adoptive homes for any kittens that could come of this.

And lastly, I'm sorry for such a long post!
The woman who runs the shelter I'm fostering for is out of town, so I can't reach her about this.
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by bugbee

Hi guys.
Background: I've been fostering two feral kittens for a while now, brother and sister, and my guess is that they're around 6 months old, give or take a couple weeks. They stay in a big cage together most of the time. The boy is probably around 5lbs (quite social), and the girl around 3lbs (still extremely shy); she's very small for her age and a lot smaller than he is.

Now then, when I got up this morning, they were doing the deed! The girl did not seem totally thrilled about the boy on top of her. I moved the boy to my bathroom.

The girl is only sort of acting like she's in heat. I saw her crouch down once for him before I pulled them apart, but no meowing, not wanting to leave the cage to get to him, etc. Now also, I've never heard her meow in my life. She's very quiet and shy, so is it possible that she's not acting crazy because of how shy she is? Has anyone ever had a feral who was pretty calm during heat because of being afraid of her surroundings? Or could it be that she's not in heat at all, and the boy was just being weird?

Also, assuming they did the deed other times while I was asleep, what do you guys think the chances are that my girl is pregnant? They're both supposed to be fixed on the 31st; if she's pregnant, is that too late in the pregnancy to spay her?

I don't really like the idea of spaying a pregnant cat, and since it's not kitten season I think it would be easy to find good adoptive homes for any kittens that could come of this.

And lastly, I'm sorry for such a long post!
The woman who runs the shelter I'm fostering for is out of town, so I can't reach her about this.
She could certainly be pregnant....but if it were me I would still spay her. If you are fostering for an organization...you need to talk to the group to find out what their policy is regarding spaying potentially pregnant cats...especially since this is a sibling mating situation. In the meantime, keep her and her brother apart.

By the way....even though it isn't "kitten season"....we still have loads of kittens that are looking for homes here in Virginia. Cats are still having kittens...even when it isn't kitten season.

Katie
 
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bugbee

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Originally Posted by TNR1

By the way....even though it isn't "kitten season"....we still have loads of kittens that are looking for homes here in Virginia. Cats are still having kittens...even when it isn't kitten season.

Katie
Thanks for your response. Here in Boston, there are some 5-9 month old kittens in the shelters from summer, but almost no younger kittens.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't imagine that the shelter would allow the girl to go through with the pregnancy because of her size.
 

tnr1

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Originally Posted by bugbee

Thanks for your response. Here in Boston, there are some 5-9 month old kittens in the shelters from summer, but almost no younger kittens.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't imagine that the shelter would allow the girl to go through with the pregnancy because of her size.
I wouldn't risk the pregnancy...I would personally still spay. At the rescue I volunteer with we have several 10-12 week old kittens...not as many as during the traditional kitten season..but we still have them.

Katie
 

jen

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It probably would be best to have her spayed whether she is pregnant or not. If you are the one that takes her in, you can tell the vet she may be pregnant but you don't want to know about it if she is, you just want her spayed. Then since you won't know, you won't have to feel bad.
 

semiferal

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At this point pregnancy is not a very strong possibility, mostly because the male will probably not be able to figure out how to "do the deed" correctly. He might try but his first attempts probably won't be all that great.

I think by far the best option is to have her spayed immediately, within the next week. If she is not pregnant, she may well get pregnant very soon otherwise. And if she is pregnant, it is tough to justify letting a cat who is only a few days pregnant carry a pregnancy to term considering the number of healthy 8-week-old kittens the shelters are sure to be euthanizing once kitten season kicks into high gear. I definitely empathize with your reluctance to spay a pregnant cat (if the world were the way I wanted it to be, we'd never spay a pregnant cat - but we'd also have no homeless cats or shelter euthanasias either), but given the circumstances it really is the best option for all involved in this case.
 
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