I have had cats all my life but never had a pregnant cat. The plan was to get her spayed. I noticed after we got her home and feed her well ,for she was starving, that her belly started to bulge a bit. I am a mother of two so I myself have been through the whole pregnancy thing. I noticed also her nipples are big and pink. So I took her to the vet and sure enough my suspicions where dead on. The vet checked her for feline luekemia and the FIV both negative thank god. But he tried to talk me into aborting the kittens, which I don't have the heart to do. I was wondering how much money I am looking at spending to make sure this kitty is okay. I already have some friends that would love to have a kitty when they are ready so that helps. My question is am I doing the right thing? He did tell me she is like 2years old which I never would have guessed by the size of her. She is a very small cat to be 2. Is she able to get her shots being that she is pregnant? Really I just need a direction that I should be headed before the time comes!!
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Saved a stray cat and ended up with her pregnant
- Thread starter jsgk77
- Start Date
I don't think they can get their shots while they are pregnant. Check with the vet about that. I think it is fine to spay and abort, but if you want to keep this kitty and provide for her and her kittens, that is your choice.
If she is two, and you found her outside, most likely this isn't her first litter. She will probably know what to do, and take good care of the babies. The cost comes in if something goes wrong and she needs an emergency c-section or something. As for vet visits for the kittens, that is a good idea at about 6-8 weeks, then you send them to their new homes at about 10 weeks. Instead of giving away free kittens, you could just charge the amount of their first vet visit.
Read through the info on this board, and the other posts. My kitty Festus was born to a pregnant stray I found. When I listed the stray in the paper, trying to find her owners, a cat rescue contacted me, and I ended up being a foster home for various cats and kittens for several years. Sometimes one little pregnant kitty can be the beginning of something very wonderful. Both my other cats are from the same agency!
P.S. I assume the vet checked your kitty for worms and fleas. She should be treated for those if needed, because they are very hard on the kittens.
If she is two, and you found her outside, most likely this isn't her first litter. She will probably know what to do, and take good care of the babies. The cost comes in if something goes wrong and she needs an emergency c-section or something. As for vet visits for the kittens, that is a good idea at about 6-8 weeks, then you send them to their new homes at about 10 weeks. Instead of giving away free kittens, you could just charge the amount of their first vet visit.
Read through the info on this board, and the other posts. My kitty Festus was born to a pregnant stray I found. When I listed the stray in the paper, trying to find her owners, a cat rescue contacted me, and I ended up being a foster home for various cats and kittens for several years. Sometimes one little pregnant kitty can be the beginning of something very wonderful. Both my other cats are from the same agency!
P.S. I assume the vet checked your kitty for worms and fleas. She should be treated for those if needed, because they are very hard on the kittens.
In cases like this, the vet probably recommended aborting the kittens because who knows what kind of shape or health the tom cat was in. He could have been diseased or a carrier of a disease. The kittens could end up being born with something, the mother could reject them or kill them and then you will be stuck bottle feeding them every 2-4 hours for a few weeks, if they make it that is.
Or everything could be prefectly fine. You just don't know. With the HUGE overpopulation of cats in the world and the ones being killed in shelters and everything, I would personally spay her asap which would abort the kittens. Cats are not people and aborting the kittens is nothing like aborting a child. The mother cat will not even know what is going on.
If you want to let her have them, you will need to talk to the vet about specific questions. Basically you need to:
-provide high/premium quality kitten food for the mother cat starting right now. examples being, Nutro Natural, Chicken Soup, Wellness...there are plenty more. And they need to come from a pet store not a grocery store or walmart.
-get the mother cat her shots when the vet says she can have them as well as all the kittens. I believe there are 3 sets of shots and certain weeks of age, but it could be two I do not remember.
-the mother needs to be spayed after the babies are born as well as ALL KITTENS before going to their new homes
-babies stay with the mother cat until 10-12 weeks of age. That is very important because even though the kittens may be more and more independent, they still have a lot to learn from the mother as far as socialization, litterbox manners, cleaning, etc.
-you will need to provide a nesting area for the mother cat. A quiet, warm, dimly lit small room. Away from kids and loud noises. Playing soft classical music around the time she is expectedto have the babies is a good idea. She will make the actual nest in her area of choice but she needs the space to do it and some towles and such.
-have some money set aside in case there is an emergency, the mother could need a c-section, there could be other complications.
-you will also need some toys and things and an area for the kittens, Kittens can be a mess. They get into EVERYTHING. Kitten proof your house. My spare bedroom was destroyed in the one week that I had kittens in my house.
-and be prepared, in the mean time, read up on cat pregnancies, what to expect, what to do, problems to look for. be ready to run out and pick up nursing bottles and kitten formula if something goes wrong. have a vets phone number on hand.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Good luck!
Or everything could be prefectly fine. You just don't know. With the HUGE overpopulation of cats in the world and the ones being killed in shelters and everything, I would personally spay her asap which would abort the kittens. Cats are not people and aborting the kittens is nothing like aborting a child. The mother cat will not even know what is going on.
If you want to let her have them, you will need to talk to the vet about specific questions. Basically you need to:
-provide high/premium quality kitten food for the mother cat starting right now. examples being, Nutro Natural, Chicken Soup, Wellness...there are plenty more. And they need to come from a pet store not a grocery store or walmart.
-get the mother cat her shots when the vet says she can have them as well as all the kittens. I believe there are 3 sets of shots and certain weeks of age, but it could be two I do not remember.
-the mother needs to be spayed after the babies are born as well as ALL KITTENS before going to their new homes
-babies stay with the mother cat until 10-12 weeks of age. That is very important because even though the kittens may be more and more independent, they still have a lot to learn from the mother as far as socialization, litterbox manners, cleaning, etc.
-you will need to provide a nesting area for the mother cat. A quiet, warm, dimly lit small room. Away from kids and loud noises. Playing soft classical music around the time she is expectedto have the babies is a good idea. She will make the actual nest in her area of choice but she needs the space to do it and some towles and such.
-have some money set aside in case there is an emergency, the mother could need a c-section, there could be other complications.
-you will also need some toys and things and an area for the kittens, Kittens can be a mess. They get into EVERYTHING. Kitten proof your house. My spare bedroom was destroyed in the one week that I had kittens in my house.
-and be prepared, in the mean time, read up on cat pregnancies, what to expect, what to do, problems to look for. be ready to run out and pick up nursing bottles and kitten formula if something goes wrong. have a vets phone number on hand.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Good luck!
I forgot to agree with the above post. NEVER give away free kittens. Especially since you should fix them first, charge an adoption fee to ensure a good home and to recover some of the cost of the surgeries.
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I just wanted to emphasize that the kittens shouldn't leave until 12 weeks. One of my girls was given to us when she was only 6 weeks. She has a lot of "issues" that have been attributed to the fact that she was pulled away too soon. (and to think, two of her siblings left before she did!)
That's a great idea to get them fixed before sending them to new homes and then charge the cost of the operation. We didn't do that when we fostered kittens, but we should have. Luckily they all did get fixed, but we were able to get them all homes with relatives. We were really concerned about giving them to people we didn't know as well.
That's a great idea to get them fixed before sending them to new homes and then charge the cost of the operation. We didn't do that when we fostered kittens, but we should have. Luckily they all did get fixed, but we were able to get them all homes with relatives. We were really concerned about giving them to people we didn't know as well.
I have fostered several stray moms and their litters, although all the kittens didnt live, the ones that did were fine and thrived with proper care. I also did not have the heart to abort the kittens. I loved them before they were born!
