I think I'm in a pickle

I adopted Nina about a year ago and she was about 10 months old at the time. She was up to date on vaccines and spayed (or so I was told). About 3 months ago she started peeing all over the house, sometimes right next to the litter box. Once the foster cats arrived she even got worse. I took her to the vet and he said she had not been spayed. She is very cross eyed and not very social with other cats (fine with humans). She has only been in heat once that I know of since she has lived with us, that was about 3 months ago. She is only an indoor cat but she darts outside if you aren't careful. She did not get out when she was in heat. She has not gotten out until I had company on Wednesday but hasn't been in heat again that I know of. The lady from the rescue came over today to give the momma cats their vaccines and made a comment that she looked pregnant. I have noticed that she has gained weight but that was never anything I thought. I know she has been nibbling on the kitten food and I though she was getting plump. When i rolled her over, she has nipples. How far along can I have her spayed? she has a vet appointment tomorrow.

Many vets will only abort in the first trimester. I volunteer at a feral cat clinic and we spay EVERY cat that comes in. i don't consider you irresponsible....it wasn't your fault that the rescue placed an intact female. I would however insist that the rescue learn from this and make sure that any cats they place in the future, they verify that a spay was conducted. Are they willing to place Nina's kittens if she is indeed pregnant?

Katie

I talked to the rescue and it was such a quick turn around for her. She was brought in and a friend told me about her. She was a "special needs" case because she was sight impaired and I adopted her the next day. They didn't give her a vet check and only went on what the previous owner said. I got through the process so quick because I did some fostering for the rescue. They apologized and will pay for her spay. The rescue I am turning my foster kittens over to will take her kittens if it is to late for a spay. She is such an odd cat I worry about her parenting skills.

Originally Posted by AMYSCRAZY

I talked to the rescue and it was such a quick turn around for her. She was brought in and a friend told me about her. She was a "special needs" case because she was sight impaired and I adopted her the next day. They didn't give her a vet check and only went on what the previous owner said. I got through the process so quick because I did some fostering for the rescue. They apologized and will pay for her spay. The rescue I am turning my foster kittens over to will take her kittens if it is to late for a spay. She is such an odd cat I worry about her parenting skills.

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I would get a vet's opinion regarding 1. how far along she is and 2. whether she should be spayed.

Katie

I have a 9:30 appointment. We will know after that

Please let us know...

Nina is pregnant. I feel horrible. The vet said she is about 5 wks and he says he doesn't spay after 4 wks. She was in heat about 3 wks ago, I thought, and that is the only time she has been in heat to my knowledge. The vet said "obviously" she was in heat before and didn't really have an answer as to why she appeared to be in heat 3 wks ago. She is not very happy about the other cats in the house and I am going to have to isolate her in a few weeks or I fear she will harm her babies. I am overwhelmed.

Is there maybe another vet who will spay after 4 weeks? I mean if she is just one week past the cut off limit there, maybe another vet will still do it? I would highly suggest looking into that possibility if you can. No need for more kittens!

Originally Posted by AMYSCRAZY

Nina is pregnant. I feel horrible. The vet said she is about 5 wks and he says he doesn't spay after 4 wks. She was in heat about 3 wks ago, I thought, and that is the only time she has been in heat to my knowledge. The vet said "obviously" she was in heat before and didn't really have an answer as to why she appeared to be in heat 3 wks ago. She is not very happy about the other cats in the house and I am going to have to isolate her in a few weeks or I fear she will harm her babies. I am overwhelmed.

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Maybe I misunderstood you, you do realize cats do not have to be in heat to get pregnant right? Maybe you are just meaning that you didn't realize she wasn't spayed because she only went into heat once. But if she was spayed, she would not have gone into heat at all, so if she did, then right then you should have taken her in to confirm it. Sorry I was just confused...

I'm going to call around on Monday to see what some other vets say.

Oh, Amy, that is just awful! People who lie about their animals when dropping them off are sick! I am so sorry she is having to go through this.

I agree with having her spayed at another vet. She will need her vaccinations, too. Poor little girl!

I sympathise with you ... I have a "special needs" cat. She has vision problems and the vet said that she probably did not have enough room in the womb and was probably not all mentally there. Her mommy, my precious angel Cilla (who sadly passed away on 4-5-06) took care of her really well, now her brother Junior takes care of her. He guides her around and you never see one without the other. When I took her to the vet when she was 7 weeks old, my vet recommended I get her fixed asap for her and possibly her kittens future. I got her fixed when she was 12 weeks old *her brother too*.

Here is a pic of them in the house my dad built for them ... Junior is the orange kitty on the left, Lilly (my special needs girl) is the orange kitty on the right, and cilla is the non orange kitty (god rest her soul)

Nina is a great cat when one-on-one. She is also good with my two males but not with the whole females I am fostering. I wonder if that is why she is so hostile and peeing every where-competition. Also because she can't see well she is a little jumpy. I have a soft spot for blue eyed cats and the rescue knew she was "special" and that people may not want to adopt her. I took her for both reasons. The rescue feels bad, I feel bad and Nina seems confused. I am going to call several clinics tomorrow and see what they suggest. If she has these kittens I am afraid she won't be a good mom.

Sometimes when a kitty is spayed, their personality improves greatly. I hope this is true of Nina, too. Good luck in finding a vet who will do the surgery. If not, at least the kittens will be born into a home that knows A LOT about kitten care!

Originally Posted by AMYSCRAZY

I'm going to call around on Monday to see what some other vets say.

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Generally rescues and Humane societies will spay right up until delivery. At the stray rescue I'm with, we spay if there are kittens in there, regardless of how developed.

I found a clinic that will spay Nina. Her appointment is on Wednesday morning. I hope this will help her calm down a little and relax.

Good for you! That was a very brave decision to make.

I'm not completely comfortable with the decision but it is probably in everyones best interest. I don't think Nina will mind as much as I do

Nina will appreciate it! You are doing something very good for her in that she is avoiding a whole bunch of health problems. Besides cats don't have maternal instincts like we do not in the same way anyway. You are improving her quality of life and should be proud of yourself!

I think it's great you're putting Nina's best interests above your own feelings. Not an easy decision to make.