I'm Not Sure if She IS PG....???

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

Hello, Just found this site and have been reading through some of the posts.

We have a female cat who is MAYBE 1 year old. She was born from a stray about July 4 (?) last year and has pretty much adopted us. We were just doing the paperwork to have a free spay done but when I looked at her last night she lookes bigger (she is a small, slight cat) and I have the feeling she is PG! She is outside as much as inside so she has had the oppurtunity. But I have never seen her go through heat cycles, though I'm sure she has. There has been no crying, etc....
When I held her last night, I also felt 3 nipples for the first time, they are a light pink. She doesn't like to be held much so I do not know if they were as noticable before.
So please help this lost woman know what to look for next!!! She could have gotten PG at any time so I have no timeframe to work with....

and if she IS PG, then I want to keep an eye on her and not let her have them in the bushes where SHE was born!
I am on a VERY tight income so going to the vet to get this confirmed is out of the question at this point...
Thank you for ANY information!!

kittylova · Jul 2, 2006

is she spayed? Take her to the vet see if there is any kittens in her. if not
get her spayed. their also some lost cost spay and neuter vets. If it is to late.
and she Pg. keep her in a room away from the other cats. and when she done nursing take her to get spayed right alway.

tnr1 · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

Hello, Just found this site and have been reading through some of the posts.

We have a female cat who is MAYBE 1 year old. She was born from a stray about July 4 (?) last year and has pretty much adopted us. We were just doing the paperwork to have a free spay done but when I looked at her last night she lookes bigger (she is a small, slight cat) and I have the feeling she is PG! She is outside as much as inside so she has had the oppurtunity. But I have never seen her go through heat cycles, though I'm sure she has. There has been no crying, etc....
When I held her last night, I also felt 3 nipples for the first time, they are a light pink. She doesn't like to be held much so I do not know if they were as noticable before.
So please help this lost woman know what to look for next!!! She could have gotten PG at any time so I have no timeframe to work with....

and if she IS PG, then I want to keep an eye on her and not let her have them in the bushes where SHE was born!
I am on a VERY tight income so going to the vet to get this confirmed is out of the question at this point...
Thank you for ANY information!!

Welcome to TCS. If you don't know for sure whether she is pregnant or not...I would go ahead and finish the paperwork for a free spay. I would also confine her indoors only from this point on since the more opportunities she has to be outdoors..the greater her risk to become pregnant. Cats are induced ovulators which means they do not have to be in heat to become pregnant..they just need an intact male. The general gestation period is 63 days...but again, without knowing when and if she mated....we cannot confirm she is pregnant for you online. Given that it may take a while for the free spay to come through...I would keep an eye on her and again...please keep her indoors only from this point until she is safely spayed. If she is likely to escape, then 2 doors between her and the outdoors is recommended.

Katie

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

I do plan on going through with the spaying ASAP. Just waiting for the paperwork to get back to us.
So with what I have described, do you think that she MIGHT be PG? We want to do the right thing for her, and make sure she is safe and Healthy. I am concerned because she has always seemed small and thing, that's just her build and she is young too, so that is another worry!

Thanks!

annasmom · Jul 2, 2006

From what you are describing, it sounds like she is likely pregnant, but that doesn't necessarily rule out a spay. When we found Ruby, she was obviously pregnant, but considered a late term spay as an option, but determined she was too far along.

tnr1 · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

I do plan on going through with the spaying ASAP. Just waiting for the paperwork to get back to us.
So with what I have described, do you think that she MIGHT be PG? We want to do the right thing for her, and make sure she is safe and Healthy. I am concerned because she has always seemed small and thing, that's just her build and she is young too, so that is another worry!

Thanks!

Given that she has been indoors/outdoors and she is over 4 months of age...yes, there is a chance that she is pregnant...there is also a chance that she has a bad case of worms (which also can cause a cat to look pregnant). If there are a lot of intact males in your area..then the chance increases for her to be pregnant. As far as her ability to carry a litter to term...that is really more a question for a vet. But I would set her up indoors right now and also start her on kitten food (since you do not know if she is pregnant or not).

Katie

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

WOW!
Thanks for all the quick responses! I do not want to take her to be spayed if she is PG, I will wait, I guess I just don't like the thought of that...
She is a tough one to keep in the house!! She knows when we are gone and will wait RIGHT by the door and as soon as it is opened she is out like a shot!
There were numerous strays in our area and as I said before, her mom had her in the bushes and left her there. We had just moved into this house and we have dogs...I think that freaked the mom out! Our dog brought her out and we took her to a local pet shop/cat adoption place and they said she was about 3 weeks old.
One of the neighbors has been trapping the strays but there are still quite a few out there, and males too I'm sure!
I have read conflicting stories of trying to judge how far along she might be and this site has been the best!

tnr1 · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

WOW!
Thanks for all the quick responses! I do not want to take her to be spayed if she is PG, I will wait, I guess I just don't like the thought of that...
She is a tough one to keep in the house!! She knows when we are gone and will wait RIGHT by the door and as soon as it is opened she is out like a shot!
There were numerous strays in our area and as I said before, her mom had her in the bushes and left her there. We had just moved into this house and we have dogs...I think that freaked the mom out! Our dog brought her out and we took her to a local pet shop/cat adoption place and they said she was about 3 weeks old.
One of the neighbors has been trapping the strays but there are still quite a few out there, and males too I'm sure!
I have read conflicting stories of trying to judge how far along she might be and this site has been the best!

That is why I recommend 2 doors between herself and the outdoors...for instance, keep her in a bathroom or a spare bedroom while you are gone so she can't dash out. The other option you have is to get a large dog crate (I like the foldable ones that you can store easily and are made of metal) and place her and her food/litter in the crate. That way..when you get home...she can't be waiting for you as she will be in the crate and you will have to let her out.

I would spend the next week observing her....there are some clear signs that occur (if she is indeed pregnant) closer to her delivery date.

It's good to know that a neighbor is trying to help those strays. Is she having them spayed/neutered and returned or is she taking them to the shelter?

Katie

Katie

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

I will try that but not to sound defeated already,

we have 2 odgs and 2 cats (all spayed/nuetered) plus a couple of kids!
The other cats go outside and pretty much just lay around the yard, they don't go far. The dogs also go in/out too as well as the kids.
I guess I will try my best now and will try to make the young ones understand that she HAS to stay inside from now on....

Ok another thing please? I have read that PG cats shoul have kitten food, should I give that to her now or wait until later? Also, when she was to go in to be spayed she was going to get her shots....I have read that she should NOT have shots if PG, true? And if her nipples can actually be felt and are a light pink, would that give an idea of how far along she might be????

THANKS AGAIN!!!

jessienkitty · Jul 2, 2006

you should start her out on kitten food now since would give her more nutrition and stuff. The nipples start to show and turn pink around 3 weeks or so. she could be farther along though. make sure that about a week before she gives birth you put her in a secluded room away from your other dogs and cats so that they dont stress her out. if she gets stressed she could move the babies to an unsafe location or even kill them. and no pregnant cats arn't supposed to have shots (just found that out myself haha)

i hope that helped. good luck and keep us updated!

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

Thanks! I didn't want to take her in and get the shots if she shouldn'y have them....
I know this might sound really stupid but I am REALLY excited! You would think it's my daughter having a baby or something!

She is such a sweet little cat!

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

One more thing--well maybe two!
She is a rather small, slight female and we assume from when we got her that she is about a year old...being on the small side. does this mean that there could be problems during birth?

annasmom · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

One more thing--well maybe two!
She is a rather small, slight female and we assume from when we got her that she is about a year old...being on the small side. does this mean that there could be problems during birth?

Ruby was very samll, and the vet estimated her age at only 6 months. She had problems with her kitties and all needed to be pulled out and stimulated at birth (some more than others). Luckily I had a former vet tech with me!

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

I feel in one way that maybe I am 'jumping the gun' because I am not even sure that she IS PG, but as slight as she is, her sides just look 'full' whereas they usually don't. Plus I have never felt any nipples when holding her and now I do....
I guess I am trying to find out how to do the right thing if she is...

annasmom · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

I feel in one way that maybe I am 'jumping the gun' because I am not even sure that she IS PG, but as slight as she is, her sides just look 'full' whereas they usually don't. Plus I have never felt any nipples when holding her and now I do....
I guess I am trying to find out how to do the right thing if she is...

Better safe than sorry, my dear!

jen · Jul 2, 2006

If she isn't pregnant then she probably has worms. Even if she is pregnant she probably has them too if she has never been vaccianted then I assume she has never been wormed? At least treat her for the worms by a vet.

Since she is small there could very well be complications so I would put aside some money in case she needs an emergency vet or a c-section. Also in case you have to raise the babies yourself, maybe read up a bit on that.

Also I would put aside some money for these kittens. They are going to need litterpans, kitten food (wet and dry), toys, etc. They are also going to need their shots, deworming, vaccinations and spay and neutering before going to new homes and especially before going outside. Cats can get pregnant at 4-5 months so they gotta stay in.

Good luck.

gayef · Jul 2, 2006

Originally Posted by mowsluver

She is such a sweet little cat!

Yeah, she ummmm, looks like she is ~real~ sweet!! *LOL* In fact, that picture looks like you've got both your hands FULL of sweetness!

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

This is why all the shiny balls on the tree are actually plastic!!

mowsluver · Jul 2, 2006

This pic shows her a little better, taken a couple months ago, and this picture makes her look 'big'. The orange cat is our nuetered male. He has become MY cat and really turned out to be quite cool!

gayef · Jul 2, 2006

She is beautiful ... I love her spots. And the big orange guy looks like he knows who is the boss of HIM! *giggle*

I'm Not Sure if She IS PG....???

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