Took 'Em To The Vet

Ah... I feel so much better... we took our babes to the vet yesterday (All 5 of them...talk about a hefty bill...but it was worth it)... so...

From Oldest to youngest...
Tyrone - 9.8lbs.. small mouth infection (got antibiotics)
Cobee - 12lbs... Clean Bill of Health.
Jessie - 5.6lbs... Clean Bill of Health, might be pregnant!
Billy - 3lbs... URI (got antibiotics)
Baby Kitty - 4.3lbs... small eye infection (got antibiotics)

I'm just excited that they are all ok and we might have little babies running around soon....
Which brings me to my question of...Jessie has been laying around A LOT... I mean in the crate, in a little shoe box.... eating and drinking fine, peeing and pooing fine.... just not very playful.
A little background: We adopted her last wenesday from a man whos wife had just passed on (it was her cat) she is 9 months and spent a while with his male cats, we are assuming because she isn't spayed that they weren't neutered.

Im not exactly sure what to look for but in the last week she has grown a bit in tummy width (lol)... it's like she has a tiny build and her tummy is kinda chunky....but she is really lean... I dont have a camera or id post pictures of her to display what Im talking about. My girlfriend has had many litters in the past and thinks she may be pregnant while Im at a loss because this would be mine and Jessie's first litter as far as I know.

I guess Im looking for any advice or comments from anyone... also is the fatigue normal if she is pregnant? I mean as far as the vet is concerned she is in great health... ah what should i be looking for? Ah. Ok thanks for anything posted


.Myles-Anthony

She seems to be showing all the signs. If she spent time with unneutered males and is over six months old you may assume that your diagnosis is correct.
I hope you find good homes for the kittens and have her spayed as soon as she gives birth.

Originally Posted by gizmocat

I hope you find good homes for the kittens and have her spayed as soon as she gives birth.

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We are going to get her fixed And Im hoping to have the spare cash to fix all her babies before we adopt them out just so that no more "accodients" happen...I mean that's if she is pregnant. [secretly crossing fingers] ...btw I think we have homes for any potential kittens... a couple of my friends have shown great interest when I have brought the subject up


.Myles-Anthony

It sounds like you will have little ones running around soon.

Glad to hear that you are going to get her spayed once the babies arrive

And make sure she has plenty of high quality dry kitten food to eat starting now until the kittens are weaned.

Originally Posted by kluchetta

And make sure she has plenty of high quality dry kitten food to eat starting now until the kittens are weaned.

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I was going to buy her a bag tomorrow evening when we go grocery shopping for next week ...Im trying not to gettoo excited incase she isnt gonna be a mommy but I just cant seem to help it.... my girlfriend is disgusted lol she keeps saying "your first litter, oh boy, stop talking about her!" lol... blah on her


.Myles-Anthony

That is so sweet. My SO is like that with the cats. His cat is a spoiled rotten little Princess that gets away with every thing. All she has to do is turn that waaay to cute little face up at him and bat her lashes, he melts.
He once had a momcat give birth on his pillow, while he was sleeping on it because he took such good care of her while she was pregnant. She adored him, and hardly had the time of day for me. She was a small calico kitty, and gave us 3 lovely little tabbies. She just wandered up one day and decided to hang out for awhile.
Please keep us posted about them. Good to all your kitties are in good shape.

Please get her (and any other intact cats you may own) spayed ASAP. You can in fact do a spay-abort, meaning she will be spayed and any kittens she may be carrying will be terminated.

I know you are excited, but the unfortunate truth is that 3-4 million companion animals die in shelters each year, in a large part because people don't spay or neuter their pets and/or because people think it would be "nice" or "cute" to have just one litter. The life of a shelter animal is miserable and stressful and often very short. Same goes for kitties on the street. You could encourage your interested friends to adopt shelter babies instead and you could foster orphaned kittens from your local humane society if having newborns around is something you have your heart set on doing.

That said, if you do ultimately decide to go through with this litter, you also have an obligation to have every single kitten spayed or neutered before they leave your home. If you cannot find a vet who is willing to perform the proceedure at 2 pounds/8 months, you then are obligated to keep them until they are 4-6 months old. Remember, 2 intact cats can produce 420,000 cats within 7 years. If you can't be absolutely sure that every single kitten is spayed, then you cannot be sure that you have no, in a large part, helped to contribute to pet overpopulation.

Best of luck. I do not wish to sound harsh or cold. I work for a shelter here in Chicago and have unfortunately had to bear witness to the large number of innocent lives lost because people let their pet cats breed. Shelters such as the one I work for are always in need of fosters for the little ones (who require round-the-clock care) and would appreciate it if you and your girlfriend could find it in your hearts to become a foster family. There are also rescues out there who do NOT automatically spay-abort all pregnant queens (we do, however) and would let you foster a pregnant female and her kittens.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Please get her (and any other intact cats you may own) spayed ASAP. You can in fact do a spay-abort, meaning she will be spayed and any kittens she may be carrying will be terminated.

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I dont want to do this. I already said I was going to get her spayed after her babies are weaned **if** she is even pregnant. No one else is unfixed except for baby kitty who will be fixed in October... note all our cats are indoor animals.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

I know you are excited, but the unfortunate truth is that 3-4 million companion animals die in shelters each year, in a large part because people don't spay or neuter their pets and/or because people think it would be "nice" or "cute" to have just one litter. The life of a shelter animal is miserable and stressful and often very short. Same goes for kitties on the street. You could encourage your interested friends to adopt shelter babies instead and you could foster orphaned kittens from your local humane society if having newborns around is something you have your heart set on doing.

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I know the statistics for the shelters... I don't "purchase" my pets... I save them. We have adopted/saved Tyrone (who was in a shelter for 5 months), Cobee (in a shelter for 3 months), Billy (Last Chance kitten/Special needs/foster care for being abandoned and underweight), then we adopted Baby kitty from my girlfriend's mom who's cat had kittens and she needed a loving home and then Jessie (our babe who is potentially pregnant) was going to be put down because the shelters are all full and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time top save her. Honestly if we cant find loving homes we will keep the kittens and they will all be fixed... a lot of my friends will pay for them to be spayed plus an adoption fee which I will -donate- to our local no kill shelter (Arizona Animal Welfare League - we got Cobee from them! They are great! But that is a different story.) It isnt the newborns that I want so much as just being able to help Jessie out - the babies wont be thrown away... and we do adopt from our shelters as Ive said.

And soon... after Tyrone stops acting out (currently spraying due to temperment issues and fighting for the "alfa male" role with Cobee) we are planning to become a foster family mainly for orphaned kittens and mamas-to-be... but for now if Jessie is pregnant her and her babes are our priority... [sigh] we took her in because we didnt want a sweet and innocent kitty to be put down just because its owner fdied if we had a chance to save it - we had the opportunity and we seized it... the possibility of her being pregnant wasnt something we even thought of at the time but now that it is apparent that she very well may be I want to give her the chance to be a mom and then we will take care of her babes and make sure the are all fixed (one way or another) and then find good homes for them.


.Myles-Anthony