I adopted a cat who had just had kittens but she certainly seems pregnant

[Ragdollmama91]

This cat is a young female. I would say maybe two years old. I adopted her and her five kittens together as a foster for the kittens and a forever home for the mother.

The mother didn’t produce milk from but the bottom two teats and the previous owner was bottle feeding them, I had to continue on that and then wean them. She ended up dropping them seperate places and then forgetting and pacing around panicked crying. they couldn’t regulate temperature and she almost killed one by doing this so the owner was told to keep her separated from them unless supervised or locked In the bedroom. So they were living separately.

I take her and the kittens home and the week she got here she had saggy tummy that was very narrow looking. She had been skinny and petite alresdy and then looked emaciated after giving birth despite being well fed and worm free / healthy. When I first got her she looked like that. I realised a couple weeks later that she was suddenly heavy and looked pregnant. Quite a change. Her nipples had crusted milk flakes rather large on two and she wasn’t nursing her kittens, and hadn’t for a long time. They were big and pink. Zero chance anything is nursing on her. He stomach feels hard and she doesn’t want us touching it. Shes going into the closet which is not common and it appears to be nesting behaviour.



i asked the previous home and she told me she had placed her back with the male for two days sometime in early November she thinks. She said exact date is not known but sometime around the 10th. He was crying and she was trying to make him happy and thought he missed her until she heard mating sounds and found him on top of her.

She said she was sure it was the once only and the female didn’t seem in heat at all and was actively fighting him. It sounded like he completed the deal though.



Im aggravated and confused.



Is that possible with that timeline?

As far as any other father possibly- NO she is inside only, no access to other cats ever besides him the once and neither house has access points for animals..So no, unless it was her kitten which I don’t think was possible…What age does a male kitten have to be to be fertile and mate? None of them showed any signs of that and most were fixed and then gone at 8 weeks. One remained that was about 11/12 weeks. He had found a home at 8 weeks but was brought back when the woman died about 11ish weeks old. She didn’t fix him. She was with him for a very short period and cleaned him and then left. No noises no signs of her being in heat or mating. He doesn’t show signs of sexual maturity in any way but he’s been given to his new owner after only a couple of days here.

She has an appointment to get spayed in mid January and my vet didn’t have anything sooner when I called and said I wanted to see if she was pregnant. It’s a small family place and they are out with covid. I’m just aggravated and confused on how she wound up pregnant again unless it’s false pregnancy. She seems like it she had gotten pregnant in early Nov she would be so pregnant I could see movement and I don’t and I haven’t felt any. I just want opinions. I thought that the mother had been fixed when I took her in and I wasn’t expecting this.

 

[Ragdollmama91]

Also she threw up suddenly on the bed. She doesn’t ever do that. I hope she isn’t pregnant back to back. I could just slap the previous owner for not telling me when I took her in! I could have had more options, known what to do and given her proper care. She’s not on special food for pregnant cats or anything because I didn’t know!

 

[Kat0121]

I'm not an expert on the subject but I think it is possible that she is. The previous owner likely thought you wouldn't take her if she was. I'm sorry. You're a wonderful person to take this little family in. I'm going to tag in some our kitten experts. Sarthur2 StefanZ

 

[Ragdollmama91]

Thank you! Yes, after speaking to her and the people I volunteer with at the shelter the previous owner called for help she was in a bad situation where her boyfriend was abusive and had started to throw the cat and just be cruel to it but it gave birth and she didn’t know what to do. She called to ask if they could take her and the kittens.. I learned that a lady that works at the shelter shamed her for having two unfixed cats to begin with and for letting them mate / allowing them to be born. It made her fearful and embarrassed. She thought I would not take them if I knew there was a chance and she figured the chance would be small because she was not showing heat signs when he mated her. This shelter has a resource where they will help place animals by listing them online, on pet adoption event flyers, local area pages when the owner can’t keep them but doesn’t know how to rehome them properly and then screening interested parties and checking them out, their housing situation out and making sure they are stable for the pet etc. or finding foster homes if possible because the regular shelter area is full all the time and they have super limited funds and currently limited employees and volunteers. When she contacted them she wanted to know if she could get progress updates and wanted to find someone to love the mama and was very honest with some aggression issues she has. She was scared someone would kill her or put her down.

the mama has some issues like not wanting to be in rooms/ running out panicked if you leave and go to close the door as if she may be trapped there for some time without anything.

she is also afraid of men and my senior father who comes to fix things at my house or give me fire wood and cat food.. he can’t walk in the living room without her following under the tables hissing back to back loudly. We hope to fix that and hope to gain her trust. She attacked him once but he moved fast and was being loud and holding a broom and it freaked her out. Poor thing must have been beat by one. Her pupils took up her entire eye and she looked possessed. She hates them. He was not mad at her but rather sad and unsure how to proceed. If he should ignore the hissing and her all together until she felt better or if he should speak softly to her to reassure her and pet her.
No issues with anyone but men.

I don’t mind caring for and fostering her babies if she’s pregnant and getting her fixed literally the minute it’s okay to do so..I just want to be prepared and am a little surprised she got pregnant so fast. I am worried that it could risk her health since it’s a back to back pregnancy if so.
Vet visit is booked with a affordable vet that is great with anxious cats like her the shelter referred me to but it’s just a bit out so I feel better posting here and having some idea instead of worrying non stop!

She has been going into the closet and chirping and calling out. Sometimes she goes in and is quiet aside from the sound of clothing being moved around. Then she will start grooming me in bed and rolling all over belly exposed loving on the blankets purring and begging to be pet. She stays at my feet otherwise. I’m hoping to get her happy and healthy. I hope she is going to be okay if she turns out to be pregnant. Poor thing.. back to back!
Sorry this is a long post. I ramble when nervous.

 

[di and bob]

If she is eating, drinking, using the litter box, I would say it is more than likely she is pregnant. I had a cat get pregnant in the first week after giving birth! I have one right now that had got pregnant 3 times over the summer before I could finally catch her and get her spayed. when her kittens were only 8 weeks old she started ignoring them and fighting them off from nursing. It was sad......
Cats give birth between 63 and 69 days, so she would be close. I would say the third or fourth week in January. I would just watch her until then. After that, make an appointment for spaying when the kittens are eating on their own. Maybe feed her kitten food to keep her nourished. She COULD have a false pregnancy if she isn't very big, but that is very rare.
You are an angel for helping this poor little girl. You will be blessed for your kindness. PLEASE keep us up on what is happening, we want to help you in any way we can!

 

[Sarthur2]

Such sad circumstances and the poor cat sounds traumatized. I can understand your frustration as well.

Cats are induced ovulators, so she would not need to be in heat to conceive. She does sound pregnant; perhaps with a small litter. This and stress may be why she stopped nursing her kittens.

She sounds too close to the end of her pregnancy to be spayed and terminated.

Thank you for taking this cat in and caring that she is safe. Do keep us posted!

 

[StefanZ]

I agree with the others. She is in 99% high preg. Just a few days left, if she mated 10 nov.

Cats arent protected by nursing from new pregnancy, they CAN get preg anew already a few days after delivery.

In some rare but not unique cases they can even get preg already during a pregnancy; and thus carry two different litters at the same time,

So, just to play along... Give her goats milk and other nutrious foods, prepare for the birth as well you can, and wait...

Calm relaxing music can help some... Perhaps also a Feliway diffuser.

 

[Ragdollmama91]

To update, she was pregnant for sure before I picked her up because she’s so heavily pregnant now she cannot move. Her aides bulge and you can see the kittens move under her skin from across the room. She seems very uncomfortable and from the look and feel she seems full of kittens so that’s just great.
I feel so bad for her and I hope they come out soon. They move and you can’t feel it and see it like you can on humans. When I was at the end with my daughter you could see her knee drag across my tummy it was wild. She hates when they move and she lays in my lap every night.
Today she hid under the bed and was breathing hard and rapidly meowing high pitch like a child. It was like she was asking for something.
No kittens yet. I feel so bad for her because she’s an anxious cat and just wants to be with me. She trust no men. I thought it was just my dad or his clunky work boots but she hissed at the feet of two other men. Has never hissed at women ever.
She goes into the closet and calls once a night. Not sure what she’s calling to but the closet is definitely her nest.
The vet estimates that she is around day 62. Her first pregnancy went right to 70 weeks and she went into labor on the 70th day according to her previous owner.
She didn’t eat her food today and is hiding. this seems to me like she may go into labor soon. Previous owner told me that she had chirped and cried non stop unless she petted her the night before last time.

also since we know she’s at the end could be conclude if the daddy cat got her pregnant if she hasn’t been outside or near him since before Nov 10? She was only with her male kittens. I’m hoping and praying that they Did not father these kittens. I hope it all turns out okay and I have found homes Already for the kittens and have a list of backups too. I hope it works out. I have a heating bad, a box, towels, blankets, Kelly clamps and suture scissors from the hospital I started work at, something to tie the cord with, water, wash clothes, thermometers, everyrhing I could think of to help if needed. Bottles with a miracle nipple for cats, cat formula and feeding syringes. Just to be prepared. Can you tell how anxious I am? I would just die if anything happened to her but my vet insists that I dont need to bring her in or have him come here for the birth and she can do it with my help if she even needs any. Her last owner said she was anxious and wanted help and wanted to give birth right there in the lap and legs and wouldn’t do anything so the kittens had to have the cord cut, she was leaving them hanging between the legs and walking around like that. So I figured better be safe instead of sorry.

 

[Ragdollmama91]

I posted here about my cat and to my surprise she went into labor Monday in my closet and did it all herself. The previous owner said she wanted to be in her arms and wouldn’t leave her side or clean the kittens or chew the cord or anything her first time. She wouldn’t care for them and was anxious wanting a human around at all times. When I took them in I had to feed her babies bottles and stimulate them and everything. I was coming over to help her previous owner with their care before I took them in. I adopted her and took care of her kittens and then found them homes only to discover she was indeed very pregnant already. She gave birth to four little kittens in my closet and I found them when she came running out with a placenta falling out of her. I had to dig around and found clean dry babies under a suitcase tucked into blankets like a tunnel.

she did great nursing them alone in the bathtub for days. She chose it.
Then today I notice they are all more hungry than usual and her bottom two nipples feel really full. She seems to produce so much there but non any in the top two. Middle two did provide a little bit but not much.
The issue now is that she tries to move one and will drop it on the cold hard floor and leave it. She wants to take them to dangerous places she need not be and is rough when picking them up. She does it too hard and they scream and then they start falling out as she’s running around with them and the head is just dragging and bouncing the floor so I have no choice but to go and get the baby out and she gets mad. She looks like “don’t you dare!” And uses her arms to block me off. Like a human she uses it to sort of grab the baby and try to get her mouth around it. Very rough. I’ve seen many kittens be carried by mothers and she is rough. She fully bites their body and closes her mouth on it and always does it at an awkward angle so they scream and dangle. Normal mothers I’ve seen grab them in such a way they draw their legs back and comply and go still.

I don’t want them getting hurt and she refuses to stop taking them in places that are dangerous.
The fireplace! Which my elderly dad uses. In a ton of rubble in my daughters room under her bed where toys lay and there’s no space for kittens. It is aggravating so I’m wondering if I can put her in a large crate with them and blankets and make that be the nest. Not allowing her to take them out when she is out because she forgets them and it bothers me.

She almost killed one by forgetting she dropped him down a piece of furniture and left him. He can’t regulate his temp and got close to not surviving it. I’m nervous because of that.

 

[Norachan]

Yes, you can crate her and the kittens. It sounds as if she is looking for a safe hiding place. The fireplace may not seem like a great idea to us, but she probably sees it as somewhere the kittens will be well hidden. Put her in a crate with a bed, blankets and a litter box as far from the bed as you can make it. Cover the crate with a blanket to give her more privacy. A cardboard box on it's side makes a good bed, as the cat feels safer the more hidden she is.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with Norachan and close the door to the room. She does not need whole house access.

Put her food, water, and litter in the room with her, and use a heat source, such as a heating pad set on low under a blanket, with room to move off if the kittens get too warm.

Hopefully she will settle down if she only has one room and lots of privacy.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

I'd recommend this huge playpen. You could use it now to keep her from wandering around and it would also be useful later on to contain the kittens when they're mobile.