Is My Cat Pregnant?

[Knicolai91]

Our cat was in heat. She is really good about slipping outside when we are walking in/out the door. Well this recent time she got out we saw her with a few males and we know she mated. This all happened around January 21-28. She hasn’t been in heat since. She has gotten extremely affectionate and she won’t leave my side. She’s normally wrapped around my husband. I can’t tell a difference in her belly. She’s a calico but I don’t know how old she is since she was a stray when we got her. I will take pictures soon. Yes our plan is to spay her ASAP!

 

[abyeb]

Since she was outside while in heat and around intact males, then she is probably pregnant. She is still fairly early in pregnancy (the average gestation length for cats is 64 days), so it might be a little longer before she starts to “show”, I believe this happens around 6 weeks. This article gives more information: How To Tell If My Cat Is Pregnant?

It is possible to get her spayed now. However, the pregnancy will be terminated. Otherwise, you can spay her after the kittens are weaned.

 

[Knicolai91]

We are honestly not sure if they were intact. We assume so because they mounted her. I don’t know much about male cats as I grew up with only female cat per parents rules. I’ve attached pictures now.

 

[Willowy]

Of course she's pregnant. Unspayed cats get pregnant if a tomcat looks at them through the window (haha, not really, just seems like it sometimes).

Anyway, yeah, she almost certainly is. She'd be about a month along by now. Nipple development looks normal for this stage. In about 2 weeks it'll be pretty obvious.

 

[Knicolai91]

Of course she's pregnant. Unspayed cats get pregnant if a tomcat looks at them through the window (haha, not really, just seems like it sometimes).

Anyway, yeah, she almost certainly is. She'd be about a month along by now. Nipple development looks normal for this stage. In about 2 weeks it'll be pretty obvious.

Thanks for the info! her nipples do show signs of pregnancy though? We’re going to make a vet appt!

 

[lutece]

Most, but not all pregnant cats, "pink up" around 21 days gestation. My guess from your pictures of her nipples would be that she doesn't appear pregnant, but you can't reliably tell from her nipples, because not all pregnant cats "pink up," especially for their first pregnancy.

Your vet may be able to palpate her belly and make an educated guess about whether she is pregnant, but the most reliable way to determine whether she is pregnant at this stage would be an ultrasound.

If she is not pregnant now, she'll come into heat again, and eventually she will manage to get pregnant if she is not spayed. (The affection you are describing may be a sign that she will come into heat again soon.)

Your options are:
- Go ahead and spay, whether she is pregnant or not.
- Or try to determine whether she is actually pregnant (ultrasound would be the best way if your vet can't tell by palpating), and then decide what you want to do.

 

[Knicolai91]

This is what her nipples look like today. Does this look like it’s pinking up?

 

[lutece]

That looks much more pink than the other pictures. Have they pinked up that much over the past few days, or were the other pictures taken earlier than when you posted them? Usually cats don't take much longer than 21 days after mating to pink up, so you might want to recheck your dates.

 

[Knicolai91]

Now she’s acting like she’s in heat. I am so confused. She keeps running outside when we open the door. She won’t stop licking herself. She’s meowing loudly. But her nipples still look bigger than normal and pinkish.

 

[war&wisdom]

Bring her to the vet to see what's going on. Hopefully, you can then schedule her spay!

 

[lutece]

Sometimes nipples will appear to pink up when a cat is coming back into heat. Cats can also have false pregnancies. I agree, it would be a good idea to visit the vet!