Is my newly adopted cat pregnant?

[MidnightMama]

Hi! New here but I need some help plz.
We adopted Midnight from the shelter just over a week ago. They said she was a stray brought in and guessed she was around 2 years of age. We took her home only two weeks after she came in but they felt her belly and said she’s not pregnant. About two days after we got her home, she started crying for food constantly, drinking tons of water and was overly affectionate with us. I thought it odd but didn’t think too much of it until the other day while petting her, I felt her nipples. We looked and they seem rather large. We started looking it up and she has many of the signs of being pregnant.
- always wanting to eat
- drinking lots of water
- very cuddly
- sleeps all day and night
- very inactive even at night
- her shape has changed to more pear shape
- her nipples are large and sorta pink
- she grooms constantly

These are pics I took today. Do these look like her nipples are linked up? Any advice I’d appreciated, ty!!

 

[cataholic07]

The shelter didn't spay her? That seems really strange to me especially if she's an adult. I can see a young kitten some won't due to "6 months" thing but not an adult.

 

[MidnightMama]

The shelter didn't spay her? That seems really strange to me especially if she's an adult. I can see a young kitten some won't due to "6 months" thing but not an adult.

Our shelter does spay but they have so many cats, it takes weeks for them to get them all done. The vet they work with does only so many animals per week, giving priority to animals that have been adopted. Since she had only been there two weeks, it hadn’t gotten to her turn yet. I worked it out so that we are technically fostering her until the spay is completed. They needed the space, we wanted her sooner. They gave me the papers to make the spay appointment thru the vet and I got it set up for this Friday. After the spay, she will be officially adopted.

 

[Sarthur2]

She appears pregnant. Do you want her spayed and the pregnancy terminated, or do you want her to have the litter and get spayed later?

 

[MidnightMama]

Welp, it was just confirmed. Our girl is pregnant. They figure she has about 3 weeks maybe more, left until birth. We will foster the kittens until they’re weened and adopted.

 

[mani]

Welp, it was just confirmed. Our girl is pregnant. They figure she has about 3 weeks maybe more, left until birth. We will foster the kittens until they’re weened and adopted.

You certainly got more than you bargained for! I do hope the shelter is giving you their full support.
And do keep posting if you need any help.

 

[MidnightMama]

Hey, there! I’m new to having a Queen so I’d like to tell you our story, our kitten prep and get any advice you’d all be kind enough to share.
We found Midnight at our shelter on March 18. She was a stray that came in March 4 and they told us she needed to be spayed before we could adopt her. However, it would be a wait to get her spayed thru the shelter and we wanted to bring her home soon and they were eager to make space, so since I used to volunteer there years ago, they worked with me to foster her first so we could take her and once the spay was done they our vet, they’d let us adopt her officially.
Fast forward a few days. Midnight is home, but starting to show signs of being pregnant. Long story short, she is most definitely pregnant and we have agreed to foster her thru birth and foster and socialize her kittens until they are weened.
Never had a Queen before so I’ve been doing lots of research. I found the perfect box for her to birth in, lined it with puppy pads and a soft blanket. I have gloves, lots of cotton fleece blankets, non wax floss, scissors, replacement kitten milk & bottles, hot water bottle, kitten food.
I won’t interfere with the birthing process unless I’m needed but I will be close to watch over her if she wants me for comfort.
I’m not sure how long she has left. Her sides started showing a little pudge last week and the last couple days, I can feel and see the kittens kicking around inside her belly. She’s a rather skinny cat to begin with but her belly doesn’t seem to be getting very big yet. Her nipples are large and they are starting to get a bit of a sack around the base? Some nights she seems very restless, other nights she’s fine. She digs in her litter a ton sometimes, seems to be poking around in new areas a bit, but I don’t know if that’s nesting or her exploring her new home still.
Any advice? Anyone gather a guess as to how long she might have to go?

 

[Sarthur2]

I would guess she has 2-3 weeks left, but it’s difficult to say for sure. She may be having a small litter, or she may be less far along since she’s not that big yet. An x-ray would show how many kittens and an estimated gestational age.

 

[MidnightMama]

So Midnight has been having blood-tinged waters leaking for a few hours now. I feel the kittens moving still and she’s not in any stress, nor is she showing any signs of labor. Is this normal?

 

[Sarthur2]

How is she now? It’s not normal unless she’s full term and preparing for labor. If it’s not time, she may be miscarrying one or more kittens.

 

[MidnightMama]

Update: Took Midnight to the vet. They said she was in pre-labor. They took an x-ray and we found she’s having 2 kittens. Two very large kittens Vet said the kittens looked fully developed and well formed, no issues, she was full term. Now it’s a waiting game. Vet will call to check on us tomorrow afternoon to see if Midnight is progressing. She told me from onset of stage 1, it could take 36 hours before stage 2.
Midnight’s temp was already dropping at the vet’s and while she told me I could continue to take her temp to watch it go down to tell better when active labor would start, I decided not to stress Midnight out and just wait on her to be ready.
Vet said the kittens should be birthed fine, she wasn’t overly concerned with their size, but she wanted me to know in case so I could watch over her carefully.
midnight is currently very cuddly, vocal and playful. She will play with her toy, tossing it into the air and racing around before laying down to sleep for an hour lol. Most of the bloody waters have stopped now and she’s just cleaning her nipples a lot as they have started to drip milk.