Pregnant Cat Or Paranoid Owner?

[Basilbaby]

We adopted a 1 yr old unspayed female cat about a month ago and we weren't in a rush to get her spayed because we keep our cats indoors and only have a slightly older, spayed female cat, but now I'm starting to worry she may be pregnant since I think the other family she was with let her outside and they said she had already had a litter (although I thought a year old was too young for that).
When we got her she was a bit thin, closer to 6 or 7 lbs but now she is up to 10 and staying around there. The thing is her stomach is really noticeable, I hardly see any weight gain in other places, and it feels firm when I touch it, much more so than the chubby parts on our other cat. Her nipples look slightly prominent but not as much as some of the pictures I've seen, but enough that my husband pointed it out (he thought it was something growing on her haha!). She hasn't noticeably changed her behavior, isn't nesting, or eating any more or less than what seems usual for her. From what I've read I figured the signs would be a lot more obvious by now, since the earliest she could've gotten pregnant was a month ago when we got her.
I've never had an unspayed cat before much less a pregnant one, am I just being paranoid? Is her stomach firmness something to be worried about? Or is she really just gaining some weight?

 

[Sarthur2]

She is very likely pregnant since she is young, unspayed, and was let outside. Are you seeing any kitten movement in her sides? That usually occurs the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. Can you post a picture?

You could get confirmation with an x-ray at the vet’s office.

 

[Basilbaby]

Here's some pictures of her stomach, in the best positions I could get her to stay in long enough. I don't think I'm feeling or seeing movement in her, although I'm not entirely sure what to look for. An article I read said that even the skulls could be felt inside her around 40 days, but another article said not to touch her stomach or even pick her up so I've been too scared to press very hard when trying to feel anything.

 

[Willowy]

Unspayed cats (who go outside or live with a tomcat) usually have 2 litters a year---one in the spring and one in the fall (although some indoor cats may have mixed-up cycles and could get pregnant at any time). And they can get pregnant as early as 4 months, meaning they can give birth as early as 6 months. So, yeah, she definitely could have had a spring litter, and could be pregnant with the fall litter now.

She may still be early enough to terminate, if you don't want kittens. You'd need to have the vet examine her to determine that. If you are willing to raise kittens, well, you'll know for sure in, at most, 5 weeks .

You can palpate her fairly firmly, just not hard enough to hurt the kittens. If you aren't confident that you can find the right firmness, have the vet do it. And then the vet can decide if she's far enough along for an x-ray, if you really want to know how many are in there. But the wait-and-see approach will work too, if she's not showing any complications.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to put her on kitten food until you know for sure. The worst that could happen if she's not pregnant is that she'd get a bit chubbier, but if she is pregnant, she'll need the extra nutrition.

 

[Sarthur2]

She looks pregnant to me! Do you want the kittens? I’m not a fan of terminations past the halfway point. Do you plan to have a vet confirm the pregnancy?

 

[Basilbaby]

She looks pregnant to me! Do you want the kittens? I’m not a fan of terminations past the halfway point. Do you plan to have a vet confirm the pregnancy?

I feel a bit odd about the idea of terminating the pregnancy if she is, and with everyone's input here I think we might see how she looks after another week, but it looks like it might be time to set up a vet appointment. I'm currently studying at home while my husband works so we have funds and I have tons of time to kitten watch until they're old enough to hopefully re-home. I do have experience helping breed healthy dog litters so I'm hopeful with enough research we can get through the first few months with kittens. (The little babies definitely won't be abandoned if anyone's concerned!)

That being said if you (and anyone else who sees this!) have tips from experience or articles I will definitely be reading anything I can get so feel free to spam me with content, if she is pregnant I want everything to go perfectly

 

[Bratcat31]

That being said if you (and anyone else who sees this!) have tips from experience or articles

You'll hear/read a lot on having the supplies you need on hand in case momma needs help or you need to supplement or bottle feed for a bit. All good advice! Three specifics on the list I would change/specify
1. Kitten formula - get powdered, not premixed. Premixed (from what I have read here) can cause diarrhea, plus the powered stuff lasts much much longer.
2. Bottles - I had a couple of the PetAg nipple and bottle set ups on hand in case I needed them. But honestly they were worthless for me. I had WAY more luck with needless syringes and Mini Miracle nipples. A (literal) life saver with my last litter because I had a girl who couldn't nurse.
3. Kitten (dry) food - check the size of the pieces of kibble before you buy it. I got a brand once that was labelled for kittens and the kibbles were HUGE. Zero way the kittens ever could have weaned to it.

Four things I would add:
1. Unflavored pedialyte
2. Single ingredient meat only baby food
3. Puppy pads. Litter training kittens are MESSY
4. Lots and lots (and lots) of towels/blankets. I feel like I'm always doing loads of blankets and towel laundry. LOL!

I'm only on litter number 4 so I'm not the most experience, but it's what I have and I'm certain others will reply back with better/different info!

 

[Basilbaby]

You'll hear/read a lot on having the supplies you need on hand in case momma needs help or you need to supplement or bottle feed for a bit. All good advice! Three specifics on the list I would change/specify
1. Kitten formula - get powdered, not premixed. Premixed (from what I have read here) can cause diarrhea, plus the powered stuff lasts much much longer.
2. Bottles - I had a couple of the PetAg nipple and bottle set ups on hand in case I needed them. But honestly they were worthless for me. I had WAY more luck with needless syringes and Mini Miracle nipples. A (literal) life saver with my last litter because I had a girl who couldn't nurse.
3. Kitten (dry) food - check the size of the pieces of kibble before you buy it. I got a brand once that was labelled for kittens and the kibbles were HUGE. Zero way the kittens ever could have weaned to it.

Four things I would add:
1. Unflavored pedialyte
2. Single ingredient meat only baby food
3. Puppy pads. Litter training kittens are MESSY
4. Lots and lots (and lots) of towels/blankets. I feel like I'm always doing loads of blankets and towel laundry. LOL!

I'm only on litter number 4 so I'm not the most experience, but it's what I have and I'm certain others will reply back with better/different info!

You'll hear/read a lot on having the supplies you need on hand in case momma needs help or you need to supplement or bottle feed for a bit. All good advice! Three specifics on the list I would change/specify
1. Kitten formula - get powdered, not premixed. Premixed (from what I have read here) can cause diarrhea, plus the powered stuff lasts much much longer.
2. Bottles - I had a couple of the PetAg nipple and bottle set ups on hand in case I needed them. But honestly they were worthless for me. I had WAY more luck with needless syringes and Mini Miracle nipples. A (literal) life saver with my last litter because I had a girl who couldn't nurse.
3. Kitten (dry) food - check the size of the pieces of kibble before you buy it. I got a brand once that was labelled for kittens and the kibbles were HUGE. Zero way the kittens ever could have weaned to it.

Four things I would add:
1. Unflavored pedialyte
2. Single ingredient meat only baby food
3. Puppy pads. Litter training kittens are MESSY
4. Lots and lots (and lots) of towels/blankets. I feel like I'm always doing loads of blankets and towel laundry. LOL!

I'm only on litter number 4 so I'm not the most experience, but it's what I have and I'm certain others will reply back with better/different info!

After the puppy litters I was definitely planning on getting the puppy pads for the kittens too! And I had read somewhere about powder being better so it's good to see other people agree. The tip about syringes instead of bottles seems like a good idea too, I'll definitely be looking into that if the vet confirms her pregnancy, thanks so much

 

[Basilbaby]

Also, tips on what to expect from our older cat during the process would be appreciated too! She already gets a bit upset when the little one gets in her face but they don't fight or anything and play together alright if they're in the mood, but I wouldn't call them close, definitely not enough to sleep next to each other or anything.

 

[Sarthur2]

Here's the overall list of articles about pregnant cats, birth and kittens -

How to Save Your Cat From These 16 Life-Threatening Pregnancy Risks - Cat Pregnancy - How to Tell if My Cat is Pregnant? - Pregnant Cat? What to Prepare For the Birth - Help! My Cat is Having Kittens! - Post-Birth Complications in Cats - How Do I Know When My Cat Will Give Birth?

I found abandoned kittens - what should I do? - Premature Kittens - Hand Rearing Kittens - Fading Kitten Syndrome: 11 Things You Need To Know - Weighing Newborn Kittens (And How This Could Save Their Lives)

Spay and Neuter Your Cats - About Breeding Cats - Kittens To Good Homes

 

[Basilbaby]

Thank you tons! Those gave me some very good notes and points to consider to hopefully be as prepared as we can be. I wasn't able to access the Hand Rearing Kittens and Kittens To Good Homes articles through the links however and couldn't find them through the article search?

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m sorry those links did not work. These should:

Hand Rearing Kittens: What You Need To Know To Save A Newborn's Life

"kittens To Good Homes" - How To Find A Good Forever Home For Your Kittens

 

[Basilbaby]

Update: Turns out she is pregnant, the x-rays showed at least 5 babies and no foreseen complications for now and she's due anytime in the next 14-20 days. We have a lot of work to do it seems. Thank you everyone for your helpful comments and tips!

 

[Sarthur2]

Wow! You’ve got 2-3 weeks to prepare your supplies and nesting boxes. And hopefully it’s not more than five.

 

[Basilbaby]

Our lady has started trying to get onto shelves that she usually doesn't care about, even though they're all packed with objects. She also keeps laying on the table, that's also cluttered. Is this part of nesting behavior? Does this mean she is close? She has been grooming herself a lot as well which I read pointed to days 50-56, and she always has to lay down really gently because of her bigger stomach. I just wish we were able to know a better estimate of how far along she is!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Maybe he's scouting out the area to make sure it'll be safe for the kittens?

I don't think they start nesting until the final week.

 

[Basilbaby]

I swear ever since the vet confirmed it she seems 100% more pregnant. I can feel the kittens moving around and they're super obvious to see moving too. She does a little roll-flop thing when she lays on her side because she's quite a bit rounder. It also looks like shes breathing fast/heavy a lot? She has gotten a bit more affectionate but not incredbily needy or loud and she's definitely not refusing food, I don'tsee any milk leaking either. Doesn't even care when I rest my hand on her belly to feel the kitten movement. The only odd thing is she still keeps trying to wedge herself in to all these crowded or hard to reach places where she can't even lay down sometimes. I've set up 3 very different nesting spots for her, and even so the spots shes been trying to crawl in hardly seem comfortable or even possible to give birth. Is there any way to tell a better estimate on how close she is? All qe have now is the fact that she's at least 49-50 days now since thats when we got her. I feel like I'm constantly on edge worrying she'll pop any second!

 

[Sarthur2]

There’s no way to know right now. When she’s really close you may see creamy vaginal discharge, a mucus plug, water breaking, etc. Didn’t the vet say 2-3 more weeks a few days ago?

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Let me tell you, I thought my rescue was due when I first brought her in... it's been 5 weeks today. What I learned from this ordeal is that you have to be incredibly patient.

I practically drove myself mad researching how to tell how far along a pregnant queen is but it didn't help much. Just made me very anxious. She still hasn't give birth but she has gotten so big and I can feel whole kittens when I feel her belly.

It's just so hard to wait because it's super exciting but that's the thing about life, you just gotta wait a long time - especially for good things!

So, what I'm trying to say is maybe don't stress over her due date so much. Just monitor her, but don't smoother her. Check up on her, obverse her from a far. It'll all happen in due time.

 

[Bratcat31]

Let me tell you, I thought my rescue was due when I first brought her in... it's been 5 weeks today. What I learned from this ordeal is that you have to be incredibly patient.

This! My rescue momma was on pregnancy watch for days before I picked her up from the nursery because the (extremely experienced) staff was POSITIVE she was going to give birth any second. I even stayed up the whole first night cause I was positive she was gonna go. I had her for 2 WEEKS before she finally gave birth. Even had to take her in to the vet at one point because no one could believe she hadn't given birth yet. They come when they come I guess. LOL