Pregnant Feral Cat! Need Help!

[abyeb]

Putting in a Feliway diffuser or even playing calm music softly can help cats relax. She might also appreciate some nice boxes to play and hide in.

 

[Sarthur2]

Definitely plug in a Feliway diffuser. It is very calming.

I would give her whole room access. She will probably make less mess with the litter box, and not have water bowl problems either.

In fact, cats dislike their food and water near their bathroom spot, so separate them in the room.

Just be careful opening the door when entering or leaving the room so she doesn’t dart out. Also, cover the cage on 3 sides so that it feels safer to her, more like a cave.

If the room has windows, put a table in front of the window so she can look out. Cover it with a towel so it is a soft perch.

She sounds less feral and more stray, but frightened. The fact she is letting you handle her says everything. A true feral would not allow that at all. She should ultimately be adoptable, therefore.

The diarrhea could be stress or food changes. It could also be parasites or worms. Is it brown or yellow?

Your best bet would be to get her to the vet for metronidazole. It will cure parasites, and the vet can also worm her.

You’re not sure if she’s pregnant, so the vet can check her for pregnancy as well.

 

[mehyabbers]

I'm waiting to hear back from my local shelter's TNR department regarding vet treatment and fixing. Hopefully low cost... this kitty crap ain't cheap.
I am considering just letting her have free roam of the room. My only real concern is her hiding under the couch for eternity. I'll have to see if I can block it somehow.

Diarrhea is yellow-ish... but it's inconsistent. She's been having solid poos at times.

I honestly believe she is feral. She doesn't seem to have any experience with humans. She'll freeze if I come in the room and stare at me like I'm an alien. She'll /allow/ me to pick her up but she cowers in fear.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yellow diarrhea can be a sign of coccidia, which is a parasite. She may need a round of Albon.

Is the couch easy to move if you need to get to her? It really sounds like she needs room to move around.

 

[mehyabbers]

Nah it's needs to be taken apart to come out of the room. I'll probably stuff something under it.

I'll update you guys once I'm able to cat proof everything.

Btdubs I don't suspect she's pregnant because of the way she looks. I suspect it because I watched her on my camera feed walking around with that unneutered male multiple nights in a row. I mean, what's the chance that they didn't breed? So I'm guessing if she is it literally just happened. I wonder if a vet can tell that early...

 

[Sarthur2]

I just meant can an end of the couch be lifted and moved within the room to get her out if necessary, but blocking access to underneath works too.

Go ahead and cover 3 sides of her cage in the meantime. She’ll relax more with the privacy.

You’re right, she’s probably pregnant if she’s not spayed. Yes, some vets can tell by palpating. Further along they can hear heartbeats as well.

 

[mehyabbers]

Oh yeah haha I can move it. But it doesn't sound good for our relationship for me to be chasing her out of hiding spots constantly.

I've had a blanket on top of her cage. What is palpating?

 

[rubysmama]

What is palpating?

Nothing bad! Just feeling her belly with their hands during an examination.

 

[Sarthur2]

Palpating is when the vet feels in the area of her uterus with his hands to determine if the uterus is enlarged from pregnancy. In a cat, this is on both sides, as a cat’s uterus has two “horns”, or sides, in which the kittens develop.

 

[mehyabbers]

Hey guys... Little worried about Dawa (that's her name now).

We were doing really good up until this evening. She was head bumpin' me and enjoying the head scratches. I picked her up and held her in my lap while petting her. I decided to take a look at her tummy to see if anything looked different so I gently lifted her under the armpits to face her towards me and I noticed a thick white discharge coming from her vulva. Not a lot, just a pea sized amount. I was going to investigate further but I must have made a funny face or held her the wrong way or something because she flipped and started hissing and scratching me. I dropped her (only a couple inches) to the floor and she scurried off. I was able to get her back in her cage for the night though.

Of course I googled it and the first thing to pop up is Pyometra. I'm still waiting to hear back from the shelter about the medical services they offer... I'm going to call them again tomorrow... hopefully they pull through, very tight on money right now .

But anyway, wondered if anyone had personal experience with pyometra OR if you've ever had a cat with white discharge and it was something else??

 

[mehyabbers]

Also here is a pic of her for your viewing pleasure.

 

[rubysmama]

What a pretty girl. I hope the shelter is able to help, as Google says that pyometra needs to be treated quickly.

 

[mehyabbers]

Okay so the shelter got back to me. A spay is affordable which is awesome. The TNR dept. doesn't offer any medication but I think they have another department that does so I'm gonna get in contact with them.

I also read that a spay will take care of pyometra? Is that true?


ALSO, this sounded really strange to me... the girl at the shelter said I could spay her BEFORE the kittens come... Wouldn't that terminate the pregnancy?

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, a spay would terminate the pregnancy. It also takes care of pyometra. Let us know what happens.

 

[mehyabbers]

There was a little bit of clear discharge today. I think I'm going to take her in tomorrow and get her spayed and terminate the pregnancy... I feel like that's the best thing for her. Thoughts?

 

[Sarthur2]

Get her examined first to see what’s going on - if she’s pregnant and if so how far along. Cats have discharge at the end of pregnancy too.

Can they x-ray her? If so, that would show if she is pregnant or has pyometra.

 

[mehyabbers]

I'm so torn... I didn't want to take her to an actual vet because that's expensive. I'll try to call tomorrow to see if they can x-ray her for me. She's acting really strange. Like she really likes my scratching and petting but suddenly shelsh grab me and start growling... Idk. Are pregnant cats moody? She doesn't look very big but maybe it's only one kitten? Ugh. So many possibilities.

 

[Sarthur2]

Pregnant cats are generally very affectionate, but any cat will let you know if they feel over-stimulated from the petting.

An x-ray would solve the mystery. See what the rescue says.

 

[lab mom]

So, I trapped a pregnant cat last spring. We put her in a room all to herself, she was very scared at first. I would read to her and leave soft music on. She immediately knew how to use the litter box, she wasn't messy at all, was just like a normal cat. I kept her food and water away from the litter box. Gave her a box with a soft blanket and she had 5 kittens after 2 weeks of being inside. I was able to socialize all the kittens and find them homes and in doing so she became socialized. It was an awesome success story! My mom kept her and one of her kittens and we love them so much!! The mommy is a total lover and cuddler and so is her baby. They both live inside and don't ever go outside and they are very grateful.
I had a feline diffuser, I used Bach pet remedy in their water. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it!!
Good luck!

 

[mehyabbers]

Welp. I sucked it up. Going to a vet tonight. They only charge $15 for an office visit so hopefully it won't be too expensive. I'm going to steer clear of x-rays though... It's over $150 just for two views.

Hopefully they can help her out with antibiotics if she does have an infection and if she does need to be spayed I'll just take her to the TNR program.