Questioning Gendee

legumeking

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Hi! I just made this account because this has been nagging at me for a few days now.

We recently took in a stray (last friday) that we thought was a pregnant female. We had seen her the week before, and she was pretty scrawny with a weird shape.

When she showed up on Friday, she was still bony in the hips, but her stomach had gotten bigger. I could also feel her nipples and see them. She was very affectionate and ran straight into the house. We kinda assumed she was female, even though I thought the spacing was kinda weird.

Her bottom two nipples got a bit pinker and more pronounced, and they started to lose hair. We also noticed that occasionally there would be small movements in her tummy (idk if they were babies or just weird flinches?). She meows a lot.

Two nights ago, she started howling like I had never heard before from any cat. One of them felt loud enough to wake the house. I saw a decent amount of weird movement that evening as well.

We created a new nesting area for her (she didn't like the original one), and she took to it immediately and has been sleeping there ever since. She's super affectionate, purs a lot, and as far as I can tell, eats and poops normally.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is her genitals. I can't see any balls, but her 'vagina' is pretty round looking and further away than it should be? It's also been more 'open' the last few days, and she sorta avoids laying with hee butt down on the floor, and she's been grooming it more.

Please help. I'm going crazy.
 

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legumeking

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She really, really, REALLY doesn't like being poked and prodded, so that's the best picture that I could get. I'll try to get another from the back tho.
 

Sarthur2

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Well, she’s definitely female and most likely pregnant. A vet check is recommended to confirm pregnancy and make sure she is healthy. If she’s halfway along it’s safe for the vet to do an x-ray to determine how many kittens and an estimated gestational age.

She can be safely dewormed but not vaccinated if pregnant. Feed her lots and keep us posted. Thanks for taking her in!
 
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legumeking

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Well, she’s definitely female and most likely pregnant. A vet check is recommended to confirm pregnancy and make sure she is healthy. If she’s halfway along it’s safe for the vet to do an x-ray to determine how many kittens and an estimated gestational age.

She can be safely dewormed but not vaccinated if pregnant. Feed her lots and keep us posted. Thanks for taking her in!
Thank you so much you have no idea how much I needed to hear that. We're moving this weekend, but I'm gonna try to get her to the vet as soon as I can. Hopefully I can find a clinic that isn't too pricey haha. Will definitely update!
 

Willowy

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Honestly that looks like a neutered male to me. I've seen nipples like that on males, too, especially if they overgroom. He may just be a noisy, attention-starved stray who is SO HAPPY to find people who care about him. The abdominal movement could be just muscle rippling or even parasites.

Anyway get him in to see the vet, have him scanned for a chip, get a professional opinion on his sex. But I'm like 85% sure that's a male.
 

Sarthur2

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Well, it will be interesting to know the actual outcome here!
 
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legumeking

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Honestly that looks like a neutered male to me. I've seen nipples like that on males, too, especially if they overgroom. He may just be a noisy, attention-starved stray who is SO HAPPY to find people who care about him. The abdominal movement could be just muscle rippling or even parasites.

Anyway get him in to see the vet, have him scanned for a chip, get a professional opinion on his sex. But I'm like 85% sure that's a male.
Oh man this is so confusing. I ended up trying something I read in this forum where you try to make the penis come out? I can't think of the right word right now. I'm pretty familiar with doing it to my rats, but I either wasn't doing it right, or I have a penisless cat.
 

Sarthur2

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You can call a local vet and ask if you could just stop by for a gender check only. They should be able to tell you without charge.
 
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