Member

Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-01-2004 05:27 PM         

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I think my cat is pregnate!? But i don't know how to tell. my friends cat has had 2 litters and is pregnate again.I felt the cat's stomach and then my cat's stomach and the feel almost the same. what do i do???

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Posts: 75
From:Sydney,NSW,Australia
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 02-01-2004 06:53 PM         

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If your cat goes outside unsupervised, is not desexed, and is over 6 months of age, you can pretty much bet your cat is pregnant.
The first sign you will see is the cats nipples getting larger, and pinker than before. This happens at about the 4th week of pregnancy. The next stage will be visual swelling of her abdomen, and the nipples getting bigger and bigger.
but to confirm at an earlier stage, a vet can actually feel the embryos in the uterus.
will you get your cat desexed after its had this litter ?

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 02-01-2004 09:42 PM         

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Take her to the vet and get her checked out. If she isn't pregnant get her fixed. Some vets will fix them even when they are pregnant.

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Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-04-2004 06:02 PM         

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She is pregnat. I don't want to get her fixed while she is pregnat cause i don't want to hurt the kittens.I will get her fixed after this litter.

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 02-05-2004 10:45 AM         

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Thats kind of a delicate subject, but you have to consider if you can find homes for the kittens. A lot of vets will advocate the abortion early on b/c there are already so many unwanted kittens at the shelters. Personally I think it is better to end the pregnancy early on than to bring more kittens into a world where cats are being put to sleep every day b/c there is no room for them. I understand that it is a delicate issue.

I wish you the best and hope your cat is happy and healthy no matter what you decide.

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Member

Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-05-2004 01:27 PM         

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She is very young so should only have 3 or 4 kittens don't you think? she will be 1 year in June.I already have a home for one of the kittens.One of my friends are taking it.I'm hoping I can find homes fast.

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 02-05-2004 04:42 PM         

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My cat got pregnant shen she was 5 1/2 months old. She ended up only having one kitten. I couldn't get it to eat very much and it only lived a couple of days. It may have been b/c of her young age or because I treated her with advantage when she would have been one-two weeks pregnate. I had no idea at the time she was pregnant.

You said your cat is going to be 1 in June, that means she is only 7-8 months old? I don't know if her young age could affect her kittens or not, but you might want to do some research. If she is too young to have healthy kittens, you might want to go ahead and get her spayed now.

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Posts: 75
From:Sydney,NSW,Australia
Registered: Dec 2003

posted 02-05-2004 05:26 PM         

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fleafy - advantage for cats and kittens is very safe for pregnant, lactating queens and can be applied to 2 day old kittens. I think the reason your kiten died was because of the age of the mother, she was a kitten herself, all nutrients would have been robbed of the foetus to help mamma still grow and develop into an adult.

I dont think its safe for mother or kittens to have a litter before 1 year of age ( you can mate at 10 months so the mother is 1 year by the time the babies are born) .
Just because she is young does not necesarily mean she wil have a small litter, she could have , for example, 6 partly developed foetus that all die at birth or shortly after.
I think early stage abortion would be the best option although i do hate the thought of it. but the decision here should be made for the benifit of the cat.
niether mother or babies will cope well with this early pregnancy.
nutrients will be sparsly distributed to mother and babies, so both may suffer in the end.
it is a hard choice to make.

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Member

Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-06-2004 06:53 AM         

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Gracie(the mom) is about 7 months.I know what you mean when you say she could have 6 partially undeveloped kittens. But she has totally changed (aditude and how she plays)she is so gentle now.She used to do back flips in the air when we played but now she doesn't play as much and doesn't jump as high.She has just changed.and even at a young age i think se will be a gret mother.

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Posts: 240
From:Campton, NH USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-06-2004 07:32 AM         

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get the kitten spayed now and abort the litter. I know some people have problems with this but why add to the already overpopulation of unwanted cats in this world.

The last foster I took care of had EIGHT kittens in her first litter at 6 mos. of age. 6 months later she had 5 kittens. And that poor young mother was so beat. She was skinny and had never been allowed to be a kitten.

You are putting your kitten at risk by letting her go through a pregnancy and delivery at such a young age.

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Member

Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-06-2004 07:49 AM         

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i'm sorry and thank you for all the replys but i'm just not worried about the risk.if there are problems i live just a few minutes away from the vet.

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Posts: 40
From:
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-06-2004 04:24 PM         

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I agree with MaryNH. Also, please tell your friend to have her cat spayed also. There's no reason not to have them spayed so that you don't end up with a bunch of kitties that you can't find homes for.

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Posts: 996
From:sheridan, wy
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 02-06-2004 11:04 PM         

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It's good that you live close to the vet, but the point that people are making is that it could do irreparable damage to Gracie to carry a litter so young. She still needs extra nutrients b/c she is still growing and developing. Her body will be sending nutrients to the kittens so she wont get what she needs. It could stunt her growth or cause her cause her health problems for the rest of her life.

Not to mention if the kittens are born underdeveloped there is nothing the vet can do for them. Trust me it is heartbreaking to watch a kitten struggle for life for a couple of days and then die. I have had 3 kittens die and I bawled every time.

Yahdah: Thanks for the tip. It was either frontline or advantage. I didn't know what caused the kitten to die but I bet it is b/c my girl was so young.

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Posts: 3
From:Oregon, United States
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-07-2004 02:52 AM         

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How anyone thinks that they can -tell- another person what to do with their pets is beyond me. As Dreamer seems to have already made her decision, I would think 'friends' would be supportive.

Dreamer, do you have kids? Watching the whole process of pregnancy, birth and nurturing is such a great thing for a kid to be able to experience (or an adult, for that matter.)

I have always had my cats fixed before they could have kittens, but I am glad that my childhood cat had a litter of kittens and I was able to watch that.

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Posts: 227
From:Perth, Western Australia
Registered: May 2003

posted 02-07-2004 06:00 AM         

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my cat had a litter when she was 6 months old apparently [i got her when she was 2]. because of this she is a rather tiny cat. i dont know what the long term effects of having a litter so young will be but im hoping there will be none, but, of course things that happen in kittenhood may well possibly affect the cat later in life. id suggest having the litter aborted rather than just 'hoping' everything and everyone is ok... not only for the cat population but also for your cats health.

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Posts: 51
From:Mobile,Alabama,United States
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 02-07-2004 08:12 AM         

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eliandal-no kids.but I have 3 other cats,4 gerbils,and brine shrimp (sea monkeys).so they are my kids.

fleafly-it is good that I live close to a vet. that is why I am not worrying so much. But i do know how hard it is to lose a pet.Just a few months ago I lost Star(a gerbil).She was the first gerbil I have ever had.but she gave me somthing to hold onto.Memories and her children.

I don't think the kittens will be too much for Gracie.atleast I hope not.If they are I will be their to help.When I found her on a sidewalk,trying to keep warm in a newspaper,she was 3 weeks old.I took her home , had her checked out by a vet,and took her home.For about a week I treated her eye problem and slept lightly with her.We bonded quicly,So since we bonded so fast she will most likly let me help with the kittens.Oliver(my frady cat)will help with the kittens.Even though he is a male,he loves Gracie,and took care of her when she came to us.Joe(the mouser)was the first on to bond to her(after me),when we thought he would be the last because she looked a bit like a mouse.But he loved her so much,so fast.When she was old enough to jump around and play,he would tolerate her.Even when she woke him from biting his tail,and he didn't care.He is so good with kittens

Hope this all made sence!

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