# stray cat with kittens - possibly pregnant



## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

hi, i'm new here and looking for a bit of advice. i have always had cats - in fact i have 10 at the moment that are all rescues for one reason or another. on top of these cats i now have a young cat that was dumped at a local nursey school. they have been living rough since half term in may and it took until now to catch them. i fetched her and her kitten yesterday. the other 2 kittens have been re-homed with school teachers. anyway, i have been to the vets today with the mom and kitten as i wanted to check because i think she may be pregnant again. the kitten is approx 6-8 weeks old and still weaning off mom. but mom's stomach is really big and firm. yesterday we saw a 'lump' move across the stomach then disappear. the vet wasn't sure when he palpated her so called another vet in for a second opinion. he said he thought she was definitely pregnant. so we decided to do a scan. this wasn't very successful as the vet first thought he saw a kitten that looked deformed. then after that he couldn't see anything that resembled a kitten. my questions are that if a cat is still weaning the kittens a)can she get pregnant b)would her stomach stay large and hard. she actually looks pregnant c)when would kittens show up on a scan and lastly d)can it be possible to not see the kittens - could they be behind something in her stomach - he did say how her stomach was very large. sorry for such a long question but i have always had my cats neutured/spayed and have never had to deal with this before.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

yes a cat can become pregnant very quicky after giving birth,stomach will become hard when pregnant it wont feel hard if she isnt.My last girl who gave birth was in call again when the kitten was just 2 weeks old.The vet scans are useless believe me.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

thanks for that. i have to take her back in two weeks for another check. are there any other signs to look out for bearing in mind her teats are large and she is producing milk as she is still weaning.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

i also forgot to mention that she is washing her private parts all the time too. she doesn't like her tummy being touched either.you can stroke her but if you try to feel anything she pulls away.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

sounds like another 1 of myn she will not let you touch her belly when pregnant she gets very stroppy.I suppose time will tell will tell.All you can do is make sure she gets a good quality source of food.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

is it correct that i should feed her kitten food - or what do you advise


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## Alaskacat (Aug 2, 2010)

Hi, well done for taking on Mum and kit. Can I ask what colour eyes the kit has as this is one way of aging him/her? 

In answer to your questions
a - yes she can be pregnant, it is unlikely she got pregnant before the kits were two weeks old, but if they are now 8 weeks and she has been living outside I would think it certain she will be pregnant now.
b - No, her stomach would be soft and easily palpable if she wasn't pregnant. also a queen surviving outside with kits is likely to be very thin unless she has an incredible food source somewhere.
c -I don't know, but as stated above scans are often worse than useless. It is not common practice to scan cats when they are pregnant (which may be why Vets aren't very good at it), breeders wait until it is obvious that the cat is pregnant or kittens arrive. I would suggest you don't take her back to be scanned - or at all unless you are worried that she has a health issue. I would presume she is pregnant - don't let her outside until she is spayed - after the kits if the Vet won't do her now.
d - Yes the kittens could be hidden on a scan. Maybe she is not hugely pregnant - though she would be more than 7 weeks if you can see kitten movement from the outside which isn't very likely unless the current kits are much older.

Ideally you should feed a high meat content food and as much as she will eat. High quality adult food is fine, there are posts regarding good quality wet on the feeding section or Natures Menu, hi-life or pets at home purely I think are OK. She will be eating loads if feeding and pregnant so Zooplus might be a more economical way of buying good quality food.

Did the Vet give you a wormer for her and the kit? Just wondered if thsat might explain the large stomach.

Best of luck and keep us updated


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

thanks very much for the reply. i thought i would add a few photos to show the mother and kitten. you can't tell what her stomach looks like from this but you should get an idea of the kitten hopefully. her eyes have changed from blue to their correct colour now. she is eating some food now where as when i fetched her on monday she was only feeding off mom. i suppose that living rough she had to get her food from her mom as know one was putting kitten food down for her. if you can understand, the moms stomach is slightly 'flabby' on the underneath where her teats are to a degree, but higher up it is rounded and firm. i've never had a cat with a stomach like it - but i've always been responsible and had mine neutered etc. so i am not experienced in any sense of the word where pregnancy is involved.

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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

_mum and kitten are gorgeous, its very good of you to look after them, i agree with above post has mum and kitten been wormed, we took in a stray once with a big tummy and she was full of worms, keep us posted as to what happens._


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

i didn't think you could worm a cat if they are pregnant. i'm concerned that it may cause damage to any possible kittens she may be having. what do you think i should do?


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

i also wanted to ask if her breathing would be faster if she was pregnant. when she is asleep her tummy seems to move really fast - like fast breathing. or could it possibly be a sign of worms. sorry to be a pain asking so many questions


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

you can use milbremax for worming see your vet for this.I dont think the cause for the fast breathing would be due to a pregnancy.


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## egyptianreggae (May 26, 2012)

I'm sorry, I have nothing useful to add, but oh God, that kitten is gorgeous! He looks like my old cat George with that lopsided white moustache...


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

we love bsh's said:


> you can use milbremax for worming see your vet for this.I dont think the cause for the fast breathing would be due to a pregnancy.


it might just be simply that i am noticing her breathing more because of the size of her. she seems perfectly healthy and the vet gave her a thorough check up and couldn't find anything wrong with her. her head and shoulders seem so small for the rest of her body. i suppose time will tell:confused1:


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## Ingrid25 (Oct 1, 2011)

you can worm her just make sure you use one which is ok for pregnant queens


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

can i just ask if a cat has kittens at what stage will the mom cats stomach go back to normal. i'm wondering if her stomach is still big because she has still been feeding the kittens - well 2 up until last week and the one i have here is eating now so not bothering with mom very much. sorry to be a pain with all the questions.


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## BshLover84 (May 6, 2012)

Mog had 5 kittens 2 weeks ago and shes as flat as a pancake as in tummy wise, no roundness or hard bits at all..


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

BshLover84 said:


> Mog had 5 kittens 2 weeks ago and shes as flat as a pancake as in tummy wise, no roundness or hard bits at all..


thanks for that. i have actually felt the occasional little lump on her side when i have been stroking her - perhaps a littlt larger than a pea - but then it goes away. also her teats are still pink and slightly enlarged but then she has been feeding the kittens. the other thing i noticed was that there are veins around her teats and on her stomach too. in fact when she is lying on her side, she looks very large. this wondering what is happening is driving me mad:crazy:


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

When my girls are pregnant i notice those veins.Only when pregnant tho.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

we love bsh's said:


> When my girls are pregnant i notice those veins.Only when pregnant tho.


i think it looks like there may be some little paws pattering around soon. i'm getting quite excited as i've never had one of my cats get pregnant. i've always had them neutered/spayed. but at the same time i really do feel sorry for this little mom as she's had it rough in her short life. at least she will be looked after properly now.


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

BshLover84 said:


> Mog had 5 kittens 2 weeks ago and shes as flat as a pancake as in tummy wise, no roundness or hard bits at all..


this is a photo of her lying down with her kitten. you cannot see theveins in this one but you can see the size of her better. her head and shoulders look too small for her body and she 'waddles' when she walks. the patch of fur that is missing is from when she was shaved to have the scan

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## Misi (Jul 13, 2009)

BshLover84 said:


> Mog had 5 kittens 2 weeks ago and shes as flat as a pancake as in tummy wise, no roundness or hard bits at all..


I hope she's passing on her tips to other new mums


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## Misi (Jul 13, 2009)

cats galore said:


> this is a photo of her lying down with her kitten. you cannot see theveins in this one but you can see the size of her better. her head and shoulders look too small for her body and she 'waddles' when she walks. the patch of fur that is missing is from when she was shaved to have the scan
> 
> http://[IMG]http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg492/bsjlmb/stray cat/DSCN5442.jpg[/IMG]


She really is a beautiful cat and her kitten is so cute. They both look nice and healthy


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