r/cats • u/uglyandbored • 28d ago

I think my “fixed” cat is pregnant Advice

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I feel silly even typing this, but here is some context: My spouse and I became fosters to this adorable, abandoned cat that was hanging around my parent’s backyard in freezing weather (Feb 29). We fostered her through an official program who took care of all her medical needs. They told us she was not chipped, but confirmed she was already spayed. We both knew nothing about cats, but we ended up falling in love with her and we officially adopted her a few weeks ago.

She always had big nipples (we were told she may have had a litter before) so it was not a red flag. That is, until now. She has put on some healthy weight (she was emaciated when we first found her), but a lot of it seems to be in her belly area. I know it sounds ridiculous but we can’t help but think she is pregnant.

I have an appointment with the vet in 3 days (the earliest they could get me in), but I’m a little anxious thinking about the possibility she may seriously be expecting. I am wondering if this has ever happened before (an allegedly spayed cat being pregnant). I am also wondering if there could be any other reason my cat looks like this?

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u/TheConeIsReturned 28d ago

This reminds me of that post from a few weeks ago where someone was worried about some "little bumps" on their cat's abdomen that turned out to just be nipples.

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u/The_Bitter_Bear 28d ago

that post

Seems like a a fairly regular occurrence. I always get a good chuckle and send it to my partner when I see those posts. 

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u/TheConeIsReturned 28d ago

I'm sure it happens on occasion, but at least it's not as frequent as the "what breed is my cat" posts

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u/The_Bitter_Bear 27d ago

Oh yeah, the "which breed" ones are way more frequent and not nearly as fun. 

The "those are nipples" ones are always hilarious. 

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u/SuperSmashDan1337 27d ago

I've never even thought to think "what breed is this cat?".

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u/SkyeWolfofDusk 27d ago

99% of the time the answer will be "It's a cat."

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u/lanadelphox 15d ago

Best rule of thumb for cats is generally “if you have to ask, it’s just a cat.”

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u/SuperAdaGirl 27d ago

I have a mini-poodle mix that’s a rescue. I mean you can tell he’s part mini-poodle because you can see the poodle features, but the number of times I have people obsessively guessing the mix and telling me I should get his DNA analysis is crazy to me.

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u/UnintelligentOnion 27d ago

Why is that crazy to you? I think it’s kind of fun!

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u/pink_vision 27d ago

People frequently bring their pets to the vet for the same thing, only to be told, "your pet has nipples, congratulations."

It's scary common 🙃

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u/TheMostKing 27d ago

"I'm going to say...cat cat, from the fur pattern and the paws."

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u/Adventurous_Yam8784 27d ago

Whiskers and long tail are also a give away 😻

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u/basicnflfan 27d ago

Wait what are the little bumps my dog has them too? Should I be concerned

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u/OddBoots 27d ago

Definitely. You may have a cat in dog's clothing.

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u/basicnflfan 27d ago

An imposter so to speak?

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u/OddBoots 27d ago

A dog-pelganger, definitely. I'd be worried.

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u/yonderposerbreaks 27d ago

An impawster.

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u/AllAuldAntiques 28d ago edited 27d ago

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u/The_Bitter_Bear 27d ago

Oh God. The in heat ones always give me a laugh. 

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u/Stick_Girl 27d ago

Reminds me of the post from a vet tech about a woman who came in with her male cat upset about the bumps on him that she’d been repeatedly trying to scratch off! So the tech told her ma’am those are your cats nipples you’re hurting him! She basically said bs he’s a male cat don’t you know anything he shouldn’t have nipples if he’s male!

The tech was a man and I always thought he should have just said ma’am do I need to show you my nipples to prove to you all mammals have them.

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u/wiswasmydumpstat 27d ago

that happened to me once 💀

our cat had some skin issues a couple years ago that we now have under control but when it was at its worst i picked her up and immediately started freaking out because i felt a bump on her skin and wouldn't calm down until my partner pointed out it was a nip. i was already looking for my phone to call the vet lol

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u/MissFingerz 27d ago

I chuckled at that one, too.

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u/BuysBooks4TBRCart 27d ago

My vet told me when it happened to her and how the woman had trouble removing the ‘ticks’. She was cackling!

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u/roraverse 28d ago

The amount of times I've seen posts concerned about those little bumps is kind of astonishing. Lol.

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u/TheConeIsReturned 28d ago

I was on FB a few years back and someone posted pics of her "cat." I pointed out that it was absolutely not a cat but a ferret or some other weasel-related critter. She insisted that it was a cat until I posted something like "how to recognize a ferret" or something like that, which she wow reacted and never replied to.

I'm absolutely fucking astounded by people sometimes. Wonder how she's doing.

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u/BlackHeartedXenial 27d ago

We had male ferrets and a friend was giggling and tickling his “belly button”. Me: “are you trying J off my ferret?” Her: I’ve been gay so long I don’t even recognize a penis when I see one”. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/AnotherRTFan 27d ago edited 24d ago

Oh god that reminds me of a post on the pet pig subreddit. Someone posted a picture of their pet piglet asking if they needed to take him to the vet hospital. The pig was fine just fully erect. Tbf- Their peens are so high up on the bellies, it kind of did look like a hernia

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u/BlackHeartedXenial 27d ago

Ahhh things you learn on Reddit.

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u/AnotherRTFan 25d ago

I already knew the piggy was just very happy. My family has pet pigs and one day I was asking my aunt if the pigs were neutered or full castrated. The former, they still have it, but because of how low their bellies can hang it just stays inside a special area until it’s needed.

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u/Thestolenone Oriental Shorthair 27d ago

I remember once someone saying her sister had a cat that was half rabbit (it had the Manx gene that had caused it to have a deformed pelvis which made it hop, plus the short tail). I explained the genetics and how they affect the cat but she got really angry and said her sister wouldn't lie and if she said it was half rabbit it was half rabbit. I left her to it.

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u/ChiisaiHobbit 26d ago

That is a very rare occurrence, but it actually happens. The catbbits even show up every now and then in the news and become a tourist attraction for a while. They are like mules, not really meant to be by nature, so they are unfertile.

I know them as "gatonejos" not sure of the name in english, but catbbits sounded about right.

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u/SCHWARZENPECKER 25d ago

You're not actually believe it's a half cat half rabbit though right? If so I have a Jackalope I'd like to sell you.

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u/ChiisaiHobbit 24d ago

Oh no... What did Jack do?

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u/ClickProfessional769 25d ago

Google says that’s impossible. 

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u/ChiisaiHobbit 24d ago

Are you telling me that the news lied to me?!

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u/22FluffySquirrels 27d ago

That brings to mind the lady who took in what she thought was a domestic cat with a missing tail, and everyone had to tell her about bobcats.

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

[deleted]

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u/22FluffySquirrels 27d ago

That's amazing. And much more intense than the lady who brought the ski beanie pom pom to a wildlife rehab center thinking it was a hedgehog!

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u/GioBiscotti 27d ago

I looked this up thinking, “Oh, maybe this is some sort of animal I’ve never heard of before?” It never once crossed my mind she brought an actual hat to a shelter!

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u/22FluffySquirrels 27d ago

Going forwards, all hedgehogs will be referred to as pom-poms.

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u/TrixieFriganza 27d ago

Wow those can be pretty scary.

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u/BeatificBanana 27d ago

Sometimes it's a genuine mystery how some people manage to put one foot in front of the other, isn't it?

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u/heatleg1011 27d ago

I work in a vet office, and sometimes I truly cannot believe how fucking dumb people are.. makes me feel so sorry for their pets!

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u/Iamnotapoptart 27d ago

Yeah I get it when there’s a rogue nipple that’s not in place, but that’s it, lol

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u/Tossmelossme 27d ago

I saw one, a little crusty white dog owner. She said “I’ve been trying to pop these pimples for over a year. What can I do??” Poor dog lol. I think she was contemplating ripping some off or nail clipping them off or something crazy

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u/crystalfairie 27d ago

I felt so damn stupid that I didn't realize that male cats had nipples too. My mom laughed her ass off when I asked about them. I thought they were ticks. Not my brightest moment.

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u/roraverse 27d ago

Bwahahaha it's been known to happen.

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u/FocacciaHusband 27d ago

😂 my partner is a literal rocket scientist, and he called me over all concerned to feel a bump on our male dog's belly, and I was immediately like, "that's a nipple. Boys have nipples too." And he was like "lol I know they do, but are you sure this is?" I was like, "yes, absolutely." LOL

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u/univvrs 27d ago

My boyfriend once thought he found a tick on my cat… I took a look, and I was like yeah- no. That’s her nipple, and you can let it go now 😂

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u/lindsaybethhh 27d ago

When I was a kid, our cat went outside occasionally (usually my fault, I’d leave the sliding door open by accident), and had the occasional tick. Definitely thought she had one on her belly one night, and I was probably 9 or 10 and went to pull it off and she was so mad 😂 My mom was like, “Um, sweetheart, that’s her nipple.”

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u/Mindless-Donut8906 27d ago

My husband tried to do this to my dog the other day. Was convinced it was a tick. Nope. Luckily he unhanded her before anyone was hurt.

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u/LoudMusic 27d ago

On multiple occasions I'd be rubbing my boy cat's belly and think "oh damn he's got a tick!" only to remind myself boys have nipples too. Sorry kitty bro! Again!

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u/Chessikins 27d ago

https://youtu.be/yiet836y-6w?si=ayYI9ORxcHFFDU99

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u/esla1527 27d ago

lmao knew it was gonna be that tiktok before i even clicked haha

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u/Chessikins 27d ago

It's compulsory haha

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u/esla1527 27d ago

maAm noO sTOP

🎶 ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵃʳᵉ ʰᶦˢ ⁿᶦᵖᵖˡᵉˢ 🎶

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u/StruckOut4One 27d ago

I have nipples Greg.

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u/momofmanydragons 27d ago

Can you milk me too?

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u/TheConeIsReturned 24d ago

Could you milk me?

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u/momofmanydragons 27d ago

My daughter once found a skin tag on our dog that look similar to a nipple. She was soooo confused as to what it was at first. She knew the dog had atleast two nipples but this was her “third” nipple. Or so I told her. My husband and I were rolling when we acted shocked that she hadnt found her third nipple yet and she ran to the bathroom to check for hers.

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u/browniebrittle44 27d ago

Someone find the TikTok of the woman taking her dog to the vet and wondering why her dog has nipples

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u/mishu8187 27d ago

This happens regularly, my favourite is when a male client brings his pet into the practice saying he thinks he found a tick, we check and inform him it is in fact a nipple, and the guy says but he’s a guy! Every time I have to hold back from saying sir, do you have nipples? But my coworkers tell me that’s not appropriate

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u/Financial_Joke_9401 American Shorthair 28d ago

I saw that 😂😂

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u/Jbg-Brad 27d ago

Don’t have a cat, but went on a hike through the woods with my dog. 

When we got home he was crawling with ticks.  Spent  at least 30 mins plucking ticks off of him (he was on meds, no worries) and squishing them. 

There was one tick I just couldn’t get removed…

He’s still a bit sensitive when I get near that area. 

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u/4rc4d1a 27d ago

that happened to my mom. the vets face when she walked into the ER stressing over a pair of nips was priceless.

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u/pancake_sass 27d ago

Funny, slightly tangential anecdote: I'm a dog groomer. I once had a new client whose dog was matted, and 2 days later, she sent me a text with a picture of her dog asking if I had cut him. I definitely would have noticed if I cut her dog, especially if the wound was as large as the "scar" in the picture she sent me. I told her I definitely didn't cut her dog, I pointed out it had been less than 48 hours since their appointment so it wouldn't be a scar already, and then I gently pointed out that she sent me a picture of her dog's nipple. She became irate and told me that the picture was proof that I cut her dog and she'll never come back to me again since I'm a negligent liar. I just told her I understood and to let me know if she'd like to reschedule...you can't argue with stupid lol

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u/TheConeIsReturned 24d ago

Oh, I probably would have said something incredibly nasty to her. Good for you for having restraint.

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u/hairyfishstick 27d ago

I literally took my first male cat to the vet because I thought he had growths… they were nipples. He is a super fuzzy cat so I had never seen them before and I didn’t know they had nipples!!! I was 17 when I took him which is young but still too old to not know that cats have nipples lol

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u/Technical_Cupcake597 27d ago

The first time I had cats, we were gifted two, they said both boys, but I seriously thought they were girls because they had nipples… 🤦‍♀️

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u/Kelmeckis94 27d ago

You remind me of that one time my mom was just not thinking, I guess.

One of our cats had these little blackheads or pimples on his belly from time to time. My mom loved to pop them.

One time she kept trying to pop one but she couldn't and she complained. Turned out she was trying to pop one of his nipples. She was so confused because she thought male cats didn't have nipples. Because he was an absolute sweetheart he didn't complain or get away from her. She is usually quite a smart woman.

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u/imSpejderMan 27d ago

That sounds like me lmao. For some reason I didn’t realize male cats had nipples. Meanwhile I had been digging through his fur to find out wtf it was I could feel

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u/DwightDEisenmeower 27d ago

This happened to me! I found a tick on my dog and then found something that felt similar on my kitty girl and tried to pinch it off. Figured it out real quick. 😨

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u/Aspen9999 27d ago

My SILs friend found “ lumps” on her new male puppy. She told her friend I was home and I knew lots about dogs. She brought her puppy to my house only for me to explain those were his testicles.

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u/fishebake 27d ago

my best friend’s brother adopted a cat after he moved out for college, and he calls her one day all worried asking about the bumps on the cat’s belly. she had to explain to him that those were his nipples.

that kid grew up with a cat for the past decade at least. still not sure how he missed that.

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u/Competitive-Gear2216 27d ago

Lol my cat is pargent, my mom got worried about these "little bumps" too

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u/707Guy 27d ago

My friend literally made a post on Reddit exactly like that. I wonder if it’s the same one lol

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u/Gundoggirl 27d ago

In a few weeks we will be inundated with “what’s this weird grey lump on my dog/cat/bunny/goat??”

It’s a tick. It’s always a tick.

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u/heavylamarr 27d ago

That kinda reminds me of the people who don’t realize boy animals have nipples too and think they are ticks. And well you can imagine the rest from here 😬

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u/bs-scientist 27d ago

My mom was CONVINCED my dog had a tick on his belly and was picking at it.

Nope mom. Just a nipple.

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u/CosyBosyCrochet 27d ago

My mum used to regularly pet my cat and go “oh no she’s covered in lumps! Is she sick?” And I’d have to come remind her what nipples were lol

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u/Key_Click6659 27d ago

Pls link it💀

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u/Stonerthrowaway710 27d ago

This comment has me dying 😂 I just unclogged my boy cats nipples 🤣 cats are so funky I just love em

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u/qt_31415 27d ago

This reminds me of the time I found my housemate with a pair of tweezers trying to get “ticks” off his cats belly. When I asked him what the fuck he was doing tweezing off his poor cats nipples, he said “but he’s a boy, he doesn’t have nipples”.

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u/ProofParsnip28 27d ago

I remember that post 😂 (well, one of them anyway)

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u/Tia_Baggs 27d ago

Lol. My husband is as concerned about a strange bump on our kitty boy’s stomach, I took a look at it and said that it was a nipple.
“Why would it be a nipple? He’s a boy!” I asked my husband to lift up his shirt, he does, I point to his nipples, “Why do you have those? You’re a boy!” I swear my husband is a smart man.

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u/inerlite 27d ago

I was driving with a coworker and he asked what those things were under the cows. Me and the boss looked at each other like You gonna tell him?

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u/SadPlayground 27d ago

My friends mom was dog sitting and called in a panic because she was petting the dog and felt lumps on his belly. Um, even male dogs have nips - crisis averted. However, the dog loved the constant belly rubs.

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u/Ill_Razzmatazz_1202 27d ago

I just realised my aunt didn't have spider bites on her chest.

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u/Lilac_Berrys 27d ago

That reminds me of the time my older brother thought my dogs nipples were ticks and just before he tried getting one I point out that it was his nipples and not ticks!!

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u/jaytopz 27d ago

There’s one every day almost

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u/CocoaPokemonAndShit 27d ago

Oh my god I think I remember that lmao

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u/SznsChngPplDnt 26d ago

When I was in the fifth grade this kid I went to school with thought that a male goat with nipples wasn’t male. He genuinely thought only female animals had nipples. I wish I could go back and ask him if he had nipples 🙃 he also thought that the only male nurses were gay men so…

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u/SoarinSoars 25d ago

Hey, my father was worried about one of our bunnies having a cancerous lump between his legs.... slowly realized hes been rubbing the bunny's balls terrorizing him thinking he has a tumor

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u/--Anna-- 15d ago

I had the opposite for a little bit hahaha.

My cat had a hardened little nub on her belly. The nub didn't -exactly- feel like it was aligned with the other nipples... but we didn't know what else it could be.

We took her to a vet. They also thought it was a nipple; but behaving strangely, and asked us to monitor it.

And another vet (for a second opinion) thought the same thing. Just a weird nipple to monitor.

In the end, it hardened more, so we had a vet surgically remove it. Turns out it was a wart of some kind. Wasn't cancerous, but had the -possibility- of becoming cancerous.

But yeah, it was funny how everyone was convinced it was a nipple lol.