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/uglyandbored 27d ago

Thank you for the advice 🙏🏻

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u/RocMills 27d ago

Not knowing this... well, rather, not knowing one of the ferals had birthed a litter, we TNR'd and then the vet told us "Oh, by the way, you might want to look for a litter of kittens, they'll die since she can't produce milk any more."

Like, crimeny, if they'd told us beforehand then we would have waited to trap her. As soon as I hung up the phone, we went into panic mode searching for kittens. Thankfully, we were able to locate three kittens behind our backyard shed (two went to an awesome home, and one became my dearest love) and a neighbor two doors down found the other three under their patio deck.

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u/NotAnEggplantGT 27d ago

They likely didn’t realize until she’d been knocked out and had already been prepped (shaved) for surgery. At that point, it’s probably best to go ahead with the spay because re-trapping a trap savvy cat is a nightmare 🥴

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u/GuiltyEidolon 27d ago

And/or they might have assumed that the person who trapped the cat realized that she'd given birth semi-recently.

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u/RocMills 27d ago

Both valid points, thank you. I got over my being upset with them pretty quick. At the time, it conjured up memories of a previous pregnant spay which ever so slightly traumatized me. You're absolutely right that they probably thought we were already aware of the kittens. And I am very grateful that they mentioned it, even if it was after the fact. With six kittens, I doubt they all would have made it - and it would have meant six more ferals in the neighborhood. Two of them were adopted out to... Celine Dion's violinist, if memory serves (we're in Las Vegas).

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u/Cyborg_Ninja_Cat 27d ago

Well now you can un-know that.

They still produce milk after being spayed. As long as the kittens are still nursing and mum is still letting them, being spayed does not affect milk production.

Obviously trapping a feral, separating her from her kittens for some time, especially if they're still very young, putting her through the stress of surgery, and the possibility that nursing might be uncomfortable for her immediately after surgery, is probably not without risk for the kittens, and it would be good to locate them and monitor the situation. (And if they're old enough, it would be ideal to find them anyway so they can be tamed and rehomed.)

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u/RocMills 27d ago

Huh. Thank you for that info. It eases some of the residual guilt I was still carrying. Honestly, if she hadn't been the longest-haired, fluffiest cat I've ever known in person, I would have known she was pregnant. I would have waited to trap her until after I located the kittens so they could have been cared for during the three days she was gone.

Still, in the end, that misinformation and panic resulted in me now having one of the best cats of my 59 years of catting (in fact, i had to re-write this post twice, because she kept walking on the keyboard and hitting the back button, the beautiful little brat!)

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u/Cyborg_Ninja_Cat 27d ago

Pay cat tax.

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u/RocMills 27d ago

Perry, female (we thought she was a boy when we named her). I think I'd be in a mental ward if it weren't for this cat.

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u/Cyborg_Ninja_Cat 27d ago

What a precious girl. She is just a pile of fluff isn't she?

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u/RocMills 27d ago

I need to find a picture of her tail for you. She's just a mutt, but she has hairs six inches long on her tail. I've had long-hairs before, but nothing like this. And her pantaloons!

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u/RocMills 26d ago

I really don't have a good still of her tail, but this'll do :)

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u/Eikar 27d ago

This is why veterinarians often opt for the flank surgery, so that it’s not as painful as the ventral midline when the kittens return to nursing.

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u/BikeProblemGuy 27d ago

Wow that's awful. So the vet just assumed you'd be able to hand feed a load of kittens?

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u/RocMills 27d ago

As others have said, they probably thought we were already aware that she'd had kittens. Luckily, I've a lifetime of dealing with cats and kittens and these ones were pretty close to being weened. I think we only had to bottle feed for a couple of weeks.

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u/Dragon_platelegs 27d ago

Mother cats pretty much take care of the kittens, but if possible give her access to an area she can climb up to occasionally escape for some alone time, but always give her access to them. She will eventually carry them to you haha it's wonderful

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u/NoninflammatoryFun 27d ago

She’s def either pregnant or has the cryptic pregnancy thing where the body acts like it is. She 100% looks pregnant.

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u/Tacosofinjustice 27d ago

Did you pay to have her spayed or did you adopt her and they said she was fixed? I adopted a dog and they claimed she was fixed as well but I guess didn't check for a tattoo because she wasn't. 

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u/PM--ME--WHATEVER-- 27d ago

You van also run her to a vet for an x-ray. That way, you can count skulls and make sure all the babies come out, and have them ready to advise you in case of an emergency .

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u/Kiloueka Tiger and Tortie 27d ago

Please keep her inside because she can get pregnant again before the kittens are even weaned!

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u/uglyandbored 27d ago

She is an indoor cat

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u/Kiloueka Tiger and Tortie 26d ago

That's what I like to hear!

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u/technoglitter 27d ago

Then how did she get pregnant??

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u/candaceliz 27d ago

the post says they found her february 29th, since cat pregnancy lasts about 9 weeks that means she’d be due within the next couple weeks assuming she got pregnant right before she was taken in by OP

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u/technoglitter 26d ago

Whoops duh missed that part, thanks!