# Pregnant new cat...?



## momto4kitties (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi all, I am new btw. My name is Ashley and my husband and I live in West Virginia.

I have four cats now...

Gizmo is a torti and she is about 4 years old.
Ghesibelle is a long hair, but I am not exactly sure what type of coat she has, and she is about 3.
Simba is a medium hair, and he is gray and white stripped. He is about 1 1/2.
And new Remy, talked about below...well, I don't know her age.

So here goes my problem. There was this stray 'kitten' laying in the snow about two weeks ago at a friends house. They feed her for a while, but my heart just broke when she was sleeping outside. I called shelters, and all were full. I ended up taking her home. Used a flea comb and did not find anything and wormed her.

My friends said she has been around for 6 months, and she was around 6-7 months old.

False because tonight she started going into heat, and my male cat is not fixed because my other females are, so we were going to wait a few more months.

I walked in the kitchen and it was like seeing my son sleeping with a woman. I yelled, and then sat down..and I am like obviously she is not 7 months old, and chances are that now she is pregnant, or will become in the next day or two. 

We would be able to care for the kittens, but I just was not prepared for this. I am usually smarter than this. I use to run a small animal rescue about 3 years back.

I just cant stand animals that have to sleep in the snow, and here in WV, it gets BAD.

Any advice would be great. I know I should take her to the vet today or tomorrow, but my husband cannot take off work because he took off the other day to take me to the doctor and I do not drive. The vets office is about 45 minutes each way, and I do not even know if they would have an opening...

I hope this is the right place to put this.

So hi all, and TIA.

EDITED: I just turned around and looked on my bed and there was a huge pile of pee on the comforter...None of my cats EVER have done anything like that


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome, and I'm sorry you are having trouble with the kitties.

Your kitty can be 6-7mo old and become pregnant. Many cats do come into season that young and they are only obeying their natural instincts and hormones that are driving them to breed. I've had three who did come into season before I could get them spayed, though I had no un-neutered males. *_You can take the new kitty in and still have her spayed if you wish._ I would prefer to have it done asap as the longer you wait, the more difficult it is on the cat. After a month, though, I think I would just let the cat have the kittens and try to place them in an adoption program.

The pee on the comforter could be someone 'protesting' the newcomer. Another possibility is a urinary tract infection, but I think the most likely cause is someone trying to say "this is mine". 
Best of luck,
Heidi


*_I have only done this once, to a knowingly pregnant feral. I had no other options as there was no where I could safely contain her and her current litter of kittens, continue to keep her contained and allow her to have the kittens she was carrying and by being in containment, finally be able to have her spayed while not pregnant. In the setting she was in (rural countryside) she would have continued to have litters and get pregnant after delivery on the 'kittening heat'._


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## Sol (Feb 20, 2003)

She might very well only be 6-7 months old. It's quite common that females have their first heat at this age.

If you're not comfortable with spaying her and aborting the kittens you better neuter the male now. :wink: If you don't he can get her pregnant quite soon after she's given birth to her babies. A neutered male can carry (in the vas deferens) viable sperm for about a month after he was neutered!

I wish you the best of luck no matter what you choose to do.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I took in a stray kitten who was about 6 months old, and she had seven kittens. I hope you decide against killing the kittens. Life is precious. Here is what Dr. Jean Holve, our former resident vet, advised a member with the same problem:



> Nine weeks is full-term. I would let her have the kittens, then get her spayed later.
> 
> My tech once anesthetized a very pregnant feral cat, but when she was put on the table, she was already in labor with a little kitty nose poking out...naturally, I chose not to do the surgery (too high a risk to mother from blood loss at that stage, not to mention my tech doesn't like euthanizing full-term kittens!). After that I checked all the pregnant cats myself and would not spay after a certain stage. I only ever lost 2 cats after surgery and both were late-pregnancy spays that hemorrhaged. I still lose sleep over them! So, definitely not worth the risk.
> 
> ...


viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2735&p=22597&

I don't believe there should be an abortion at any age. How terribly sad that would be, to know that a little life had been taken deliberately.


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## cjh27 (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi,

if I were you I'd have the cat spayed asap- don't wait too long with this. Yes, it might turn out to be an abortion- but every year 1 Million perfectly healty pets are put down each year in the USA. Rather than finding homes for this litter it would be sensible to rehome cats that would otherwise be put down. But I can also understand if this is a moral problem for you.

Also, your cat is very young to be a mom- it would probably be nicer for her to stay a kitten herself just a little bit longer :wink: 

The earliest pregnancy I've heard about was with a four and a half months old cat.

As for the tom cat- you should really get him spayed too if you do not plan to breed. The poor guy has all these hormones in his body an no use for it. Sooner or later he will get frustrated with his situation and might let this sexuall frustration out on your other cats. It is also very likely he'll start to mark his territory.

Christine


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