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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

"Spayed" cat is pregnant - help!

170 replies

janebee4 · 04/03/2019 13:41

Bear with me on this.

We adopted a cat from the RSPCA in November and were told she was chipped and spayed, as they do with every cat. She even had the little shaved patch where they'd spayed her. A few months back, she was dragging herself along the floor miaowing her head off and not pooping. The vets all said it sounded like she was going into season (we got a second opinion), but when they saw her and her shaved patch they said it couldn't be that as she'd obviously been spayed. We put it down to constipation, gave her some laxatives and she did a very gross hard poop after 5 days and I assumed I was right. Fast forward to the last few weeks and she's been putting on weight around her belly. She's only small so it was quite noticeable but she was being super greedy all the time so we just thought she was getting chubby. She also hates going outside and had stopped running around the house so doesn't do much exercise. She's been getting bigger and I thought she had worms, and then I started worrying it was a tumour or organ failure or something. DP took her to the vet this morning AND SHE'S PREGNANT. DUE IN 1 OR 2 BLOODY WEEKS.

I called the RSPCA we got her from and they were gobsmacked and apologised profusely. Turned out when they'd taken her to be spayed, there was a scar where they normally spay the cat so the vet assumed she'd already been done. I have told them that if we get any vet bills as a result of this pregnancy we will be asking them to pay because our insurance isn't valid given we told them she was a neutered cat when we took it out. They're fine with this and kept apologising and saying it's never happened before and the chance of a cat having a scar in that exact spot without being spayed is so small. They offered to take her back into kennels while she has them, but I don't want her gone for 10 weeks.

Just looking for some advice about what to do when she goes into labour. Do I need to do anything? Will she take care of the kittens by herself or do I need to help her with anything? What do I do if one of them dies or seems to not be breathing? What if they struggle to feed or she struggles to feed them? Do they just poop and wee on the floor or would they use a litter tray instinctively? I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR ANY OF THIS. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF DECORATING AND THE HOUSE IS UPSIDE DOWN.

takes deep breath

OP posts:
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Jaxhog · 10/03/2019 13:04

DP has been watching endless cat birth videos.

Grin Between DP and mother cat, you'll be fine! We will want photos though.

GetStrongKeepFighting · 10/03/2019 16:40

smartcar your cat looks very like mine Shock.

"Spayed" cat is pregnant - help!
smartcarnotsosmartdriver · 10/03/2019 16:41

I think kittens are the cutest but I would never consider fostering because I would never be able to give them up.

smartcarnotsosmartdriver · 10/03/2019 16:42

GetStrong Shes gorgeous! I'd never seen a cat that colour until we got ours!

thecatneuterer · 10/03/2019 16:49

@GetStrongKeepFighting You appear to have a 'cut and shut' cat Grin

agnurse · 10/03/2019 16:59

BABY KITTIES! The two tabbies resemble our Gatsby.

She is a good mum Smile

I believe it's common for one kitten to be stillborn or not make it, especially with a first litter. I have heard of similar occurrences in dogs.

Soubriquet · 10/03/2019 17:01

Goodness what a shock.

And what gorgeous kittens.

Keep us updated please.

GiantKitten · 10/03/2019 17:03

thecatneuterer
We can only assume the vet was interrupted by an emergency part way through and forgot he hadn't finished.

Thank you! I was going to ask if that was possible! (I do stuff like that at home all the time but it's not quite so critical when I do it Grin)

GiantKitten · 10/03/2019 17:03

Oh gosh, just seen that they're here already!
Sweet things Smile

GetStrongKeepFighting · 10/03/2019 17:12

thecatneuterer one of her paws is half and half as well! She's a rescue along with her half brother who is a few months older. They were abandonedAngry.

nocoolnamesleft · 10/03/2019 17:20

Awww, cuties. Proper moggies.

DullPortraits · 10/03/2019 17:41

Mum cant be spayed until all her kittens are weaned and her milk dried up. As soon as the last kitten pops out she will be highly fertile again so keep her in and be very vigilant as she will get out anyway she can to look for probably the same cat who impregnated her this time.. there is clearly an un neutered Tom in close vicinity & he will be waiting for her 😂

Good luck with the birth and kittens x

thecatneuterer · 10/03/2019 17:56

DullPortraits. Actually that isn't true. We routinely spay feral cats the day after they have given birth. You certainly don't need the milk to dry up first. The only problem is that mum can't be away from the kittens for long for the first four weeks, so they would need to go with her to the vet. But she can be done anytime from now and in four weeks time would probably be best.

Poppyfields21 · 10/03/2019 18:10

Congratulations! How cute!!! We need updates as they grow please

DiaryofWimpyMumm · 10/03/2019 18:47

Aw I used to breed ragdolls. I loved having kittens around the house I miss it. Enjoy! Will you keep any?

TinselAngel · 10/03/2019 19:24

Wouldn't it be a bit hurty for the mum having kittens climbing over her just after she's been spayed?

thecatneuterer · 10/03/2019 19:44

TinselAngel. No, the spay scar is tiny - it's virtually keyhole.

janebee4 · 10/03/2019 21:34

Does anyone have any tips for getting them to feed? The little black one seems to be struggling and I'm worried it might not make it if it's already struggling to latch on Sad

OP posts:
Girliefriendlikescake · 10/03/2019 22:01

Can you help stick him on a teat? I'd speak to the vet or a vet nurse tomorrow for advice.

janebee4 · 10/03/2019 22:28

I can but the others push him out of the way so I have to keep moving them so he can get some time. Called our out of hours vet and they said we'll need to make sure he gets time to feed for 10 minutes every 2 hours, so I think I'll need to take tomorrow off!

OP posts:
sashh · 11/03/2019 07:36

You could do supplementary feeding.

Have you weighed them? The best way to see if they are getting enough is to see if they gain weight.

And obviously daily pics are essential.

Soubriquet · 11/03/2019 08:49

I would look into getting some kitten formula and syringe feed him

A little bit of supplement feeding may actually give him the strength to stay latched on to mum

thecatneuterer · 11/03/2019 09:08

The problem with syringe feeding kittens is that it's very easy to do it wrong and accidentally kill them. The milk can go into the lungs. Some of our kittens have to be syringe fed. We have volunteers who are very experienced and even then it frequently goes wrong. Even the vets aren't great at it. So I would be reluctant to go down that route unless that really is the kitten's only chance of survival and, if you do, try to get someone to show you how. The main thing is only tiny, tiny amounts of milk in each squirt.

janebee4 · 11/03/2019 09:21

Thanks, thecatneuterer that was my concern. He seems to be able to latch on when we move the other kittens out of the way so DP and I took it in turns to get up every two hours through the night and make sure he was getting 10-15 mins feeding time without being pushed away. Is this enough time?

OP posts:
Soubriquet · 11/03/2019 09:33

That might be worth doing

Letting little kitten suckle for 10-15 minutes alone every 2 hours

It will at least mean he’s getting the milk he needs

I keep saying he but do we actually know if it’s he or a she?