Pregnant cat

[Hidingwithcoffee]

Hi. Looking for advice not judgement. From reading about this online I know there are people who might scold me for being a terrible pet owner but that isn't going to help right now.

Haven't had a cat before, but my family desperately wanted one, so got a kitten last summer. All went well, until we started letting her out at about 8.5 months, and at 9 months she was suddenly really, really ill. I still suspect poisoning. She went to a pet hospital who were amazing, big vet bill but we had insurance.

Brought her home, kept her in as she was still recovering but this was hard as we have big patio doors and always in and out ourselves. Was going to take her back to the vet to have her spayed, but wanted her to recover just a bit first.

And now we realise she's pregnant. She's about 11.5 old, due in roughly 4-5 weeks but the timing.

I can see it's not ideal for her body at such a young age, but also animals give birth all the time and nature finds a way and all that, I'm not wanting to be dramatic about it.

I can see online there are some simple things recommended like having a card box with old blankets or towels, in a quiet dark warm place and just keeping an eye on her.

If anyone here has experience of a similar age cat giving birth and any advice I might not find elsewhere online would appreciate that. How many vet trips did you need?

Obviously she'll be spayed as soon as she gives birth.

Thank you.

No insurance is going to cover a spay under these circumstances . Cats can be spayed really young , more to do with weight than age and she shouldn’t have been let out before she was done and certainly don’t let her out again before she is spayed . A spay abort , if your vet will do it , would definitely be the best way forward .

We found a stray cat with four kittens in our shed

Brought them all inside, initially in a one man tent (the only thing we had) but then bought a pet pen.

After 12 weeks three of the kittens were given away to good homes and we kept one. Sadly the mother became poorly and had to have two major operations (we committed to the cost) but later passed away.

A really wonderful experience despite the mother dying

Have never discovered where the mother came from, she wasn’t chipped, nor was she feral. Think someone might have dumped her in the area..she was only two years old approx. Sad that she hadn’t been cared for in her younger life

@Aweekoffwork our boy was a kitten found in a woman’s shed. The mother cat belonged to a neighbour but they didn’t want the kittens, so the lady kept one and our fella went to Cats Protection, just at the exact time our previous lovely girl was PTS. Fate. He’s three and a half now and my best wee chum. We’re currently sitting out enjoying some sun - live scenes.

My granny also adopted a mum cat who had kittens in her garage - I think it was the best day of my life when they were found, I was just a little girl. The kittens all went off to be rehomed by a charity when they were old enough as my gran didn’t want “little maddies”, I can remember it so vividly. Mum cat lived a long life, eventually with my auntie when granny died.