Monday, May 24, 2010

Calling all vets and animal ppl ? is my cat pregnant?!?

ok so there is this female stray cat that has taken a liking to me [ she doesnt come in to the house but i do feed her outside annd give her water]
she is a med sized cat and when she stand regular he back is a little arched. her belly is big but not huge and her nipples are swollen


is this cat pregnant? i can not afford to take this cat to the vet but i am willing to help it along and take the kittens and mom to a shelter when theier old enough.
but if she is indeed pregnant, how long does it usually take for them to have kittens?
she came about a week agoa and was a little smaller.
i gave a her a large box with a blanket i dont force her into it but i keep it by my garage if she so chooses to use it.
she doesnt look verrry pregnant
she is very affeconiate
there is 2 other neighborhood cats, when they come by my house our stray will pitch a fit and start hissing and everything. but shes never like that to me.
is she just being territorial?
thnx much
Answers:
Hard to say without seeing the cat, but there's a good chance she is pregnant; they start to 'show' at about 5 weeks and have the kittens at about 9 weeks. Pregnant mothers will often become suddenly more friendly and approachable and may come into homes when they are ready to have their kittens.
It's a good idea to provide her a safe comfortable place to have her kittens, but in the end she'll have them wherever she wants, not necessarily where you expect. If possible please get her indoors before she has the kittens so they won't be left outside; kittens do best in a home environment, especially the first few weeks until they get weaned. Some shelters and rescue groups will foster mothers to make sure the kittens are safe, and that the mom gets spayed before she has another litter.
A cat pregnancy is about 60 to 70 days. You should try and contact a local rescue to help you out now. Don't just wait and take them all to a shelter because the odds they will make it out alive aren't very good. A rescue will help with the cost of spaying the mom and having her and the kittens vetted. Check out the rescue, the animals have a better chance that way.
If she's stray, and not spayed, she's pregnant.
Cats come into heat around 5 months old, they don't go out again until they are pregnant.
They're pregnant for 3 months.
She will probably hide the litter, you won't see them until they are walking around.
Cats are excellent mothers, they usually don't need help.
Don't take her to any shelter, they'll euthanise her and the babies.
Keep feeding and caring for her. If it is possible, adopt her.
I ran into the same problem with a stray that was dumped at my house. You can rub the stomach and feel around. If she's pregnant and she's getting big, you will be able to feel "lumps" which would be the baby.
Sadly, most animal clinics will euthanize them. There is a site that are yahoo groups that I've seen MANY people get rid of animals on. It's called FreeCycle. www.freecycle.org will give you a list of freecycle groups in your area you can join and post the cat and see if someone might want to give her and her kittens a home.

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