Surprise!! Surprise!! SURPRISE!!!!!

[rg_girlca]

Well I brought the little girl, who by the way is named "Sweetpea, aka Sweety" for now, to the vets tonight for a check up and her first series of shots.
The vet said that she is about 5-6 months old, maybe pushing 7 months.
She weighs 5 lbs. 2 ozs, no fleas, ear mites and her teeth and eyes are good.

Aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddddddd......................... ...

Are you ready for this, because I sure a heck wasn't...........................













"SHE IS PREGNANT!!!!" "SSURPRISE!!"

The vet felt at least 3 babies and said that the seems to be about 4 weeks along and that she could have them in about 4-5 weeks. I could tell that her tummy was starting to get a little bigger but I thought it was because she was eating on a regular basis.

I asked the vet about aborting the babies and having Sweetpea spayed. She said that it is a very risky operation and it would cost more to have this done.
Gee she is just a baby herself. :(

I need your expert advice who have gone through this before. Do I risk getting her spayed and aborting the babies, OR let her give birth to them.
I really, really don't know which way to go.

"HHHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!!" :eek: :eek:

[Catty1]

Hey, girl:

You will get some heated opinions on this - but I think, since you had at least one friend who would take a cat, that she might want a kitten. You have time to line up another couple of folks.

And you know who will NOT get a kitten, right? :mad:

My take on it is to let her have this litter, then get her spayed. I think just all the surgery would he hard on her, ethical considerations aside.

Did the vet say she is old enough to have a litter? Any health concerns? Is she eating for four? :)

Good luck!

[kimlovescats]

OH NOOOOOOOOOO! Poor little girl!!! Oh Lorraine, I am so thankful that you got her in time before that idiot let her have kittens only God knows where!!!! :rolleyes: See? You were supposed to kitnap her AND her babies! I would have a tough time aborting this far along, Lorraine. It will mean you will have more to do, and more to place, but that is just my feelings on the subject!

HUGS Grammy Lorraine!
Kim ;)

[rg_girlca]

Well I pray that this thread doesn't get heated over this.

She said that aborting the babies and being spayed at the same time has some risk and the healing time will take a little bit longer.
She also said that she hopes that Sweetpea's babies will be small since she is very small and delicate herself. This is what concerns me, because of her size and being so young herself, I don't know if she will know what to do with her babies.

Plus my friend already went and got herself a cat from a rescue organization.
A male, Main Coon, black and 7 years old. I'm happy that she rescued an older cat. I saw a picture of him and he is gorgeous.

Thanks Catty 1 :)

[kimlovescats]

Lorraine, that is one problem that I have had with young rescue mothers in the past. Some times they don't carry them to full term, the babies are born premature and it is AWFUL watching them slowly die! Their little lungs just aren't developed well enough to survive. :( So, either way, it is a gamble, honey .... I wish I had a definitive answer for you! Whatever you decide, I support you 100% and I pray that others here will realize what a difficult decision this is, and keep their strong opinions to themselves! ;)

I guess my final thought of what I would do, is to let God take care of what He created! If they are meant to be born and survive, then they will ... if He intends for them not to survive, then they won't .... regardless of what "man" tries to do! That's just I have to believe in my heart!

HUGS,
Kim

[rg_girlca]

Thank you soooooo much Kim. This also concerned the vet because of how far along she is.

Grammy Lorraine... :D Cute Kim. :D

Has anyone else experienced having a mama this young and if so, how did it go???

[rg_girlca]

Lorraine, that is one problem that I have had with young rescue mothers in the past. Some times they don't carry them to full term, the babies are born premature and it is AWFUL watching them slowly die! Their little lungs just aren't developed well enough to survive. :( So, either way, it is a gamble, honey .... I wish I had a definitive answer for you! Whatever you decide, I support you 100% and I pray that others here will realize what a difficult decision this is, and keep their strong opinions to themselves! ;)

I guess my final thought is to let God take care of what He created! If they are meant to be born and survive, then they will ... if He intends for them not to survive, then they won't .... regardless of what "man" tries to do! That's just I have to believe in my heart!

HUGS,
Kim

Thank you Kim so very much. This is a very hard decision for me as I have never been through this before.

I like your thought on letting God take care of what he created and just hope for the best.

[Karen]

If the vet thinks she's old enough and strong enough to deliver safely, I'd let her have them, especially as she's already at least halfway there. Yes, you were absolutely meant to rescue this girl! Maybe your friend's older, newly adopted cat would like a kitten to raise, too!

[rg_girlca]

Thanks Karen and no, my friend is just a one cat person even though I have tried to convince her to have a second one.

The vet's only concern at this time was the size of the babies because of Sweetpea being so small and dainty herself.

[jazzcat]

Oh wow Lorraine. That's too bad but at least she's in a better place with you than out in the street with your genius of a neighbor.

I've never been around a pregnant cat before but I know that Scout was pregnant when brought to the shelter and they opted to spay/abort because she was so small and was guessed to be only 6 months old. She had a hard time from the surgery and also suffered a hematoma (or whatever it's called) which prolonged her recovery. Very sad all the way around but I know they did what they thought was best for her.

(((HUGS))) for you and Sweetpea. Not to sound too southern but bless her heart!

[catnapper]

Oh wow! I don't know!!!

I do know that if you let her keep the babies that you will keep ALL the babies yourself, since you are an awful foster mom (we love you all the more for it! :D) Are you prepared to keep a litter of 3 or 4 babies? Not only is it a finanical burden, but an emotional and physical burden.

I know that the smaller and younger the mama is, the higher risk of sick and/or still born babies. Are you prepared to lose one or two of her kittens if you let her carry them? Allen's mama was about her age when she had Allen and his sister. She had 5 kittens, only Allen and one orangie girl survived. I myself would NOT be able to handle seeing dead kittens born. That thought alone would be enough for me to end Sweetpea's pregnancy.

[Bengalz]

Lorraine,

For what it's worth - Eve who is a very tiny girl and had kittens when she was 7 - 8 months old - a baby herself. Eve is 2 1/2 now and a very happy, healthy girl. I have seen one of her babies - the baby is twice Eve's size :eek: and absolutely drop dead gorgeous :D Eve was a good mom but once Bella (her baby) grew up would have nothing to do with her :confused: In fact, Eve is not particularly fond of any other cats but prefers people ;)

I know this is a tough situation for you and for the little one. Whatever your decision, I'm sure it will be in everyone's best interest. I do want to commend you for taking this little girl in and giving her the home she deserves and the care that she needs. For this, she will always be grateful.

I have attached a photo of Eve to give you a sense of her size today. This is a recent photo and she has filled out as in gained at least 2 lbs since she came to live with us in May. You can imagine how tiny she was when she had kittens :eek:

My best wishes to you and to your little Sweetpea :)

Betty

[Laura's Babies]

I am with the majority, especially with what Kim said
let God take care of what He created! If they are meant to be born and survive, then they will ..

Samantha was pregnant when I took her in for her spay and we had NO idea! She was so malnourished when I got her that I waited until she was stronger to have it done. I think the vet didn't realize she was preg until he opened her up. They were aborted. The day I brought her home she was rolling head over tail across the room playing. It didn't effect her any but that was her second litter, her last babies were only 3 months old.....

[Reachoutrescue]

Oh, Lorraine. I am so glad you saved this girl. The only experience I had with a young momma was Star. She was about 7 months when I rescued her and very pregnant. She was to far along to abort...she gave birth to five, all of which did not make it passed the first day. They were very tiny and under developed. The other moms I had were a year or more, but have had serveral litters by the time I got to them, or so I was told. Whatever decision you make, I know it will be the right one and in all the kits' best interest. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Sevaede]

My FIL has two females who had litters in March/April. The younger one was probably Sweetys age and very small as well (under ten pounds definitely), she is the one I call Rasputin. She had five surviving babies and one of them was HUUUUGE, I seriously have no idea how she passed him because he is one BIG cat.

[Jessika]

Has anyone else experienced having a mama this young and if so, how did it go???
My grandmother had a cat, a stray, who had babies before she was a year old. She was around seven months, too. The kittens all grew up happy and healthy and the mom was fine, too. Immediately afterwards though I took my grandmother to get the mother spayed and we found responsible homes for all the kittens.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Poor little puss :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

Wow! What a surprise.:eek: I wonder if the father is the orange cat that was with Sweetpea. Whatever you decide to do I just want you to know that you have my full support.

When I was a young girl we had a female cat and she became pregnant at probably around 6 months old. She had 6 babies and they all survived and she didn't have any complications. Before we could get her spayed she got pregnant again and had 5 more babies without any complications. We were shocked that this could happen so quickly so we had her spayed as soon as we could so this wouldn't happen again. We found homes for all of her kittens.

[sirrahbed]

Oh gosh Lorraine!! What a shocker this is. I feel so sad that this sweet girl is pregnant and is still a kitten herself.

I think I would lean towards the immediate spay myself. My feeling is simply that the overpopulation problem is so huge already. But, I know this is your decision to make and I support that 100%. You still did the RIGHT thing for her by taking her in. I hope you can soon find a purrfect home for her (or maybe she is already there?)

HUGS to you my friend!

[Logan]

Good luck in your decision, Lorraine. What a tough situation! I think my decision would have to be based on what is best for "mom", right now. Poor little dear is only a baby herself! I've never had a pregnant cat, always made sure that mine were spayed right away, but then again, I've only ever had tiny kittens who were female, and i could control that. And of course, I stopped any future populating, immediately, when Butter (boy) came through my door, unneutered.

I hope the little mama and her babies will be just fine.

Logan

[Kirsten]

Oh Lorraine, that's truly a surprise!! Poor poor little kitty, just a baby herself, and already pregnant.

I wish I had any advice for you here, but I've never been in a situation like this. I think I would listen to the vet's advice to be honest, but it's so hard to tell what's the right thing to do...

Kirsten

[kuhio98]

Has anyone else experienced having a mama this young and if so, how did it go???We adopted Halo when she was 9 months old. She had obviously just given birth as she was swollen with milk. (No one knows what happened to the babies) :( Halo weighed around 9 pounds. Today she is a big girl at almost 11 pounds. The vet is pretty sure that some of her health issues are a result of the early pregnancy. When you pet her, you can feel a difference in her ribs. Most cats have a gentle curve kinda like (__) Halo is like this <__>. She also walks kinda like a sumo wrestler. Her back legs are held wide apart and she waddles. She does not have strength in her back legs and cannot jump or spring like most cats. She ends up leaping as far as she can and then climbing or pulling herself with her front legs the rest of the way.

She has had some other muscle issues, so the vet can't say for sure that she was damaged from the early pregnancy. I too would lean towards and early spay.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

AW, this brings back memories. Grandma was just about that age and pregnant when someone dropped her off at my house. I never even considered aborting the babies.

She did fine and loved her babies a lot. She only had three but sometimes the first litter is a small litter. I stayed with her while she had them in case she needed help. She had them in a cardboard box on my porch. She didn't need any help but was sure proud of them. After one popped out, she would clean it up and look at me and I swear, she would smile like "look what I did".

I'd say let her have them and raise them until they were old enough to go to good homes.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

This is hard..... poor kitty :(
If the vet thinks she can handle it, go ahead with it; But I would go and ask for a second opinion before I let him "operate" (and abort her kids :( )!

Good luck, in whatever you decide!!

[K & L]

Boy this one is a tough decision. When we trap a feral and it is pregnant we naturally abort them. You may never trap them again, you don’t want babies born out in the wild, and there really aren’t many choices as far as fostering a feral. If this were me my thoughts would be… would you be able to find homes for the kittens? If not, and they may have the chance of going to a shelter and destroyed, then I would opt for aborting. Yes, it is more costly to abort, but you have to think of the cost factor raising the kittens and maybe not finding a place for them. As far as dangerous, we’ve done this with ferals who had to go back out in the wild after a few days and did just fine. I know you’ll make the right choice here; this is just some thoughts for you to think on. Good Luck!!

[orangemm]

Poor little baby girl. Nature sure can be cruel sometimes. It's awful to think that a cat that young could get pregnant...it's just too soon! :eek:

I'm sorry I can't offer any advice about this since I've never been in this situation, but I know you will do what you think is best for this little one.

Keep us posted, please.

[Corinna]

I will undoubtable get hit for this one but, I think weight the costs a little more on spaying or vet visits and altering costs for at least 3 others plus mom .Not to mention shots and check ups. you just can't give un altered pets out I vote save you and little girl a lot of stress and possible health issuses.

[Donnaj4962]

Oh my.... what a shocker! I can only imagine your surprise when the vet told you she was pregnant!

I have no advice to offer, as both of my girls were spayed before they could be in contact with any little boys! :eek:

I know that this is a terrible decision for you to have to make... and poor little Sweety! She is so young, but she may do just fine. I am so sorry that you have to make this decision.

[sandragonfly]

lorianne,

remember my little girl? I found her young, pretty pregnant and dying on a chirstmas eve. she has a damaged stomach, and never will have a clean bill for rest of her life.

when I first took her to office where I used to work, the vet thought she felt 3 or 4 until we had xray to confirm the count; 4 heads and five backbones! then she gave a life to five, one girl was a runt and died ten days later. we think that's because her (5th) head was hiding waay back in intestines and wasn't getting much of food as her four (survived, piggy) brothers. so you might would like to see how they're doing "inside" too, an extra for your decision-making?

a year and half later after birth, two brothers (gus and echo) are still very healthy today, except for two of their other brothers (avalanche and chance) who died a couple of months ago...we still don't know why. :( FKS, probably? (fading kitten sydrome - undeveloped organs and died suddenly - you may expect that for sweetpea's babies). at least they have ended their life with our love and blessings!

I agree with kim, this happens for a reason. well, opposition of "adding to the problem," I hope. but I trust you trust your heart! :)

hope this helped a bit, good luck.

[rg_girlca]

I have read each and everyone's replies, over and over and over again and I want to thank each one of you for your input in regards to Sweetpea and her pregnancy.

Takes deep breath.......Okay now, after much agonizing over this, my hubby and I have agreed to let Sweetpea have her babies. I am putting her and her babies in God's hands now.

I know some of you will not agree with this, but all I ask is that you support us with this decision and as for Sweetpea and her babies, no matter what, they will have a home, if not with someone else, then with us.

Thank you all.

[Catty1]

Bless you.

I wish your neighbour would get his cat neutered...this could happen to many young cats, and older ones.

Some people are just too stupid...

[Bengalz]

Allpaws crossed here that everything goes well for little Sweetpea - she is darling kitty and in your good care, will come through this.

You and your hubby are wonderful people - thank you for caring for her. I shudder to think what might have happened to this poor baby had you not intervened.

Whatever the outcome, you have my support. If you ever have the need to chat (or vent), don't hesitate to pm me. All my best wishes and lots of headbumpies from little Eve - she knows better than we do what this is all about.

Hugs, Betty

[RedHedd]

I am putting her and her babies in God's hands now.
God bless you and Sweetpea in your decision. My Mitzi's shelter name was Sweetpea :)

[kimlovescats]

(((((Hugs))))))) Lorraine! Don't ever be sorry for Trusting! ;)

Love,
Kim

[kuhio98]

Lorraine ~ We're all here supporting your decision and praying along with you.

[orangemm]

Probably the worst part is MAKING the decision; after you decide what to do, then you can deal with it.

We know you will do everything possible for lil SweetPea. She is in your good hands (lucky girl!).

And, all of us can share in the whole experience!

[CultureJunky]

It's so awful that that poor little girl is pregnant and only a small baby herself. I know that you will do the right thing by sweetpea and take care of her and her babies. After all, imagine what would have happened if you hadn't taken her, they would've been born outside and who knows how she would have coped, it's a double edged sword really, but one I think you can handle. I'm sure you'll find loving homes for her babies if they are all okay.
I think she really needs your loving and support right now and I know you'll give her all you can, and that's just so wonderful that you've done this for her. It's best she's with you and not somebody else. She is safe and warm and happy and loved, and after all that's what all cats deserve.

[sirrahbed]

(((HUGS)))) Lorraine. I bet it feels much better now that you have decided doesn't it? I don't think there is anyone who will disagree with you. I know I don't.

I am happy for Sweety, that she has a home where people love and care for her.

More pictures would be nice :D

[critter crazy]

SweatPea Is so Lucky that she has found you at such a critical time in her life. You are Doing a great thing, and we all support you! keep us posted!

[sandragonfly]

hmm.. disagree?? who? don't really think anyone is, definitely not me - you couldn't murder them! this is real pet talk..

the only reason I let my little star keep her fetuses, because like you said, they'll have a good home no matter what and I promised & kept them!

looking forward of you giving those new heartbeats anew love life! (make sure sharing pictures is on your agenda too). ;) (((luck hugs)))

[rg_girlca]

Thank you all so very much. You have me sitting here with tears streaming down my face. Your support means more to me than you'll ever know and has put my mind at ease.

Now it's just a matter of taking one day at a time and praying that everything will turn out well.

[catmandu]

Lorraine you know that we are praying for You, Sweet Pea and her Babies.
I wish there was a way for God to pick up Pierre , and shake him by the scruff of the neck and amke him a responsible adult about his Cats.
The worst part about druggies is that they care about nothing but more drugs.
God Bless You for helping Sweet Pea , and we pray her Babies will be All Right.

[sandragonfly]

oh, don't cry .. ((((hugs hugs)))), you're very blessed! :)

oh, my PM is open for any of your questions if help needed, okay? am exciting for you!

[jenluckenbach]

:eek: :eek: :eek: I can't believe I missed this thread. But I am so NOT surprized at the vet's findings.

So very many of our rescue cats were moms at this age. And your experience could go any way. Most are wonderful moms. Some lose 1 or more of their litter. Some drop the kits and simply walk away from them. :( But whatever happens we know they will be loved and taken care of to the best of your ability. And who could ask for more?


Best of luck to Sweatpea. Congratulations "grandma" ;) :D

[momcat]

Oh Lorraine!!! My immediate reaction was more shock than surprise. Poor little SweetPea, a baby having babies. I support your decision 1000% and can understand how difficult it must have been. Prayers are being prayed that SweetPea comes through her pregnancy with no complications and her babies will be okay. She couldn't be in better hands than yours!

Did you beat Pierre up yet? Grrrr :mad: :mad: :mad: What a (insert your own bad words) making SweetPea go through this by letting her out with no thoughts of her safety and well being.....

Please keep us updated on how SweetPea is doing? I'll be here for you for the duration, just pm me any time.....

[K & L]

Sweetpea is SO lucky she found you! I'm sure your mind is at ease now that the decision has been made. Can't wait to hear all the updates.

[CathyBogart]

Poor girly! My grandma's kitty had a litter at the shelter and she was a young dainty cat as well. She's doing very well now, though she's a bit of a chunk. ;)

I think you made the right decision, and I think Sweetpea's lucky to have you.