Is PUMPKIN Pregnant or Not Pregnant?? HELP

Hi All,

Here is a link for some of you who are no familiar with my story on Pumpkin the young adult from Pittsburgh, PA.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=138649

Well I've been doing a lot of reading on pregnancy in cats and I'm really not sure if Pumpkin is or isn't.

I just had her at the vets about 1 week ago and the vet didn't say anything so I'm just not sure. I'm going to call my one other vet and see if there is any easy way of telling since she's still little but it seems she has a semi-firm mid-section but she's little so she might just be gaining weight.

The vet gave her a worm pill as well (even though I didn't see any signs of worms).

So any advice would be great... I'm sorta thinking at this point what did I get myself into I already have 6 cats in a 1 bedroom apartment with a foster now in the bathroom that may be pregnant.

Melissa

WE ARE PRAYING THAT PUMPKIN IS NOT WITH KITTEN, AS SHE IS PROBABLY TOO YOUNG TO SAFELY HAVE KITTENS.
SCRAPPY 2 WAS ONLY 5 MONTHS OLD WHEN SHE HAD HER KITTEN AND SCRAPPY 3 WAS SADLY STILL BORN.
WE ARE PRAYING FOR GOOD NEWS FOR PUMPKIN.
BLESS YOU FOR HELPING THAT KITTEN IN NEED!
:cool: :rolleyes: :cool: :rolleyes: :cool:

Thanks, Pumpkin actually already had a litter before and then her parents tossed her outside when she was in heat so I don't know if she is pregnant or not. Pumpkin is ~1 year and 1 month old but I just don't know if she is or isn't yet.

is it ok to give worm pills on pregnant cats?too late anyway,but i'm sure it's ok,right?
I hope she isn't though...that would be a lot of homes to find. :rolleyes:

What makes you think she might be pregnant ???

Well she appears to be a little firm the mid section of her body. I've been doing some research but I'm not sure if I can tell if she is or not.

I'm just looking for some advice from someone who might have had a cat early on so they know the signs of a pregnant cat.....I know one time I rescued a pregnant cat (Mommy) and she I could tell because in 2 weeks she was about ready to brust well according to the vets.

One of the signs are her teats. I'm sure if she WAS pregnant, the vet would've said something (unless he's an idiot). Almost all strays have intestinal parasites, that's why the vet gave you worming medicine, and that's probably why her belly is so bloated. Check her teats. If they start becoming engorged, chances are, she's with kittens.

Thank you for taking this poor little girl in.

Would they still be a little large if she just had kittens a while ago? I'm not sure how long ago she had kittens but I know it was some time ago....

My husband seems to think she is ....it's just so hard to tell...maybe i'll just make a vet appt so she can get checked out at a different vet just to make sure if she is or isn't

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Originally Posted by moosmom

One of the signs are her teats. I'm sure if she WAS pregnant, the vet would've said something (unless he's an idiot). Almost all strays have intestinal parasites, that's why the vet gave you worming medicine, and that's probably why her belly is so bloated. Check her teats. If they start becoming engorged, chances are, she's with kittens.

Thank you for taking this poor little girl in.

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Ok. First I am sorry that this is happening. Second, The vet might not have known, if she was VERY early on in pregnancy.

When I took in AbiGail, she was pregnant. I spayed her anyways, because she was only 5 months old, and I had 15 other cats to tend too.

It should be ok for her to have been dewormed. I doubt it will cause problems.

You can tell she is pregnant by a few things. Her belly getting larger, her consuming more food and water, but the only SURE way to know is to have a vet check her.

NOW with that being said... I dont know your financial situation... BUT you have to make a decision and fast on whether you will let her have them or not. If you arent, I would suggest taking her ASAP to confirm whether or not, and then set a date to have her spayed. It wont cost much more than a regular spay. Mine was about 100-150 more, BUT my vet is very high cost compared to other states it seems.

GOOD LUCK! Kt and kitties

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Originally Posted by kt_luvs_kitties

Ok. First I am sorry that this is happening. Second, The vet might not have known, if she was VERY early on in pregnancy.

When I took in AbiGail, she was pregnant. I spayed her anyways, because she was only 5 months old, and I had 15 other cats to tend too.

It should be ok for her to have been dewormed. I doubt it will cause problems.

You can tell she is pregnant by a few things. Her belly getting larger, her consuming more food and water, but the only SURE way to know is to have a vet check her.

NOW with that being said... I dont know your financial situation... BUT you have to make a decision and fast on whether you will let her have them or not. If you arent, I would suggest taking her ASAP to confirm whether or not, and then set a date to have her spayed. It wont cost much more than a regular spay. Mine was about 100-150 more, BUT my vet is very high cost compared to other states it seems.

GOOD LUCK! Kt and kitties

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Well I would let her have the kittens, I would not take them away. I have a voucher to get her fixed so that would be fine. I'm probably going to call my vets and see if they could check her out for sure.

Thanks,
Melissa

all the cats i've cared for in my life...i never accually had a pregnant mom.
i'm so curious to see of she is pregnant.and thank goodness you got her before their born outside,if she is. :) appreciating you being so caring :)

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Originally Posted by catfamily

all the cats i've cared for in my life...i never accually had a pregnant mom.
i'm so curious to see of she is pregnant.and thank goodness you got her before their born outside,if she is. :) appreciating you being so caring :)

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Last night I was trying to figure out if she was pregnant or not and it seems that she has a little swollen belly but I could be wrong and she could just be gaining weight....I sorta hope she is in a way because it would be cool to see the birth of kittens but at the same time she is still so little...(with that being said I do understand that there is a world of unwanted kittens, cats, etc. and I've had my fair share in rescueing and putting kittens to sleep because they were covered in magots and I wanted to save Pumpkin) but when I held her up last night you could see the little bump on her sides compared to my other cat who is thin on both sides....well i'll be calling my vet to schedule an appt. to see if she is or isn't...

Anikaca,

Please don't bring anymore kittens into the world. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but if she were spayed now (if she's pregnant) it's not the same as if she wasn't. They would completely remove the uterus with the fetuses contained in it. They would never breath, meow and would feel no pain.

Unless you're sure you'll have homes for as many as 6 kittens, I think it's best to have her spayed quickly. You yourself asked what you were getting yourself into. If she IS pregnant and has 6 babies, that means a HUGE vet bill not to mention having them all spayed/neutered.

I saw this somewhere..."If you want to witness the miracle of a cat's birth, try witnessing euthanasia".

First find out if she is pregnant, then please do the right thing. As a volunteer in animal rescue, I'm tired, as I'm sure many other rescuers are, of having to take the responsibility for others irresponsibility.

When I said I didn't know what I was getting myself into, is because I felt semi overwhelmed reading about new babies and etc.

I myself have taken in many strays and I was involved in a rescue that no one would help me with and I had to witness such horrible things like maggots on a little tiny kitten dying on the sidewalk in the rain that I had to take to the local SPCA and have them PTS because there was no saving this kitten.....there was another cat with a bad eye infection and it can no longer see out of it's eye....another kitten with an eye infection...a few more kittens with cocididia. When I moved to my current place there was a pregnant mom cat that showed up and I took her in and I paid for her to be checked out by a vet and after she gave birth I paid to have the kittens checked out and her again and yeah it was expensive but my husband and did what we had to do, it was our responsibility since we started feeding her and we found homes for her 3 kittens and herself.

I'm not irresponsible, I've taken care of plenty of strays and I try to keep the number down but I can't destroy kittens if in fact she is pregnant.

Melissa

I am in total agreement that no more kittens should be brought into the world at this time BUT if Pumpkin in already pregnant, I don't think they should be destroyed now that they have already been created. I don't believe in abortion for people, dogs or cats. JMHO

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Originally Posted by KittyCrazy

I don't believe in abortion for people, dogs or cats. JMHO

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AMEN to that!!!

Trust me so am I. I'm not the one who let this cat outside because she went into heat, and then again because they didn't want her. I traveled 3 hours to get her and save her so she could be fixed. I didn't know she was or if she is.

I have 6 cats and when I got 1 of them she was already fixed and as for the other 5 I fixed them all either when they first came into my house or when they were 6 months old. I don't just go around looking for pregnant cats or hoping one will get pregnant or anything.

I just hope people understand that I am a responsible pet owner and I'm not the one who didn't take responsibility for their cat. I'm helping her hopefully.

Melissa

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Originally Posted by KittyCrazy

I am in total agreement that no more kittens should be brought into the world at this time BUT if Pumpkin in already pregnant, I don't think they should be destroyed now that they have already been created. I don't believe in abortion for people, dogs or cats. JMHO

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anikaca77

I just hope people understand that I am a responsible pet owner and I'm not the one who didn't take responsibility for their cat. I'm helping her hopefully.

Melissa

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I don't think anyone here thinks that. I commend you for the amount of time and money you're sacrificing to help these kitties! Kuddos to you for being such a great and caring person! :)

I do not believe you are a bad person at all. Please dont think that I am because I do believe in abortion, be it people or pets.

This is your choice, I am supportive either way. I was just bringing up the option. Ya know>?

Everyone has to do what they must for themselves... BUT animals cant make that choice, that is where we step in to assist in this decision. AbiGail is happy, she did not suffer, nor did her babies. I did what I thought was best for her... I hope you understand where I am coming from. Kt and kittes

ps- and you are a responsible pet parent. I never doubted that. ;)

KT,

I don't think you are either, I guess I just never heard of it and just jumped to the gun thinking no I can't....but I even told my husband about it and we are both in agreement that if she is pregnant we will do what we have to do to help her and help her kittens find a good and responsible home. Right now we are requesting references, adoption application, fee, and there will be an adoption contract just for her and of course if she is with kittens then the same will follow for them as well.

I know there are tons of homeless pets out there and I'm a huge supporter in trying to get those numbers down but I just feel I can't terminate her babies if in fact she is with babies.

I had Shirley Fonda (she's rescued hundreds of cats, and had plenty of litters so I figure her advice would be helpful) over last night to take a quick look at her and she said it looks suspicious but she couldn't give me a definite answer but she said just wait a month before you fix her to make sure.

Sorry I jumped to the gun...I try to understand that everyone has their own beliefs and what not with abortion and so forth, it's just with her I never considered it because if she is we'll have to help her get through it. But well see in a month’s time.

Melissa

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Originally Posted by kt_luvs_kitties

I do not believe you are a bad person at all. Please dont think that I am because I do believe in abortion, be it people or pets.

This is your choice, I am supportive either way. I was just bringing up the option. Ya know>?

Everyone has to do what they must for themselves... BUT animals cant make that choice, that is where we step in to assist in this decision. AbiGail is happy, she did not suffer, nor did her babies. I did what I thought was best for her... I hope you understand where I am coming from. Kt and kittes

ps- and you are a responsible pet parent. I never doubted that. ;)

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[j nwn If She Is..Then She Would Be Having Alot Of Moodswings...
She Is A Very Cute Cat. :D

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I don't think anyone here thinks that. I commend you for the amount of time and money you're sacrificing to help these kitties! Kuddos to you for being such a great and caring person!

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That is exactly what I was trying to say. I am sorry if I hurt you, as it was not my intention. :( I was referring to the idiotic, irresponsible owners of this poor cat who dumped her like a piece of trash.

I'm so sorry if you mistook what I was trying to say. :( I support your decision 110%. Let's hope it's just a case of bad intestinal parasites.

No hard feelings, we are all different and I respect everyone so no worries!

Melissa :D