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!!!!!!"

[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?

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!!!! 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... Cute Kim.

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! ) 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 and absolutely drop dead gorgeous Eve was a good mom but once Bella (her baby) grew up would have nothing to do with her 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

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.