Adult female 2 months after spay?

[Aeoh]

Hello!

We took in a pregnant stray in March, she had kittens in April, and was spayed in July.

She’s notoriously been super petite since she had the kittens (she was about 8 pounds prior to getting spayed, then appeared even slimmer after spay but I’m not sure her weight at the time).

In the past month or so, she gained ALOT of weighty. Like, if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was pregnant again because that’s how wide she looks in her lower belly.

She eats the same amount as my other adult cat, so I wouldn’t think she’s overeating or anything (about 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can of Wellness brand cat food a day, plus dry Blue Buffalo Indoor Health cat food left out to pick on).

Is it normal for a cat to have such extreme weight gain after having kittens and getting spayed? If I had to guess, she’d be between 10-12 pounds now (so probably as much as when she had the kittens).

 

[di and bob]

That seems to be a lot in two months, it might be time to have a vet check her out. If she is fine, she may be just overeating to make up for all her hungry times. That does seem like a huge weight gain. I could see it if it was over a year, but not two months, My cats look like that but I purposely keep them a little overweight, they have leukemia. if she is just overweight, do as i do, give them a good weight management food to munch on. I use Purina Pro.

 

[Aeoh]

That seems to be a lot in two months, it might be time to have a vet check her out. If she is fine, she may be just overeating to make up for all her hungry times. That does seem like a huge weight gain. I could see it if it was over a year, but not two months, My cats look like that but I purposely keep them a little overweight, they have leukemia. if she is just overweight, do as i do, give them a good weight management food to munch on. I use Purina Pro.

That’s what I was leaning towards! Some things I’ve read have said that adult cats that are spayed will gain weight due to hormones, etc., but it’s a very significant difference in a short time.

Looks like I will be taking another trip to the vet! If anything just for peace of mind.

 

[di and bob]

I completely agree, it is too much in a short time.

 

[fionasmom]

I have had female cats gain weight after spaying, although I take responsibility for having needed to have done a better job with controlling this. I have one now in fact, but I have to agree that 2 months is way too fast. My current buxom beauty was spayed 3 years ago and is just now really showing the weight.

 

[Aeoh]

I have had female cats gain weight after spaying, although I take responsibility for having needed to have done a better job with controlling this. I have one now in fact, but I have to agree that 2 months is way too fast. My current buxom beauty was spayed 3 years ago and is just now really showing the weight.

Vet is set up for later this week!

I do notice she eats more dry food than the other cat, but again…. Not THAT much.

I’m assuming they’ll feel around and do some blood tests to at least rule things out.

 

[Heart For Cats]

I can't agree with the Purina Pro suggestion because weight loss food is no better at helping a cat lose weight if you leave it out all day. The cat would make up for it by eating more often. Keep her on the Wellness/Blue Buffalo diet. When so much weight is gained so fast a medical reason is the probable cause.

How many kittens does she have?

 

[Aeoh]

I can't agree with the Purina Pro suggestion because weight loss food is no better at helping a cat lose weight if you leave it out all day. The cat would make up for it by eating more often. Keep her on the Wellness/Blue Buffalo diet. When so much weight is gained so fast a medical reason is the probable cause.

How many kittens does she have?

She gave birth to 4 in April, one passed very quickly, so she was nursing 3. They were ve slow to wean and were nursing up to around about 14 weeks regularly. Two of the kittens went to homes and we kept one, and the kitten is now almost 6 months and up until recently would still try to nurse even after mom was spayed and the other kittens were gone (mom would not kick her off, so even with all my attempts, I’m sure she did it when I wasn’t around).

In terms of other health issues - they estimated her around 3 years when I got her off the streets, she got all her vaccines and blood tests initially and before getting spayed, and all was normal. The worst was that she had a pretty intense roundworm case while nursing the kittens- she puked a pile of live worms, but was treated and hasn’t shown signs since.

The only other thing I can say is that she does seem pretty tired sometimes, but she also is playful and runs around with her daughter a ton so she doesn’t APPEAR sick.

 

[Heart For Cats]

Aeoh: What are their names?

Tell the vet about the kitten nursing dry teats. Kittens are supposed to wean during weeks 4-6 IIRC.

 

[Aeoh]

FYI Her in July (first 3) vs most recent pics (last 4)

 

[Aeoh]

Aeoh: What are their names?

Tell the vet about the kitten nursing dry teats. Kittens are supposed to wean during weeks 4-6 IIRC.

Mom is Bean and the kitten we kept is Lucy (the other kids were Tux - now Domino - and Una).

The Vet was aware of the late start for weaning and said, as long as mom is around and willing (and her and the kids seemed healthy), it was no rush. By all means, at that point, all of them did seem very healthy. The kittens were all in their expected weight range and playful, and mom seemed fine.

Only issues we ran into were some diarrhea with the kitten we kept (Lucy), and that seemed to be treated with an antibiotic, probiotic, and some prescription food combo for a little bit. And of course, Bean had worms at one point so I assumed that, even though fecal tests were negative for Lucy and she had been treated, that was the cause.

 

[fionasmom]

They are an adorable family and evidently you took great care of them. If the vet tells you it is all diet, but you are not comfortable with that, ask him to run some tests rather than just hand you a bag of weight loss food.

 

[Heart For Cats]

The Vet was aware of the late start for weaning and said, as long as mom is around and willing (and her and the kids seemed healthy), it was no rush. By all means, at that point, all of them did seem very healthy. The kittens were all in their expected weight range and playful, and mom seemed fine.

Only issues we ran into were some diarrhea with the kitten we kept (Lucy), and that seemed to be treated with an antibiotic, probiotic, and some prescription food combo for a little bit. And of course, Bean had worms at one point so I assumed that, even though fecal tests were negative for Lucy and she had been treated, that was the cause.

Antibiotics and probiotics are exact opposites. She can't get both at the same time.

 

[Aeoh]

They are an adorable family and evidently you took great care of them. If the vet tells you it is all diet, but you are not comfortable with that, ask him to run some tests rather than just hand you a bag of weight loss food.

Thank you I love my girls a ton! I went from not ever having a cat to having a cat give birth on my couch and raising kittens, so it’s been a learning curve but I tried my best

 

[Aeoh]

Antibiotics and probiotics are exact opposites. She can't get both at the same time.

She was prescribed Metronidazole and Proviable. My mistake - I guess that is NOT an antibiotic.

I’m by no means a vet, but it did seem to help! She hasn’t had issues since.

 

[Norachan]

Antibiotics and probiotics are exact opposites. She can't get both at the same time.

Yes, she can. It's quite common for people and animals to be prescribed antibiotics and probiotics at the same time.

She was prescribed Metronidazole and Proviable. My mistake - I guess that is NOT an antibiotic.

I’m by no means a vet, but it did seem to help! She hasn’t had issues since.

No, you are correct. Proviable is a probiotic supplement for dogs and cats and Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is used to treat bacterial infections

I'm glad she's feeling better now.

 

[Aeoh]

Update: the advice was just to monitor her. Behavior and all is fine.

Within the past 2 weeks, we noticed large lumps in her breast/tummy area. No clue how long they’ve been there for. You can’t really see them, but if you feel around the area, it’s like hardish, long and pretty sizable in the back area of her stomach on both sides.

She has an appointment on Wednesday, so I’m just a little anxious. My partner thinks it’s just some sort of fat or scar tissue from nursing, but I’m not sure if that is a thing, so I’m crossing my fingers while we check her out on Wednesday.

 

[Aeoh]

Update: the advice was just to monitor her. Behavior and all is fine.

Within the past 2 weeks, we noticed large lumps in her breast/tummy area. No clue how long they’ve been there for. You can’t really see them, but if you feel around the area, it’s like hardish, long and pretty sizable in the back area of her stomach on both sides.

She has an appointment on Wednesday, so I’m just a little anxious. My partner thinks it’s just some sort of fat or scar tissue from nursing, but I’m not sure if that is a thing, so I’m crossing my fingers while we check her out on Wednesday.

On the bright side, she’s enjoying her first Christmas season in a warm home with her daughter 🥲

 

[di and bob]

I pray its nothing serious. Don't worry until you know for sure.

 

[fionasmom]

Those are true Christmas pictures of such happy cats! You have done a great job with them. Please let us know what the vet says.