Can a cat carry kittens through a spay surgery?

clynn11

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Sorry EmilyMayWilcha, but I completely disagree. I had a pregnant [now nursing] female and all throughout her pregnancy, and afterwards she absolutely looooooves her belly rubbed. All the time. The kittens are 5 weeks old now and there hasn't been a day she doesn't beg me to rub her belly. I've seen many females like this.
 

emilymaywilcha

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Sorry EmilyMayWilcha, but I completely disagree. I had a pregnant [now nursing] female and all throughout her pregnancy, and afterwards she absolutely looooooves her belly rubbed. All the time. The kittens are 5 weeks old now and there hasn't been a day she doesn't beg me to rub her belly. I've seen many females like this.
I was not denying this is common for pregnant cats. The only experience I had with a pregnant cat was scratching and biting, so I had no idea what they usually do. I did know this much, however: When the kittens are nursing, Mommy does not want anyone to come near them.
 

kittyluvluv

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My cat loved her belly rubbed all throughout her pregnancy. Especially right at the end... she is vocal and would just beg to have her belly rubbed. She'd come up to me and just flop over on her back and wiggle and beg. She ended up having 5 solid black kittens. I honestly don't believe it would be possible for her to carry kittens through her being spayed so there could have been something fishy up. She does look to be pregnant however her nipples don't really seem to be too large. I'm really perplexed by this so please keep us updated about your sweetie! She really does look pregnant.... but i'm just not sure how that could have happened.
 

missymotus

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she's certainly missing fur around the nipples like a pregnant girl.
I was not denying this is common for pregnant cats. The only experience I had with a pregnant cat was scratching and biting, so I had no idea what they usually do. I did know this much, however: When the kittens are nursing, Mommy does not want anyone to come near them.
All my breeding girls love their tummies being rubbed and are fine with me being around and handling the babies. 
 

orientalslave

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Originally Posted by missymotus  

All my breeding girls love their tummies being rubbed and are fine with me being around and handling the babies. 
The girl I fostered last summer was like this as well - the day after she arrived with me she was lying on her back having her tummy gently rubbed.  She was happy for me to be present at most of the births (came home and found the first one had been born), and for me to handle the kittens each day when I weighed them.  The other queens I've fostered have been just as laid back, and so was my own cat 20 years ago.  Fingers crossed the pedigree queen I'm getting in 4 weeks is as well!
 

ritz

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I've heard of (rare) instances when the vet spayed a cat and missed the signs that she was also a he (hermaphrodite). Could the reverse be possible.

Stranger things have happened--like this particular cat.

DO keep us updated; this is fascinating.

PS:  a cat suddenly wanting their belly rubbed can also be a sign of trust.  I adopted Ritz over two years ago (abandoned stray cat, semi-feral, socialized), and in the past six months she has asked for belly rubs and started purring on a regular basis.
 
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bigperm20

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It wasn't that she suddenly wanted belly rubs really... She's always wanted them. But according to the feline pregnancy timeline she would have been preggers before I got her. Like by a day or 2... I don't know when the belly rub behavior normally starts in a pregnancy. Unfortunately, the vet was closed today for the Memorial Day holiday. I forgot. I will take her tomorrow.
 

kittycatnap

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Lets just hope the clinic did their job the first time. So she may just be a a plus size kitty, lol. But their are some signs...
 

nekochan

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She really does not look like a regular fat cat to me though, since the weight is distributed in a strange way.  I guess it could be a really bad case of worms?
However, the location/shape looks mostly like where a pregnant cat carries weight so between that and the way her nipples look, it seems like the most likely thing here is either they didn't spay her at all (did the incision but did not remove anything) and she's pregnant, or they left some remnants of tissue behind when they spayed her and the hormones are causing a false pregnancy.

I don't think it's likely that a cat could carry a pregnancy that far if what happened was that she was actually spayed and some tissue was "missed" and left behind, because they'd have to miss a LOT of tissue for a pregnancy to still be viable-- and if the cat did somehow manage to carry the pregnancy, I think it would most likely be a very risky/dangerous pregnancy (where are the kittens attaching if the uterus was removed?)
 
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Willowy

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I will say that her nipples don't look quite large enough for her to be in her last week of pregnancy. But something is definitely going on. Let us know what the vet says! :vibes:
 

ldg

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Good luck at the vet tomorrow! :hugs: There are a lot of us that will be waiting to see what they have to say! Many vibes that whatever is going on it's easily fixable! :vibes: :vibes: :vibes: :vibes:
 

emilymaywilcha

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The girl I fostered last summer was like this as well - the day after she arrived with me she was lying on her back having her tummy gently rubbed. She was happy for me to be present at most of the births (came home and found the first one had been born), and for me to handle the kittens each day when I weighed them. The other queens I've fostered have been just as laid back, and so was my own cat 20 years ago. Fingers crossed the pedigree queen I'm getting in 4 weeks is as well!
This flies in the face of what I always read. All books I have read about cats say the same thing: Leave the queen and her kittens alone during and after the births because she will defend her kittens by not letting anyone get close to them. Apparently I need to question the sources that book authors use when they write this stuff.
 

kittycatnap

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Please keep us posted and updated!!!!!

This is really interesting.....

Good Luck!!!!!!
   <-------
 

missymotus

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This flies in the face of what I always read. All books I have read about cats say the same thing: Leave the queen and her kittens alone during and after the births because she will defend her kittens by not letting anyone get close to them. Apparently I need to question the sources that book authors use when they write this stuff.
I'm sorry but I disagree with that and have not read it in any of my breeding books. You need to be with the girls, to both reassure her and help out if needed. Make sure all kittens are birthed properly and breathing, count placentas.

Mums can get worried (meowing, not attacking) if you take the kittens from her site for weighing, but done right in front of her it's usually fine.

Perhaps the books you're reading are geared more towards feral cats.
 
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bigperm20

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I made it to the vet at about 5pm today: Diagnosis: 95% sure it's false pregnancy the only way to know for sure would be to order expensive blood work to check for hormones, etc. The Vet didn't think it was necessary. Oksana most likely had some ovarian remnants left on one of the ovarian pedicles after her surgery. He said her physical symptoms should clear up soon. Now whether they recur again or not is yet to be seen...

He gave her a full checkup and said she seemed healthy in every way otherwise. She did get some steroidal ear drops for her ears from where she's been scratching them. She just looooves those so far
 

One thing my vet thought was odd was that I didn't really notice a heat cycle (Estrus) before this false pregnancy. She should have gone into heat, and then had the false pregnancy in that order if it's caused by a piece of ovary left inside her. The thing is she's always been kind of a schizo as far as her personality. She can be totally cool, calm, and collected one minute, and the next she's the cat from Pet Semetary. I'm not saying she's mean, I'm just saying she's hot and cold. This could just be b/c she's still technically a kitten. Her weird behavior obviously became more prominent the past couple of weeks. But the no estrus thing concerns me as to whether or not an ovary remnant is the actually the problem.

As far as fixing the problem, the clinic she went to initially has offered to have their best doctor do the amended procedure for free. My question was "Why didn't your best doctor do it the first time?" I can't really be mad though my vet told me that this kind of thing happens from time to time due to the small size of the incision made to remove the sexual organs.

I think my best bet at this point is just to wait and see what happens next. I don't want to risk putting her under the knife again if this is something that will clear itself up. I doubt it will, but regardless I'm in no rush. Keep little Oksana and I in your thoughts and prayers and thanks for all the support.

Kevin AKA Big Perm
 

emilymaywilcha

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I'm sorry but I disagree with that and have not read it in any of my breeding books. You need to be with the girls, to both reassure her and help out if needed. Make sure all kittens are birthed properly and breathing, count placentas.

Mums can get worried (meowing, not attacking) if you take the kittens from her site for weighing, but done right in front of her it's usually fine.

Perhaps the books you're reading are geared more towards feral cats.
The books were for regular cat owners who are not trying to breed, but may somehow have a pregnant (and completely tame) cat.

Of course, informatoin could have changed because I read this 18 years ago, when 6 months was considered the minimum age for fixing cats in most places.
 

barbb

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Hi Kevin, my youngest cat Lola was found to have a little bit of endometrial/ovarian tissue despite having been spayed as well. I was the foster mom to Lola and her littermates and her mom, so I have had her since she was a very young kitten. I kept track of her littermates and I did notice that Lola stayed smaller and was more active while her sister gained a little more weight and was less active. I attributed it to her adoptive family feeding different food. 

Then two years after I had her, Lola went into heat out of nowhere! It was really strange. I took her to the vet who tested her and confirmed the tissue and said they would do the surgery and fix it. I declined because I didn't want to put her through that so many years later. I know there is a risk if she should get outside. She doesn't have complete heats but occasionally she is "hormonally challenged" LOL.

A friend of mine also had this happen to one of her cats, and she told me very recently that she learned of another cat that was only spayed on one side and that the other side was as if nobody touched her at all. They were trying to figure out what the heck happened, if the vet got interrupted halfway through or what. 
 

So accidents do happen. 

You also mentioned that your kitty has gas, and I would make sure she doesn't have roundworms. Even though she was wormed, it is possible that the worms migrated to her lungs and were encrusted and became dormant- and now if her ovarian tissue is releasing hormones, that would make the worms act up. This is usually how kittens get worms from their mom, because the pregnancy activates the worms that are encrusted and dormant in the mom's lungs.http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...animal-health/roundworm-infection-in-cats/336 . Anyhow, just something to keep an eye out for. Take care and I hope it all works out. 
 

missymotus

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did they do an ultrasound to rule out an infection? Hopefully she returns to normal soon
Of course, informatoin could have changed because I read this 18 years ago, when 6 months was considered the minimum age for fixing cats in most places.
Indeed info from 18 years ago is grossly outdated now.
 
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bigperm20

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Hi Kevin, my youngest cat Lola was found to have a little bit of endometrial/ovarian tissue despite having been spayed as well. I was the foster mom to Lola and her littermates and her mom, so I have had her since she was a very young kitten. I kept track of her littermates and I did notice that Lola stayed smaller and was more active while her sister gained a little more weight and was less active. I attributed it to her adoptive family feeding different food. 

Then two years after I had her, Lola went into heat out of nowhere! It was really strange. I took her to the vet who tested her and confirmed the tissue and said they would do the surgery and fix it. I declined because I didn't want to put her through that so many years later. I know there is a risk if she should get outside. She doesn't have complete heats but occasionally she is "hormonally challenged" LOL.



A friend of mine also had this happen to one of her cats, and she told me very recently that she learned of another cat that was only spayed on one side and that the other side was as if nobody touched her at all. They were trying to figure out what the heck happened, if the vet got interrupted halfway through or what. 
 


So accidents do happen. 



You also mentioned that your kitty has gas, and I would make sure she doesn't have roundworms. Even though she was wormed, it is possible that the worms migrated to her lungs and were encrusted and became dormant- and now if her ovarian tissue is releasing hormones, that would make the worms act up. This is usually how kittens get worms from their mom, because the pregnancy activates the worms that are encrusted and dormant in the mom's lungs.http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...animal-health/roundworm-infection-in-cats/336 . Anyhow, just something to keep an eye out for. Take care and I hope it all works out. 
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been really busy lately. Oksana has been doing a lot better thank goodness. I think the gas has more to do with her wet food only diet than anything. I finally found a type of Friskies she will eat consistently. It has a lot of gravy in it, which she loves, so maybe that's to blame. She's always had bad gas since I had her but I wouldn't smell it but maybe once or twice a week. Since I went wet food only (which was about the same time I thought she was preggo) she's had it everyday. I call her "My Own lil' Personal Skunk" b/c she poots every time I pick her up LOL!

She was just wormed with super potent wormer a week before she started having issues so she had enough of it in her system if any dormant roundworms did migrate.
 
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