Did My Cat Have Kittens?

[lisalu]

I know it doesn't really matter now, but I've always been curious. This little stray cat showed up in my backyard a year and a half ago - she looked barely half grown at the time weighing less than 7 lbs. In order to protect her from outdoor threats like the coyotes that roam our neighborhood, I trapped her and brought her inside. I wasn't even sure of her gender until the first time she rolled over like this and gave me a good look! When I took her to the vet for a going over, they were kind of vague about her maternal status (she "might" have had kittens, is all they told me.) I have forever been haunted by the idea that I separated a mother from her babies! I never heard any kittens mewing in the yard, and Stella never acted frantic to get back outside, but I'm still not sure.

Does it look like she was a nursing mama? My guess is that she may have had kittens but was unable to feed them and they died.

 

[StefanZ]

Yes, so its my theory too. She had kittens, but by some reason they died. Perhaps were taken by these same coyotes... Or her being inexperiencd, didnt find the best nest... Or whatever...

With probability they werent let outside to perish, becuase she as you tell, wasnt frantic to go back outside.

 

[Sarthur2]

Is this a recent picture of her? Does she have heat cycles or has she been spayed?

 

[fionasmom]

The one time that I had a feral mom who was separated from her kittens...she had them in a car which had been left open for a couple of hours and then closed...she was beyond frantic to get to them. Screaming, pacing, jumping on the car.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I too have to ask if that is a picture back from when you trapped her, or one more recent. If that was a pic from back then, her nipples do like she could have had kittens. The thing is, like many younger cats, they have a tendency to have fewer kittens, and not all - if any - make it.

If she has since been spayed, all you can do is take care of her now and let her past go. As you said, it really no longer matters.

I have a cat (now 18+ yo) who was rescued at about 2 and had not been spayed. I will never know if she had cats before - and you know what, it never seemed to matter, as I always knew it was something out of my control.

 

[lisalu]

I too have to ask if that is a picture back from when you trapped her, or one more recent. If that was a pic from back then, her nipples do like she could have had kittens. The thing is, like many younger cats, they have a tendency to have fewer kittens, and not all - if any - make it.

If she has since been spayed, all you can do is take care of her now and let her past go. As you said, it really no longer matters.

I have a cat (now 18+ yo) who was rescued at about 2 and had not been spayed. I will never know if she had cats before - and you know what, it never seemed to matter, as I always knew it was something out of my control.

I should clarify that this photo was taken a few days after I got her. Yes, she has long since been spayed. I guess I just wondered whether I took a mother cat away from her kittens, but the vet wasn't very definitive on whether she had actually had kittens or how long ago it might have been. She was so young and scrawny I wondered whether she could have even fed them.

 

[Sarthur2]

Then yes, it looks like she had been nursing kittens. It’s quite possible that the kittens were rescued when someone thought they were abandoned if mom was away looking for food. This happens frequently. But since she was not frantic, she must have already accepted that her babies were gone. It does not sound at all like you took her from her babies. She would have let you know, as mother cats have powerful instincts to care for their young.

Thank you for taking her in!