Foster - pinking up?

[JenAh]

I have a semi feral foster whom I have been waiting to calm down before desexing, when she panics she just leaps and runs - in a cage or room. I am concerned she would be hurt if desexed and then startled so vet agreed better to wait.
She was too nervous for the vet to identify wether pregnant or not a fortnight ago, it is just coming into winter but she is 8.5 months old, I haven’t heard her call and she was with other undesexed boys when I collected her 3 weeks ago..
I was advised to take a photo of under her belly as she is distracted eating to check for pinking up- last week I couldn’t feel or see her nipples in photos, today (3 weeks since collecting her) I can feel them and see one set when photographing - is this ‘pinking up’ and likely pregnant? She obviously hasn’t had kittens before and is a smallish cat.
She is always hungry and eats 3 times the amount of my foster boy (who’s twice her size) and while they are both getting confidence to explore, she is really investigating cupboards and any open drawers..

 

[Sarthur2]

It’s difficult to say from the pictures, but if she’s not been in heat since being with intact males, and with the amounts that she is eating, it is highly likely that she is pregnant, which is a shame since she is still a kitten herself.

At this early stage, you have a choice to go ahead and get her spayed now or to let a presumed pregnancy continue.

My concerns are that some kittens are not good moms, and can have difficulties with labor and delivery. If she mated many times (which is likely) she could have a very large litter which can result in tiny kittens who need supplementing.

Please let us know what you decide, and thank you for fostering! I hope some of those intact males can eventually be trapped and neutered also. J JenAh

 

[JenAh]

Not knowing her history I’m not sure she has been in heat ever- would you think all 8 month olds are old enough to be in heat?
It is very sad. She startles and runs/ leaps/ panics, and now scales the cage when she wants out- I don’t think surgery is ideal until she can calm down and not do damage to herself post surgery

 

[Sarthur2]

I understand. She is feral and needs more time to acclimate. If she is pregnant you will see her sides begin to round out and bulge after the fifth week.

We have lots of informative articles on cat pregnancy at the top of the Pregnant Cats and Kitten forum that you might like to check out, and of course we are here to offer support and answer questions.

She probably did have an estrus cycle, which usually begins between 7 and 9 months. Regardless, cats are induced ovulators, so any male who mated her would induce ovulation which can result in conception.

 

[JenAh]

The hard bit is she is so hungry, I’m not sure if she is just finding her own normal after having had to compete for food with many and will get a bit fat, or if the hunger is pregnancy related.
She was only 2.2kg when we visited the vet, she is small compared to the boy I have, they both seem well fed and neither ‘skinny’.
Would a male attempt to mate if she wasnt showing she was ‘on heat’? I will care for her and them either way, just curious.
I’ll attach a new photo from today.. I can’t find any nipples on the desexed boy to compare- and couldn’t find her nipples at all when she first arrived.. they seem very small, but are a definite shade of pink. Sorry not the best photo,she was eating off my lap and it’s a struggle to not startle her and get this photo (but actually huge progress!)