I think my cat may be pregnant…she was supposedly spayed !!

[daniyell1015]

Hi! I adopted 2 kittens a few months ago, someone was having to get rid of their 6 month old bonded pair kittens and I decided to take them both in. They’re both the best and sweetest cats. According to the post they were both fixed, one male one female, brother and sister. I could tell by looking at the male that he had indeed been neutered so I felt I had no reason to question or confirm, but I’m starting to think I was lied to about the female A few weeks ago my 2 year old spayed female started to act really aggressive towards the new female, (she didn’t like her much to begin with but we’ve had the new kitties since October so she has since acclimated and tolerates them pretty well) I thought it was weird but didn’t think too much about it. Then I noticed Leia (new kitty) acting a little more affectionate towards me, almost demanding to lay next to me at night which is usually her brothers spot. I also noticed her brother chasing her around and trying to mount her. I’ve never seen a cat in heat, so I didn’t even realize what was going on (what is/was MAYBE was going on, since she’s supposedly been spayed) all of this was happening around Christmas. It all finally calmed down so I didn’t think much more about it until tonight when I was holding Leia and I could feel her nipples as I was petting her, which led me to look at them and they’re bright pink, after a Google search I found out this could be a sign of pregnancy I want to post a picture and see if you guys think this is “pinking up”, it’s mostly in the tips of her nipples. I also notice some hair is missing around the nipples too. I don’t know what her nipple color was before but I do know I have never felt them so prominently and I compared the color to my spayed females nipples, there’s a huge difference. If she does happen to be pregnant, will she be okay?? She’s still pretty young, she won’t be 1 until April 20th, so she’s only 9 months old, of course that’s according to if I was even told the truth about their birth dates I will definitely call and get an appointment with the vet on Monday I just wanted to get some opinions. Also, is it possible for a cat to still become pregnant after being fixed ? I’m assuming it’s like a hysterectomy, so I would think it’s not possible. I just wanted to check before I go off on this lady for lying to me if Leia was indeed never spayed !!!

 

[Willowy]

When did she get outside (or otherwise was exposed to an intact male)?

Can you contact their former owner to ask what vet they went to? You can say your vet needs their records if you don't want to sound accusatory. Then you can confirm if/when they were fixed and all that.

 

[missymotus]

Males remain fertile for up to 10 weeks after neutering, and pregnancy is around 65 days. If he was done just before rehoming you may find the dates match up, or perhaps he’s just got smaller bits and appeared neutered?

Hair loss around the nipples happens close to birth, pinking up is around 21 days.

 

[daniyell1015]

When did she get outside (or otherwise was exposed to an intact male)?

Can you contact their former owner to ask what vet they went to? You can say your vet needs their records if you don't want to sound accusatory. Then you can confirm if/when they were fixed and all that.

Yes so she’s an indoor cat but she has escaped a many times and there is a Tom cat that hangs out around my neighborhood, she’s been outside more often then I would like because my kids don’t know how to close the the door. She’s never spent the night outside but she has gotten out and been out for a few hours at least once a week since we got her. That’s a great idea about asking fir the records, I didn’t wanna sound like I was accusing her, I’m going to message her first thing in the morning.

 

[daniyell1015]

Males remain fertile for up to 10 weeks after neutering, and pregnancy is around 65 days. If he was done just before rehoming you may find the dates match up, or perhaps he’s just got smaller bits and appeared neutered?

Hair loss around the nipples happens close to birth, pinking up is around 21 days.

Wow I had no idea they remained fertile that long, i was told they were both fixed around 4 months old. Do you think she’s definitely losing hair around there? I have not paid much attention to her nipples until now, I didn’t think I had a reason to. I’ve noticed weight gain in her for well over a month but I figured it was from being fixed, my 2 year old put on weight after she was spayed. I will say Leia does not look super pregnant, like close to birth, she does look heavy but nothing like the cats you will see if you Google pregnant cats. Do nipples get pink right before birth as well? I can’t believe this I’ll be so glad when I can get her into the vet.

 

[Willowy]

Her nipples don't really look like she's pregnant, but they are redder than usual. If she gets out a lot I guess there's no way to determine how far along she is if she's actually pregnant, so it's impossible to say what her nipples should look like at this point.

Let us know what info the former owner gives you!

 

[daniyell1015]

I hope you’re right! Maybe I’m just being crazy, I’m contacting the former owner in the morning to ask for vet records

 

[Sarthur2]

It’s possible too that the former owner paid for a spay that never occurred. Some vet practices take so many cats in a day that one gets overlooked. An ultrasound or x-ray should confirm a pregnancy and gestational age. If she’s not too far along you can get her spayed and terminated since she’s so young.

 

[daniyell1015]

Thank you everyone for the responses, I did message the previous owner this morning, I have not gotten a reply back yet and she has not read the message. I actually had a friend of mine tell me she had her cat “spayed” and her cat also got pregnant a few months later, turned out her cat was never spayed at the vets office so I guess that does happen from them to time….Hopefully that’s not the case here, I’m calling the vet in the morning. All kitties have been getting along well today and they seem pretty normal for the most part. It’s incredibly cold here in Florida today and none of us are used to this, they’re all being extra snuggly today I will update once we get to the vet! thanks again !

 

[Kflowers]

I wonder if you get your money back if the cat wasn't actually spayed but you paid for her to be.

 

[daniyell1015]

I wonder if you get your money back if the cat wasn't actually spayed but you paid for her to be.

I feel like they would have no choice, lol! I would bring the box of kittens and my receipt and be like, y’all obviously didn’t understand the assignment, can I get a refund ?! I’ll have to ask my friend whatever happened with her situation.

 

[Kflowers]

yes, with determined smile on your part. Also demand they find homes for the kittens. some things, really.

 

[Sarthur2]

Let us know what the vet says and if you hear back from the previous owner.

 

[daniyell1015]

I wanted to give a quick update on my cat. I called the vet today, they can’t get her in until Friday during the morning time frame that I need. I haven’t heard back from the previous owner, I did send another message today. I think I’m going to call the vet again tomorrow and see if they can have her as a stand by work in, or try another vet. I really want to get her seen sooner than Friday. I’m starting to think maybe she’s in heat?! Can they think they’re in heat even if they’ve been spayed? Or maybe she wasn’t actually spayed and she is coming into heat now? She’s a very quiet and sweet cat, I think the only times I’ve ever heard her meow was when she’s gotten outside and meowed at the door to come back in but today she has been pretty vocal. I’ve never owned a cat that’s gone into heat but I have heard a stray in heat and she is definitely NOT making those types of noises. She’s just meowing at me, which is unusual and chirping a little bit. I made her a little birthing bed just incase she is pregnant and going into labor but I don’t think that’s the case, she doesn’t look pregnant at all. I’ll update after the vet and if I hear from the previous owner, hopefully I’ll have an update before Friday. I’m definitely keeping her in my room just in case she is actually not spayed and in heat. Maybe I’m just a crazy cat woman, she’s totally fine and I’m over thinking all of this… but I swear she’s not acting like herself today !!

 

[Willowy]

It's technically possible for a spayed cat to be in heat, because a small piece of ovarian tissue may be left inside and still put out hormones. That's not unheard of but is fairly uncommon. If spayed, she can't get pregnant though, if she got a full ovariohysterectomy (standard in the US) (in Europe some vets just do ovariectomies and leave the uterus. . .but I'm not sure if ovarian remnants put out enough hormones to support a pregnancy).

If you scratch the base of her tail, does she crouch down and knead with her back feet? That's a sure sign of her being in heat.

 

[daniyell1015]

It's technically possible for a spayed cat to be in heat, because a small piece of ovarian tissue may be left inside and still put out hormones. That's not unheard of but is fairly uncommon. If spayed, she can't get pregnant though, if she got a full ovariohysterectomy (standard in the US) (in Europe some vets just do ovariectomies and leave the uterus. . .but I'm not sure if ovarian remnants put out enough hormones to support a pregnancy).

If you scratch the base of her tail, does she crouch down and knead with her back feet? That's a sure sign of her being in heat.

we’re in the US, I just tried what you told me to do and she didn’t do anything but look a little scared. She’s been acting funny all night. We have had a really crazy night, I’m starting to this she really is pregnant and in labor or she’s sick. I’m going to post a video of her labored breathing or contractions or kittens moving, I dunno what it is but it doesn’t looks normal.

 

[daniyell1015]

I posted an update earlier and Leia started acting even stranger as the night went on, I noticed her breathing heavier too. I have a birthing bed in my room just because she was acting so strange but even if she was somehow pregnant I didn't think she could be far enough along to be about to give birth!! I’m attaching a video of her stomach, I dunno if she’s having labored breathing, contractions, maybe it’s kittens moving?! The only thing I can feel when I put my hands on her tummy is what feels like gas bubbles popping. She’s been very restless tonight. We didn’t get to sleep until about 4 hours ago, I filled her up a bowl of water and put it next to my bed since she can’t get to her food from my room. She just woke me up meowing and she had drank all of the waterc the bowl was DRY !! I took her out to her litter box and she had diarrhea. I gave her a little bit of wet cat food (I had to give some to her brother to distract him so he will stay out of my bedroom since I don’t know what’s happening with Leia) it’s her favorite and all she did was lick it. Please watch the video and let me know what you think. Maybe she just has a tummy virus? Maybe she’s pregnant? Maybe this is normal breathing and I’m just being a spaz ?!l Give me any and all opinions, I’m a little worried about my sweet girl I’m calling the vet as soon as they open, it’s currently 4am where I am

 

[Sarthur2]

Let us know what the vet says. An ultrasound will show if she still has her ovaries and uterus or if she is pregnant.

 

[Carteave007]

Was she pregnant? Lol. From that video it doesn’t really seem like it, my cat Ruby breathes like that a lot.