Is My Cat Actually Pregnant?

[Bailee.Renner]

I’m

So this one might be a complicated case. I previously had a cat that had two litters and is now spayed. She’s now an outdoor cat and wouldn’t have it any other way. A couple of months ago my fiancé decided to surprise me with a kitten for my birthday. Safe to say I was overjoyed! She’s about 6-7 months old now and snuck out of the house, I’m guessing 2 weeks or so ago, to chase my older female cat. She came back the next day and a week later had a bloated stomach and enlarged bright pink nipples (pinking up). We took her to the vet and they ran an ultrasound on her. They couldn’t see anything and told us it could be worms as well as she may be in the early stages of pregnancy. We dewormed her and the swelling in her stomach went down a bit but not back to the way she was before. It’s been a week and I’m pretty sure her stomach has gotten slightly bigger. She’s still pinking up only now she’s eating more, sleeping more and won’t let me touch her stomach at all. I know the signs so I’m 90% sure she’s pregnant but it’s driving me crazy not knowing! What do you all think?
I’ve included pictures as well.
Thanks in advance!

 

[She's a witch]

She is super young too be pregnant, I wouldn’t risk any complications and spay her ASAP. Kitten having kittens is never a good thing

 

[abyeb]

It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it’s possible that she is pregnant, she is old enough. This article has more information: How To Tell If My Cat Is Pregnant?

 

[Sarthur2]

She’s likely pregnant. Now would be a good time to spay her unless you want kittens.

 

[Bailee.Renner]

I agree that she’s way too young to be having kittens which is why I initially went to the vet. I’m not comfortable spaying her while she’s pregnant (my own opinion) but she’s so small that I was very concerned. After examining her my vet said that she would have little to no complications if she is pregnant. I still have concerns so if she is we’re going to be visiting the vet on a regular basis to monitor her condition and make sure she’s healthy. At the moment they said to measure the biggest part of her stomach, wait a week and then take another measurement. If she’s bigger than the week before then we’ll be making another vet appointment. If she is pregnant then I’ll be spying her as soon as she’s able to be spayed after having her kittens. If she’s not then I’ll be spaying her right away.

 

[lutece]

She’s about 6-7 months old now and snuck out of the house, I’m guessing 2 weeks or so ago, to chase my older female cat. She came back the next day and a week later had a bloated stomach and enlarged bright pink nipples (pinking up).

Cats don't show these pregnancy signs only one week after they have been bred. It generally takes about 3 weeks before you see these signs of pregnancy... two weeks at an absolute minimum... but not one week. Sometimes cats get pink nipples when they are in heat, however, and this can be confusing. It's possible that is why you noticed pink nipples.

Of course, since she is not spayed and she got out of the house, it is possible that she may be pregnant. Ultrasound is accurate for pregnancy diagnosis 3 weeks after mating (not one week after mating... I'm not sure why your vet ran the ultrasound at that time). At 3 weeks gestation, if you do not see anything on an ultrasound the cat is not pregnant.

 

[Bailee.Renner]

The signs have gone away so you’re right lutece. It seemed to be a combination of being in heat and the deworming taking its time. Our vet told us the swelling would be gone after 24 hours but it seemed to take longer so now she’s not back to her original healthy lean weight and size. The pinking has gone away as well which would mean she was just going through a heat cycle. I’ve scheduled her spay appointment for the end of this week No babies for my baby!

 

[Bailee.Renner]

So now she is back to her original healthy lean size and weight***
Sorry for the previous typos