Not sure if cat is in heat or before pregnancy - can you help?

[arie85]

We've adopted a cute female kitten on December 16, 2019 and at this time the vet estimated she was 1-2 months old (let's say 1 month old)....

Now we wanted her to bring more kittens as we have space in our house and according to Google when you search "when can female cats get pregnant" the first answer coming out so boldly is from webmd:

A female cat can get pregnant when she's as young as 4 months old, unless she's been spayed to prevent that.

Well, we never spayed her, she did get the normal vaccines all kittens get.

Today is April 16, which is 5 months later and only now she seems have more signs that she's in heat, she's rolling a lot on the floor and making weird sounds, doesn't look like you can see any kittens in her belly yet ...

So does it mean she's only in heat now? We have a male cat we've also raised and they get along really nicely - are they supposedly going to have their thing only now and that means we'll hopefully get to see the new kittens about 2 months from now - is that more or less the right time frame? Tnx.

 

[Willowy]

While possible, it's not really healthy for cats to get pregnant that young. Also males usually take a bit longer to mature.

Would you be open to the idea of spaying your cat and adopting some homeless kittens instead?

 

[arie85]

It's possible, but likely would be towards no to that, the kids really want her to bring kittens and they love her a lot ... there's space in the house, vet said it's a personal choice, she seems to be healthy so far without any troubles. Vet estimates she's 6-7 months old, I took the "worse" case scenario, is it still too young to get pregnant at this stage?

 

[She's a witch]

Its like with female humans; technically we can get pregnant at around 13 yo but would you like to see 13 yo girl pregnant? Your kitten is still a kitten and will be till she’s around 1yo, and even 1yo May be too early, given that she has been taken away from her family too early and for sure lacks some cat socialization she would normally get.
And yeah, maybe it’s personal choice to breed cats outside of the professional programs, but this choice has consequences beyond personal sphere; there’s huge overpopulation of cats in the world and imo it’s not ethical to bring anymore, unless you’re a registered breeder. Please reconsider. You’ll be an angel to this world if you bring a bunch of unwanted kittens from the shelter rather than breed your own kitten.

 

[cataholic07]

Kittens who get pregnant can have issues with regards to the pregnancy and the kittens surviving. Some wont take care of them at all, and seeing a kitten slowly die is heart breaking. Reality is it's not this beautiful thing where you have cute adorable kittens. You have fading kitten syndrome, kittens who bathe in their food, have diarrhea, refuse to eat, don't gain weight, need to be litter box trained, worms, its not that fun lol. I would instead suggest fostering a mom and kittens from a rescue or a shelter and fixing your cats instead. That way your kids can still have kittens but you would be helping more then you know.

 

[IndyJones]

I have to agree with the above. If you want your kids to experience the miracle of birth Foster a pregnant female from the shelter. There is already more cats than homes for them. There is high need for fosters with the current epidemic going on.

Unless this is a registered CFA cat being bred with a stud you really should have her spayed.

Spaying her will also benefit her in the long term by eliminating many nasty reproductive and brest cancers.

 

[arie85]

Well, the goal was to let her have kittens so she won't feel alone and then have her spayed, so she won't bring more kittens into life ... I think our house is safe and she's safe from risking the kittens, but I totally hear what you say about risking her own life ... just letting you know the vet said our approach is sensible, I was just wondering why she was acting like the way she was acting and now I understand she is in heat ...

Can I ask lastly if she won't feel better having kittens to raise, and having her own kittens instead of fostering little ones that never came from her? What do you think about this one?

 

[cataholic07]

If you have other cats she isnt alone and she has you guys. Cats are miserable when in heat, and I'm not going to lie in the rescue I volunteer with we have had a few newborn kittens die this year. It is heart breaking to lose one. By the time kittens are 7 weeks old the mom usually is happy to do her own thing. Some are great moms yes, while others yah no as soon as they are weaned they want them gone lol. So even if she had her own kittens there is no guarantees that she would want to be around them for long, or even take care of them. Fostering kittens yah you will need intros but with her being so young she'd probably have a blast playing with them verses having to take care of them.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Cats don’t have any emotional desire to get pregnant or have babies, like a human might. It’s all hormonally driven. Instead, she would go through painful mating, an uncomfortable pregnancy, and then a painful birth. It’s not worth the risk to her health. Fostering, especially during this time when so many of us are at home, is a great idea.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

The whole didn't come from her thing is demoralizing IMO. It's like saying parents who have adopted children cant/don't love their children just as much as those with biological children.

 

[Willowy]

She may not like fostered kittens at first. She may not like her own kittens, lol. They do get a surge of hormones that make them take care of their young babies (most of the time) but not all mama cats like their kittens once they're older. As far as fostering/adopting homeless kittens, I was thinking of you wanting more kittens, not her motherly instincts.