Possible Pregnancy?

[ofallxtoxpieces]

To make a long story short, on Sunday I found a stray cat I've been hearing for about a week. My boyfriend wouldn't let me bring her in because he's concerned about fleas and toxoplasmosis (I'm 14 weeks pregnant). On Monday I found out it's supposed to be cold and rainy all week so I went looking for her and brought her in. I originally saw her in the dark and assumed she was around 4 months old. When I brought her in the house I realized that she is very small but does not have a kitten face. I'm guessing she's somewhere between 7 months to a year old. I bathed her with Dawn and she is staying in the bathroom until the frontline arrives. She has small red scabs and hair loss which I believe is a flea allergy.

Upon closer examination her lower belly (just past her ribs) bulges slightly and the bulge shifts to one side or the other when she moves certain ways. I've never seen a pregnant cat before (my females were always fixed and indoor cats), so I have absolutely no experience in what to look for. Her nipples appear extended and there is little/no fur in a small circle around each one. I tried to palpate her stomach, but it just feels firm to me. She is unbelieveably affectionate to everyone she's met and eats like she is starved. She's a small cat but does not appear underweight or malnourished. The neighbors had been feeding her for a few days and her coat is starting to look better since I brought her in. Money is tight and I have to wait until my next check to get her to the vet, but I figured it is better for her to be warm, dry, and fed than cold and wet.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Willowy]

She probably is. It's fair to assume that any cat over 4 months old who is unspayed and has been around a tomcat is pregnant. Although she could have larger nipples because she had a litter earlier this year, and possibly isn't pregnant again yet. She doesn't appear to be too far along if she is pregnant. If you can get her spayed ASAP that would be best. If you let us know your general location, someone should be able to recommend a low-cost spay program in your area.

 

[StefanZ]

Adding to Willowys as usually wise words:

Another try may be to cooperate with a shelter nearby. Most shelters are always full, but they not seldom help the founder with advices and vet costs. Or at last, send you to their vet they do cooperate with. Not all are so helpsome, but it is worth a try.

Good you isolated her in the bathroom. That is the standard way to go, beforre defleasing and deparasiting and preferably vet check up.

About the toxoplasmos. Cats are NOT the sole source of toxoplasmos. The bacteria is common in earth. So for example, not enough rinsed vegetables are a far more common source of toxoplasmos...
That said, let your boyfriend change the litter, as THIS is the main source by cats... while changing litter.

Are you planning to perhaps adopt her yourself?


Good luck!

 

[ofallxtoxpieces]

Thanks for the replies. I really want to keep her, my boyfriend does not. He hates cats and absolutely will not do anything related to caring for her (even though I take care of his stupid puppy, which is 100x's more work than a cat). I did a lot of research on toxoplasmosis and pointed out to him that there are several ways to contract it. It takes 24 hours for eggs to become contagious, so as long as the box is scooped every day I wouldn't contract it from the cat's feces. I also told him that it's possible for the dog to carry it (any warm blooded animals that consume raw meat can contract it and I have had to try to wrestle several small dead animals from the puppy on walks). As far as the cat's litter, I've been taking every precaution. I scoop it and put it in the outside trash in a plastic bag every time she goes to the bathroom, I wear gloves when I scoop it, and I wash my hands before and after handling any animals or food. I also pointed out to him that I'm more likely to contract the disease from making dinner than from the cat, he's just so dead-set on not having a cat. I'm going to be taking her to the vet next week and will be having her spayed immediately if she is not pregnant(there is a program around here where I can have it done for about $40). I know I can have the litter aborted if she is pregnant, but that's not something I'm personally comfortable doing. However, if she has kittens I will be getting them fixed prior to finding homes for them.

 

[Willowy]

You can have your doctor run a blood test to see if you've already had toxoplasmosis---if you have, you can't get it again and you don't have to worry or take extra precautions.

The vet may not be able to tell if she's pregnant or not. In that case, you'll have to decide if you're OK with spaying right away (and aborting the kittens if she is) or waiting a few weeks to confirm (don't allow the vet to give vaccinations if you want her to carry to term). Personally, if nobody can tell if a kitty is pregnant, I send her in to be spayed and I don't ask questions. . .it is sad to abort the kittens, but most will end up dead in a shelter or on the street if they're allowed to be born so I guess it comes out even. But if I can tell she's pregnant I'm not comfortable with it either.

 

[glamourpuss]

Hi there, I hope your new kitty is doing well, how kind you are to have taken her in despite your boyfriend's protests. She is a very pretty cat.

At university today I had a lecture from the professor of parasitology about toxoplasmosis, and I thought of your situation. Apparently cats have been unfairly blamed for toxoplasmosis infections in pregnant women when humans are far more likely to contract the parasite from handling raw meat. In fact, the professor said that 20-30% of humans on average have been exposed to toxoplasmosis in their lives. Rodents are quite likely to have the parasite, so if you have removed dead rodents from the puppy the chances are you may have already been exposed to it. Besides, there are quite a few parasites that can be transmitted from dogs to humans, especially from the dog licking one's face, so perhaps your boyfriend should be more concerned about his dog, rather than the cat! Cleaning the litter regularly and using gloves when doing so is good practice

If you have been exposed to the parasite once in your life, you have a much stronger immune response to it should you become infected a second time. The risk in pregnant women is when the woman has never been exposed to it before, and acquires the parasite during pregnancy. The parasite can then affect the foetus.

Good luck with your new cat. Have you named her yet?

 

[ofallxtoxpieces]

Thanks. I kept the name Serenity, that's what the neighbor's daughter had been calling her. She's doing well, I treated her with frontline on Saturday and she seems to be scratching less. I think I may have to put a cone or something on her until flea allergy dermatitis heals because she's been licking at her scabs and has caused some of them to bleed and little bits of fur to fall out. I'll be making her an appointment for the vet at the end of this week. I'm still not sure if there are kittens in there or if something else is wrong, so hopefully the vet can clear that up for me as well as giving me a better estimate of how old she is. The boyfriend's latest complaint has been stepping on litter when he gets out of the shower. When I first took her in I just bought a little litter pan and she's been tracking and kicking litter out all over the bathroom floor lol. So I stopped at the pet store today and bought a box with a snap on barrier around 3 sides of it and am going to try to get her acclimated to the pelleted litter. I'm crossing my fingers that she'll use it. So far she's just been laying in it (though she did that with the other litter too when she got bored of her bed lol). He still says we're not keeping her, but she's been here a week now