Pregnant Feral Very Overdue - Misdiagnosed Pregnancy?

[vervainandrue]

Hi,
I’m fostering a pregnant feral who is very overdue and I’d like your input.

The facts:
-On Nov. 30 was examined by a vet the day she was picked up who said they felt kittens and she was 1-2 weeks away from delivery
-when found she was very thin (ie didn’t look pregnant).
-eats 3x as much as a normal cat
-started to get bigger two weeks ago
-I can’t palpate her belly because she’s terrified. What little I’ve seen of her nipples they don’t look huge
-seems wrestless the past few days, changing positions in the cage every few hours. Didn’t eat much yest but just gobbled down a whole can of food
-has not had a bowel movement in a couple of days
-No licking, no visible contractions, no bloody show.

So many questions. Do vets ever misdiagnose pregnancy? A vet at a party I had on Sat seems amazed anyone could feel 35 Day fetuses. Could the babies have died? I could really use some input. Thanks.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with the vet at the party. The other vet was clearly wrong.

Mama kitty will have the babies when it's time. Most cats do just fine. If she just began to get bigger 2 weeks ago she may have up to a couple of weeks left.

An x-ray would show how many kittens and approximate gestational age.

How big is the cage she is in? Do you have a spare room she could stay in?

 

[vervainandrue]

Yea, I detest cages. A couple of weeks ago I let her out in the room she’s in after I put down different boxes and beds, hoping she would choose one to nest in. Unfortunately she peed and pooped all over the room and crawled up in the closet to the top shelf (my husband got his face shredded getting her down). I need to be able to access the kittens if she lets me, and the top shelf of the closet wasn’t going to work.

 

[Sarthur2]

She probably feels safer in the cage. Put a towel over 3 sides of it, and perhaps after she has the kittens you can open the door so she can get a break a few days after they are born. Hopefully by then she'll feel safe enough to take breaks and go back in to nurse.

 

[vervainandrue]

Hi, this is an incredibly delayed update to my post.

So you don't have to go back: am fostering feral cat who was diagnosed by a vet on 11/30 as being pregnant and 1-2 weeks away from delivering. She looked skinny to me but I thought that poor nutrition and therefore underweight fetuses might be the issue.
Update: cat wasn't pregnant. She was never pregnant. I have no idea how this vet misdiagnosed this. She's spayed and I'm keeping her at my house until it's warm enough to safely release her back to her colony.
Thanks for your help, everyone. Weird, huh?

 

[StefanZ]

Its possible she dissolved and absorbed the kittens, being this emaciated. And later on got into a false pregnancy, still having the hormones surging around...
Not the most common scenario, but would explain why the vet felt the fetuses, and later on she seemed to be high preg...

 

[talkingpeanut]

How is she doing being inside?

Thanks so much for continuing to care for her.

 

[bklyn]

I had a similar situation where we trapped a black feral female who looked pregnant. We observed her before trapping her for two weeks, she stayed just waiting in the same area for food. We weren't able to get a good exam on her because of her behavior, however the vet thought she was pregnant. Nipples were very swollen, tummy was large, appetite was through the roof. As time went on, she appeared to get bigger. In the end, that was because she was eating well for the first time, and just putting on weight. A week later, a little black kitten (about 3 months) showed up sitting in the exact place we trapped her (right near my house, where we never see strays/ferals). There was a coyote in the area, so we rushing to trap him too, and put him in the same room as her while we prepared another room for him. 15 minutes later when we went to get him, this is what we saw. It's a terrible picture, but look close. It was pretty heartwarming.

 

[Willowy]

I had one who looked pregnant. She really did! She looked like she was going to pop. I even thought I could feel the kittens! I waited 6 weeks, no kittens, took her to the vet. He felt her up, said he couldn't tell, but we'd know for sure in 3 weeks. A month later I had her spayed. She had worms in the beginning, definitely, but she also had a big tummy her entire life. I guess like some people, that's just how some cats are built.