Pregnant...Help?. [LONG]

[tinyone21]

I have a kitten, shes about 1 year, I believe she may be pregnant, AGAIN.
Last time she was pregnant, everything seemed fine, only she had her litter outside and were only able to find two, which i'm pretty sure she brought up on the deck herself, or maybe because she was only about 7 months, she only had two. Anyways, after a few weeks, her kittens "passed away", she was feeding them, cleaning them, she was always with them, but they still didn't make it, my mom and I thought maybe she just isn't capable of having kittens, or/and wasn't producing enough milk, but since it looked like she was always feeding them, we couldn't tell. Also, where I got my female cat, the guy isn't very, well, he has two cats that come and go in his house, and then two other stray cats that he also feeds, plus all of their babies, the two female cats, go out and get pregnant, and as soon as one has her litter, the next cat is almost ready to have hers,and then the other cat goes and gets pregnant again,they should be neutered, its horrible, (thats why I tried to give all the kittens good homes, and a friend gave some to the shelter,while I was seeing the guy who stayed there) so theres a good chance, my cat, [mischeif] may be insest. I would love to get her fixed also, but that leads to another thing, I was told that if the cat is insest, it will die after it gets neutered, and I'm really not to sure if I want to take that risk, but I don't want her to keep having faulty litters. If this is any help, her sister [tigger], same age as mischeif, was pregnant at one point, her first baby came out fine, but the second one got stuck, we had to take her to the vet, where she had it pulled out, then we brought her home, hoping the rest would be okay, but it turned out the next one got stuck, my mom managed to get it out this time, but if the kitten had survived, it would have been

deformed, the paws at least, also the fourth kitten got stuck to, but we got that one out to, and Tigger was okay. oh, and the three that got stuck, were coming out dead, I know its very horrible and sad, but I really need to know if anyone knows why that happened, to Tigger and Mischeif, and if the insest rumour is true.

 

[callista]

Any healthy cat can be safely neutered. When there is a brother-sister mating (which is what I assume you mean by "incest"--though I suppose father-daughter, etc. could have the same effect), it is more likely that the kittens will be stillborn or have birth defects.

But, if your cat has survived past kittenhood, she is most likely healthy and can be safely neutered. (Technically, for females, it's "spayed", but lots of people say "neuter" for both sexes.)

Cats are vet-checked before surgery; so your vet should be able to detect any problems that might cause trouble, on the off-chance that there is such a problem.

Now for the lecture: Unspayed female cats should NOT be let outside. Having a litter at only seven months is dangerous for the cat; she is lucky to be alive. Also, she should have been spayed long ago. An unspayed cat is more prone to cancer and uterine infections.

Do not take your example from the guy from whom you got Mischief. He is neglecting his cats by not giving them proper veterinary care; he is neglecting them by letting them have litter after litter (which is hard on the cats, and adds to the feline overpopulation problem--I imagine most of the kittens are put to sleep in shelters). You have already let Mischief have one litter, and did not get her spayed afterwards, and then let her outside where you knew she could get pregnant again (and get hit by cars and contract diseases): This is also neglect.

I am not saying you don't love your cat, because if you didn't, you wouldn't be posting on here worried that a spay would be dangerous for her. But I think perhaps you have seen bad examples of cat care; and do not realize how very important spaying a cat and keeping her indoors can be for her health.

I know I've sounded harsh; and you will probably be at least a little offended. Still, I hope you'll look past my blunt words and look at the facts. Care for your little Mischief; get her spayed, keep her inside. A domestic cat, played with and entertained, will be very happy indoors--and by keeping her indoors, you statistically increase her lifespan by ten years!

 

[tinyone21]

Thankyou very much, I know I should have got her spayed, but I wasn't suppose to be keepnig the cat, my now exbyofriend, left her here and decided to leave, and I fell in love with her, and the only reason I have not had her spayed before, was well the one reason above, and the whole rumour about "insest" cats getting spayed. Also, I have a uneuted male, she got pregnant from him, the first time, she wasn't outside at that point, and i'm pretty sure he's who got her again, he just loves her, I'm searching for a unexpensive place at the moment to get her neutered, and when I find one, I'll get her fixed first, if shes not pregnant that is, but thankyou for the information, it's good to hear I can get her neutured without having any worries, well, about her not making it through the surgery that is, i'm going to go have her checked out for other things also, just to be careful. But once again thankyou for your help.

 

[callista]

We can help you with that...

Calling all cheap spay/neuter specialists! Person in need of neutering for two opposite-gendered cats! Help before we have even MORE kittens!!

There, that should do it. What's your location, so we can find you a place?

 

[tinyone21]

Brampton, Ontario.

 

[missymotus]

Animal Crusaders of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: (416) 438-4636
Email: [email protected]
Referral to low cost vets

May be able to help you.

 

[jen]

At this point even if she is pregnant again, I would spay her anyways. You ALREADY know she has problems birthing, you really really CANNOT take the risk on her life to let her go thru with another pregnancy. She could die, her babies probably will if they did in the last litter...I would say it is a bigger danger to let her go thru with a pregnancy then to spay her. Cats who are inbred can just as safely be spayed as any other cat. This is another reason she should not be allowed to have another litter, if she is inbred, then her babies could have problems. Even if you don't like aborting, this is a huge risk on your cat's life, she cannot go thru another pregnancy and lose all ehr babies and possibly her own life.

Please do the right thing. Keep her FAR from your male cat, both INDOORS ONLY but comepletely seperate. She can get pregnant anytime, not just when in heat. She can get prego right after having a litter, she can get pregnant with a double litter at once if she is still in contact with your intact male.

Spay her first of course. Then neuter him. He will stil have active sperm for about a month after being neutered so he needs to remain indoors also.

 

[tinyone21]

Well, last night I spoke to my mom , and she agreed that if I find a place that will do it for cheap, I can go and get my cats neutered. yay! I'm going to check out that place that was named above, thankyou for that!

and I do plan on keeping her indoors the best I can, So far shes been in alot more, as for spynx, he'll be a tough one, but until, the neutering is fully finished, i'm pretty sure I can manage to keep him inside. also, away from the female, well, that one will be really really tough, but when im home, which is alot except for when i'm in class, it won't be to tough, plus she tries to get away from him also, hes big tho, and has a tough grip, and just won't let go, bad cat, but i love him. anways, now I'm just rambling on, just thought i'd let ya'll know what was going on, and thankyou for all the help!, theres actually alot I didnt know just a few days ago, so thankyou for letting me know these things!

 

[callista]

Keep 'em entertained indoors--play with them (dragging a string is great), or try catnip and see if they react to it. If they yell to go outside, distract them... Occasional healthy treats can help too (if they don't tend towards overweight). Some cats like the weirdest things, from vegetables to bread. (Don't feed onions or chocolate or milk; these can give your cat indigestion or even make her sick.) Most cats like a lick of butter or a spoonful of canned fish or cooked chicken as a treat. But be sure you don't "train" them to yell at the door so you'll give 'em treats... cats are SO good at training their humans. But you know that.

If they get the point that "Indoors is a nice place to be" the transition should be decently peaceful.

Your male, if he's prone to marking, may need to be kept in a bathroom, where smelly tomcat spraying can be easily cleaned up... He should stop spraying after he's neutered; but clean the spots with an enzyme cleaner so he doesn't smell it and think it's OK to mark there again.