# Barn cat may be pregnant....



## Laney3535

We got two barn cats from a friend two months ago. One boy one girl. They are six months old now. We spaced setting up an appointment to spay an neuter.... Big big mistake. Pretty sure the Female her name is minx is pregnant. You pick her up and her tummy feels hard and she's very round. Unlike George our male cat. He's being spayed soon. Can't afford to get her ultrasoundEd right now because we just had a $600 vet bill from Thursday because we had our 13 year old Nubian go down. We sadly had to euthanize her..... On the plus side we have home for 4 kittens if she does have some. So that's good what are signs she's pregnant? I don't want to get her spayed right now if she is pregnant, that is not okay with me morally. But will get her spayed ASAP. What do I do now??? She's super shy and doesn't let anyone touch her and never has until yesterday and today. But today she walked over to me sitting on my milk stool climbed up my led as started loving on me and licking me, which is NOT like her at all. I don't know what to do with kittens at all... Should I lock her in the milk room with her litter box and a warm box with rags for her to have her babies in? I have experience with dogs, goats, cattle, sheep and rabbits but not kittens. How else can I tell??? Can I maybe post a picture and you guys could tell me???


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## MylieD

Cats pretty much do their thing and as long as your feeding the mother and interacting with the kittens then they're good. They are good at hiding the kittens though. I would think she'd barely be pregnant if they are six months old. That's usually when they start making babies. Go ahead and post a picture though. They seem to show real big just a couple weeks before the have the kittens. Plus you can feel movement.


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## nicolemackenzie

She's pretty young. I'd give her canned kitten food either way.

I wonder if she has a big gassy wormy belly though? Normal stools? Can you check a fecal on her?

If she is pregnant I would keep her in a confined safe area like you said. 

A cat that young may not have a pelvis big enough to pass kittens and could need an emergency c-section so be prepared for that. That could be very costly in the middle of the night or on a weekend if you have to go to an emergency clinic.

My cat was barely a year old when she was brought in and surrendered to the emergency vet clinic I worked for at the time. She'd had a kitten the day before and then the second one got stuck. They waited 12 hours while she actively pushed...

That's worse case scenario of course... But be prepared just in case.


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## MylieD

Good call on the worms. That would definately explain the belly. You can look for pale membranes just like with goats. They have deworming pills for cats at pet stores too if she does have worms.

Things can always go wrong, but cats seem to have it really easy. We lived on a horse farm and those cats popped out kittens all the time without problems. My grandma made the mistake of getting a boy and girl and not fixing them soon enough. She had no problem having kittens and her kittens had no problem having kittens until there was a crazy amount of cats running around outside my grandmas house. My point is, I wouldn't stress too much .


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## Allison

Even if she is pregnant you can did do a spay on her. My cat got spayed with kittens in her when she was 5 months old. We didn't know that at the time she was pregnate. But they can do it. Actually the place I got my cat spayed at encourages it, But if you have a moral objection then maybe that's not an option :/ if the cat is 6 months and not done growing having too many kittens might hurt her in the long run. My cat never grew after the babies since they took so much out of her. Just saying to give you info on the options!


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## Laney3535

They've been wormed they are both very healthy I'll go out and get a picture of her. Her behavior change is what is getting me. I could be wrong on age I'll go back in and look


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## Laney3535

And I would never let a cat suffer with a stuck kitten!! That's terrible! I worked at a veterinary clinic I've witnessed it with dogs it's horrifying....


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## Laney3535

Okay I was wrong she was born in the middle of June. So she's 7 1/2 months old. My phone is low on battery once it's charged more I'll go get a picture


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## Laney3535

I love her face in the last picture


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## Steampunked

If you can provide homes for four kittens, get her spayed, and then adopt four little loves who'd otherwise be homeless - everyone wins.


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## Laney3535

Steampunked said:


> If you can provide homes for four kittens, get her spayed, and then adopt four little loves who'd otherwise be homeless - everyone wins.


Sorry I can't do that. I won't. That goes against all of my morals. She will be spayed after this. I will not be spaying her now. I'm sorry


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## MylieD

Yep, she very well could be pregnant. Once their bellies are big and noticeable you're down to the last 2-3 weeks from what I remember. Try to see if you can feel movement, if she'll let you. We used to watch the kittens rolling around in the mom's belly during the last week or so. Have you ever noticed her go in heat? It's normally very obvious. We always just let the barn cats have their kittens wherever they chose, which was usually the hay loft.


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## Laney3535

MylieD said:


> Yep, she very well could be pregnant. Once their bellies are big and noticeable you're down to the last 2-3 weeks from what I remember. Try to see if you can feel movement, if she'll let you. We used to watch the kittens rolling around in the mom's belly during the last week or so. Have you ever noticed her go in heat? It's normally very obvious. We always just let the barn cats have their kittens wherever they chose, which was usually the hay loft.


Never saw a heat I'm worried she got bred by our other male or the A feral. We have tons out here. Our male is going in next week for spay.

She will let me touch her now it's so weird. She's never let me touch her before she always swatted and hissed at me. Weird that she all of a sudden loves me.

I've noticed the last week that she's been changing and her belly seemed to start getting bigger and then today her nipples were starting to show more. I wish I would have gotten her spayed but with me and my dads surgeries that keep happening and all the random stuff that's been going on it slipped our minds and I feel so terrible for that. She's gonna get spayed as soon as possible after this. Don't need anymore. Thank you for being kind 

I think I'm gonna go ahead and barricade our milk room, I don't want her to have babies in the hay room, it's cold in there. Should I keep George out of the milkroom or put him in there with her?


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## Allison

You should keep the boy away from her and keep them separate if you can. Because she is young she might abort, and if she does then she can get preggo again real soon! And if she by chance isn't pregnate, if you keep the male with her, she defiantly WILL be soon!

I know it might seem cruel to keep them separate but it's better than risking the other too.

And if she really is pregnate I would suggest taking her to the vet just to make sure everything is going ok. And the vet can tell you about how to help her if one gets stuck and stuff. 
Because what happened with my kitten, was one of the babies inside her actually had died and was rotting, and she was to small to be able to ever give birth naturally. 

There are just some extra precautions you have to take if this is the route you want to go! Not impossible to do, just a little extra work but you can do it! Kudos to sticking to your morals! Vegan here- I get slack all the time for sticking to my morals about animals! So I respect your right to make that decision!:hi5:


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## nicolemackenzie

I couldn't spay a pregnant cat either...I've seen it and don't care to again.

She's a little older so that's better. Good nutrition and a safe warm place to give birth should be fine. Plus you've already found homes for babies.

I wouldn't worry too much about confirming with a radiograph or ultrasound. Gestation is short and you'll find out soon.


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## Laney3535

nicolemackenzie said:


> I couldn't spay a pregnant cat either...I've seen it and don't care to again.
> 
> She's a little older so that's better. Good nutrition and a safe warm place to give birth should be fine. Plus you've already found homes for babies.
> 
> I wouldn't worry too much about confirming with a radiograph or ultrasound. Gestation is short and you'll find out soon.


Okay thank you! I don't have the money right now to get an ultrasound after that massive vet bill and necropsy costs this last week.... But if something goes wrong I will take her for medical care.

My neighbors have dealt with tons of pregnant cats apparently. So she's gonna come over and take a look! Thank you everyone!


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## luvmyherd

That change in behavior is a big clue. We had an old barn cat who would only come into the house when she was pregnant. She would stay inside sitting on our laps and purring until the kittens were about 4 weeks old. Then she would move them outside and refuse to come in. Until the next pregnancy.
You should be able to feel if her nipples are starting to poke out soon too. You can give her a nice fur lined box; then she will more than likely have them in an old bucket.:hair:
Since she has decided to be friendly she will most likely let you handle her kittens, which will be important to make them friendly for their new homes. Just like caring for any other pregnant animal; nutrition is key. Good quality cat food and an occasional treat of warm goat's milk. If you have chickens; raw eggs are good too.


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## Ranger1

Good for sticking to your morals! I'm the same way, and thought I have never faced it, don't think I'd lute a goat either. 
Also, spaying pregnant cats vastly increases the chances of hemorrhaging and death. I think all vets charge more to do it, and some won't even do it. 

Anyway, hard to tell with a black cat. Are her nipples getting bigger? 
I'd just treat her like a young doe-good nutrition and keep an eye on her. 

Is her coat nasty and dull? It often will be if it is worms....


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## Laney3535

Ranger1 said:


> Good for sticking to your morals! I'm the same way, and thought I have never faced it, don't think I'd lute a goat either.
> Also, spaying pregnant cats vastly increases the chances of hemorrhaging and death. I think all vets charge more to do it, and some won't even do it.
> 
> Anyway, hard to tell with a black cat. Are her nipples getting bigger?
> I'd just treat her like a young doe-good nutrition and keep an eye on her.
> 
> Is her coat nasty and dull? It often will be if it is worms....


Ner nipples are getting bigger along with her tummy. Her coat is very shiny and soft. No scraggly spots or bald spots, she's very healthy. Her eyes are bright she's still energetic and eating normal, and drinking Normal!


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## Steampunked

For me, it depends on if there are kill shelters for an animal type - since there are for cats, extra kittens means some kittens will die regardless - and they'll be born ones. I feel a bit sad if I have to do it, but generally _young _cats are preferably spayed here by vets as the risks of giving birth for a young animal are much higher than the risk of spaying while pregnant. (Cats are a feral animal here, so most of the people in the farm community I'm in wouldn't spend the money on a pregnant feral cat, when shooting them is legal.)

I'm glad you'll be spaying her afterwards, she should make a great pet.


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## SalteyLove

Definitely bump up her nutrition at this point. If she has only been eating dry food, you will want to get her on canned food twice a day throughout lactation. Best of luck! Kitties are typically very self sufficient during the birth process but should be checked in case a kitten gets stuck or if she gets overwhelmed getting them out of the amniotic sacs. She may become frantically affectionate a few hours before it is time and will run to her chosen spot and back to you. I have fostered many pregnant cats for animal shelters. Provide a few options of birthing boxes and make sure they are long enough for her to lay completely flat/stretched out for nursing.


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## SalteyLove

Laney - how is your barn kitty doing? Any kittens yet?

I hope the male came through his neuter well too!


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## nicolemackenzie

Any news?


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## nicolemackenzie

Did you have kittens?


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## Laney3535

Nope hahaha


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## nicolemackenzie

Hehe. Oh well I guess that's for the best.


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## GoatCrazy01

She looks pregnant to me! And I am with you for sure on not wanting to spay a pregnant cat. We have had experience with a very similar story- got a black female and a tabby male, 5 months old, male ran off, and we were going to get the female fixed and realized she was pregnant. She ended up having 2 kittens on the top shelf in our barn and they were going to fall sooner or later so we brought the kittens down and put her and the kittens in a huge cage until the kittens were a couple of weeks old. After that- all three of them went to the vet to get fixed. At this point- as the others are saying- just make sure she is getting plenty of nutrition and check on her a couple of times per day  Good luck!


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