How to tell if my cat is pregnant

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2004
How to tell if my cat is pregnant
4
Tue, 01-11-2005 - 1:17pm

Hello to everyone
I have a two two-year-old female cats (Bam and Boo) and an 9 month old female kitten (Baby). None of the three are fixed. Despite our best efforts to keep them inside the house, they are very wily and do manage to escape now and then. There are a couple males in the neighborhood and here lies our problem: Baby and Boo have been cycling normally, but we have not seen Bam in heat in a long time. She is a big cat, so we can't really tell if shes carrying. Are there any behavioral (or other) signs we should be looking for to make sure?

Caitlin

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
Tue, 01-11-2005 - 5:29pm

First, I strongly urge you to get all three cats spayed. The reason why they try to escape to the outdoors is cause their natural instincts are to breed. If you were to get them spayed, they'd probably quit trying to escape the house cause they would have no reason. Plus, it would help calm them down in general. Also, there are SO MANY unwanted cats in shelters and running around the streets. Here's a link about pet overpopulation:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/pet_overpopulation_and_ownership_statistics/hsus_pet_overpopulation_estimates.html

I believe some organizations like the Humane Society will help offset the cost of spaying/neutering your pets if cost is an issue.

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 01-11-2005 - 6:12pm

Hi Caitlin.


Photobucket

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-06-2004
Tue, 01-11-2005 - 8:57pm
Years ago one of my cats got preg., the only sign we had was she was always so hungry. She would bite your feet, trying to rush up her feeding. Cats that are fixed, male and female are alot happier, safer too. Donna
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2003
Wed, 01-12-2005 - 6:57pm

The best way to tell is by running your hands along her underside. If the nipples are noticeably engorged, then she almost certainly is. I can't remember at what point they start producing milk and starting to swell, but the swelling comes first, and before you'd normally think -- four weeks gestation, maybe? Then a week or two before she gives birth, you can actually express milk from the nipple, and you KNOW. At five or six weeks gestation you can sometimes feel the kittens move.

By the way, you said you haven't seen her in heat in "a long time", but I'm sure you can't remember precisely when. Pregnancy in cats lasts just a shade over two months.

Penelope