Is my cat pregnant?

[ThisIsMyName]

OK, I have no idea if this really belongs under "Medical Sciences" but it's the only Topic that made sense...

OK, recently my cat was in heat. She's a little gray cat with a little Siamese in her, about nine months old. I live in the country, smack dab in the middle of four acres. Never once have I seen another cat besides my own. About two months ago (My cat was in heat from about mid January to early March) my dad and mom spotted a strange cat in one of our trees but my dogs came running to greet them and the cat jumped out of the tree and ran away.

This morning, I went to pick my little cat up and I felt something on her stomach. I thought it was a tick because it's totally normal to find ticks on animals around her. I looked on her stomach and all of her nipples are H-U-G-E.... Huge and pink. And so I Googled it and I came across varying results. Some say that if a cat has big, pink nipples it can't not be pregnant... Others explain stories about thinking their cat was pregnant because oh its nipples but it never ever had babies....

Does anyone have any information or tips for me?

(I also felt her stomach to try and feel for the firm part that's suppose to be babies, but I can't tell... )

[Fatstep]

the gestational period for cats is 63 days i believe, so that'll vary a little bit if she's small, and also if she's small then you'll see her gain weight much faster.

[Boerseun]

Is your cat pregnant? I dunno. Did you use a condom?

Your feline could just be in eustrus.

I think that is how thats spelled, keep her isolated for a while to see if she calms down, after 'bout a month you should be able to tell one way or another

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by Boerseun

Is your cat pregnant? I dunno. Did you use a condom?

See, I was going to ask if the cat had been cleaning the house and eating pickles with ice cream, but that will do.

Originally Posted by chendoh

keep her isolated for a while to see if she calms down, after 'bout a month you should be able to tell one way or another

I think chendoh raises a good point. Just wait and see, but I wouldn't keep her isolated just yet. There isn't much you can do one way or the other, so the best thing is to let nature take it's course. Clearly if she seems to be in pain or stops eating/drinking you should take her to the vet. Barring signs of illness, just keep treating her as you would any other day, and start deciding which set of blankets/sheets you'r going to donate to her birth.

[ThisIsMyName]

Lol, thanks for the tips.

Originally Posted by chendoh

Your feline could just be in eustrus.

What's that?

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMyName

OK, I have no idea if this really belongs under "Medical Sciences" but it's the only Topic that made sense...

OK, recently my cat was in heat. She's a little gray cat with a little Siamese in her, about nine months old. I live in the country, smack dab in the middle of four acres. Never once have I seen another cat besides my own. About two months ago (My cat was in heat from about mid January to early March) my dad and mom spotted a strange cat in one of our trees but my dogs came running to greet them and the cat jumped out of the tree and ran away.

This morning, I went to pick my little cat up and I felt something on her stomach. I thought it was a tick because it's totally normal to find ticks on animals around her. I looked on her stomach and all of her nipples are H-U-G-E.... Huge and pink. And so I Googled it and I came across varying results. Some say that if a cat has big, pink nipples it can't not be pregnant... Others explain stories about thinking their cat was pregnant because oh its nipples but it never ever had babies....

Does anyone have any information or tips for me?

(I also felt her stomach to try and feel for the firm part that's suppose to be babies, but I can't tell... )

First thing. Your cat being in heat for months on end is a bad thing. My strong advice to you for the long term health of the cat is to get her spayed. We went thru this with a cat once. For her, she did not get preggers even when bred (escape artist), and kept coming into heat excessively. Its a hormone problem and she probably wont 'grow out of it'. She also runs a higher risk of developing breast cancer at between 5 and 10 years old.

Second thing. There is feline leukimia which is often called "kitty aids". It is transmitted sexually and by fighting/biting. If your cat isnt vaccinated against this, and encounters a male cat that is a carrier, she runs the risk of getting it via these heats. She can pass it to the kittens (if preggers) and kittens born with this disease do not have a good long term survival rate. A cat that gets it later in life can live many years with it, but it still reduces their average life expectancy (varies pet to pet).

Some links that might help you with the spaying:
SPAY-USA
Love That Cat

Locally, some vets offer spay/neuter days at reduced cost.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by ThisIsMyName

What's that [estrous]?

Fancy word for sexually receptive.

Estrous cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Estrus refers to the phase when the female is sexually receptive ("in heat", or "on heat" in British English). Under regulation by gonadotropic hormones ovarian follicles are maturing and estrogen secretions exert their biggest influence. The animal exhibits a sexually receptive behavior, a situation that may be signaled by visible physiologic changes. A signal trait of estrus is the lordosis reflex in which the animal spontaneously elevates her hindquarters.

In some species the vulvae are reddened. Ovulation may occur spontaneously in some species (e.g. cow), while in others it is induced by copulation (e.g. cat). If there is no copulation in an induced ovulator, estrus may continue for many days, followed by interestrus, and the estrus phase starts again until copulation and ovulation occur.

[ThisIsMyName]

lol Thanks for the information. I almost wish I'd just remained ingornorant and kept thinking she was pregnant.... Now I have to worry about "kitty AIDS" Haha. (She's be vacinated for lukemia though)

Well.... I just hope it's something simple (like pregnancy). And I could be wrong about how long she was in heat for. I've been very busy lately and time has flown by. Now that I think about it she hasn't been in heat and yowling for a while now. So now this is really complicating, haha. Luckilly, I have an appointment on 22nd and I'm taking her to the vet to have her follow-up appointment. The doctor will be able to tell.

Thanks for all your help!

Your welcome, My apoligies on missing your last post.

INFN, an Cdrs, offer good advice in the previous posts,
and glad to hear she's up on her Lukemia shots