Any idea;s please.

[filardimarg-9]

There is something about Bella's past I can't understand..........she was a stray, trapped & taken to the rspca, they told me they estimated her age to be "a young adult, maybe 5 years old" also they had spayed her (the scare was very well healed & fur was about 1/4 inch long) when I saw her, now if she was a young adult, but not spayed, why did she not have kittens (her nipples are tiny, like a tiny pimple) she doesn't behave like a kitten in fact she acts more like an older cat, she sleeps most of the day & night, maybe plays a few minutes a day, She is still mainly upstairs, but wont play with me. None of this adds up to me, has anyone any idea's please?

Marg.

[Lilith]

Hi Marg, in my experience even vets tend to classify cats of unknown age, unless obviously kittens or very elderly, as 'young adults'. A stray can be quite a bit older than this! In all fairness I suppose it can be quite hard to estimate a cat's age and in a busy shelter I expect it's a routine 'one size fits all' term to be put down on the animal's description. Having said that though, I have first hand experience of a well-known dog charity deliberately advertising a dog of known age as younger than it was, to raise the chances of its getting a home ...

So Bella could be any age. Her nipples - cats' nipples, even if they've had kittens and nursed them, tend not to be as prominent as dogs'; I understand you've had more to do with dogs in the past; I know a bitch's nipples stay very large after whelping. My eldest cat had one litter before she moved in with me; my middle cat was half-grown at that time and was spayed before the Worst could happen, and her nipples are longer and more prominent than those of the cat who fed five kittens.

Also, there are owners who don't spay because they keep the girl in and believe that's ok, if she can't get near a tom. It could be that Bella was one of these, but strayed from or lost her home through some misfortune, and got picked up before she could breed; also if she was entering middle age she may have been mated but not yet 'caught on', and there are cats who are sterile ... there are a lot of possibilities. A pity they can't speak to us!

As for playing, some cats do until extreme old age, some cats don't, always, or not with the same things ... they are all different. As you and Bella get to know each other better you may suddenly find out games she does like to play ... cats can be very mysterious

[Kay]

it can be a help if a vet underestimates a cat's age, as then in good conscience you can get cheaper insurance, if you want to go down that route

[Lilith]

Ha - good thinking, Kay!

This is a little off-topic (sorry Marg) BUT - how DO you tell if an adult female is spayed? Unless she's been seen in call or has kittens, how can a vet or shelter know if she's spayed or not? Can a vet palpate her belly and tell if there's still a uterus there? If her flank was shaved would there be a faint scar? (Only some spays are midline, on the midriff.) I suppose nowadays a scan could be done, but that's a comparatively recent thing.

Spayed females usually have that comfortable portly look about them - but not necessarily; Oriental blood can maintain an elegant skinniness, and so, sadly, can hunger and poor condition ...

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[Ruth B]

From what I have heard it pretty much does come down to shaving and checking for a scar or opening them up to find out whether the work is needed. i have seen several cat cams following cats that are brought into rescues and then kept in isolation to see if they produce kittens or come in to heat.

In strays and ferals ear tipping is the norm and over in Canada they tattoo the inside of the ear when they neuter or spay them (I'm not sure but this might be done on all cats whether ferals, strays or house cats), the tattoo not only shows the animal is neutered or spayed but gives the details of the vet that carried out the operation and a unique identifier to each cat, even black cats normally have a paler area inside the ear that can be used, and as it done under anaesthetic at the same time as the operation the cats don't feel any pain from it. A system i wouldn't object to seeing come over here, although microchipping has removed some of the need.

[booktigger]

My local RSPCA opens up every female to be on the safe side, I wish we could tattoo females when spayed so you could just shave, at present it isn't very reliable.

[Lilith]

That is shocking!

It's a worst case scenario that had occurred to me, but I truly didn't think it could happen, at least not widely ...

Poor cats

[filardimarg-9]

Thanks for the replies............I can understand all the scenarios, shame if the poor things go through an op just "in case" but I do understand it.

Another question if I can.... Bella's pupils are both different sizes........anyone know what this means please?

Marg.

[Mayday21]

Hi re Booktigger’s post below:

My local RSPCA opens up every female to be on the safe side, I wish we could tattoo females when spayed so you could just shave, at present it isn't very reliable.

Tats, usually green, are put in one ear of speys over here. Also where I live Cats need to be registered with local council & need to produce sterilisation certs.

Vivian

[bobbys girl]

Another question if I can.... Bella's pupils are both different sizes........anyone know what this means please?
Marg.

I don't like the sound of that Purdy has odd eyes, one pupil reacts to light very slowly, and we know she is almost blind in that eye. It could be a sign of a head injury in the past. Do the pupils react the same?

As for nipples, among my cats, the one with the biggest nipples is Bob! Go figure.

[booktigger]

Thanks for the replies............I can understand all the scenarios, shame if the poor things go through an op just "in case" but I do understand it.

Another question if I can.... Bella's pupils are both different sizes........anyone know what this means please?

Marg.

I'd get that checked by a vet

[Lilith]

The same thing happened with my Emily (avatar cat.)

Some years ago she and the others had to be fostered by a truly wonderful rescue due to my health problems. When it came to getting her into the carrier, Emily went berserk. It was my fault; I should have got all three of them crated up (poor things) before the rescue people arrived, but the big carrier with Mousey in it was upstairs and at the time I couldn't carry Em, who was downstairs, up to join her ... Em was always super-placid; I'd envisaged no problems, but there were. Needless to say I felt VERY guilty! The rescue produced a separate carrier, which I think Em must have thrown herself about in ... she ended up with differing sizes of pupils, just like your Bella, and a detached retina was suspected. It was decided to wait and see (I WAS paying any vet bills and keep etc and donating, least I could do.) Mercifully the wonky eye settled down by itself; by the time she returned to me she was normal (and enjoying a strong bond with her fosterer - I felt guilty about taking her back.)

So, perhaps the same thing might have happened to your Bella in that trap, but yes, I'd agree about getting a vet to look at her eye.

You've had a good few problems, especially for a first time owner, I reckon Bella is lucky to have found you; she obviously needed a quiet, patient and loving home and she's got it ... I think in time she'll blossom out and repay you