Pregnant or not

[msalsa]

Hello
I am writing on behalf of a friend of mine who has adopted two female Siamese cats on a home to home basis from a local cp branch.
The two cats elderly owner passed away and they have been looked after by the granddaughter and her boyfriend, for the past three weeks. The G'daughter and boyfriend have a male Siamese of there own, after three weeks of trying the couple decided to adopt out the two femails and there own male just did not get on with the two girls.
My friend saw them fell in love and took them on, she went and reg with the local vet, to get them checked over and up to date jabs, the vet apparently was not the most friendly or informative so she paid up and went home vowing to find a better one.
To the point now.... One of the females has got rather ''fat'' !!!! my friend has had the cat for one week and they have settled in, one of the girls...not the fat one...has only just got her appetite back so is feeling fine now, the other has a rather large pot belly. I know it could be worms....rubbish vet should have picked that one up and offered her worming tablets... however she could also be '''with Kittens''. Both girls are not neutered and I think the boy that they were with is entire!!
She is calling the rubbish vet to complain and ask for a follow up appt, however is there any way my friend can find out if her new cat ''maud'' is pregnant or has in fact got a belly full of worms b4 vets visit??

[Lilith]

Ohhh dear.

You can google for 'stages of cat pregnancy' - I've had a quick look myself and some sites tell you nothing, while the most informative, my rotten pc wouldn't let me copy the link.

But off the top of my head - the main symptoms of pregnancy are, pinking up, when the nipples become more pink and prominent, morning sickness (in some cases) and of course the rounded belly. Once the belly is prominent, a vet can palpate the belly and often feel the foetuses. It certainly doesn't sound as if that last one was much cop though!

Do hope poor Maud isn't facing motherhood on top of all the rest of the upheaval, paws crossed for her

[msalsa]

Hi Lilith
Thank so much for the advice I shall text her and ask re nipples, we have googled if she can give worming tablets if Maud is in the family way, and again conflicting reports, to be honest the only way of knowing is another visit to the vets, so we will know next week. The good thing is my friend is up for kittens and keeping maud. We chatted about contacting the G'Daughter of the previous owner who had the boy....poss dad! but I did say not to as they may want some sort of claim over the kittens and people can get funny can't they, my friend is on her own with a little one so we have decided not to contact them. Anyhow mum is safe with my friend and if she needs help I shall help too..will text her now re nipples.

[booktigger]

I'm really surprised - CP are supposed to ensure any cats adopted through the home to home scheme are neutered. We generally use Panacur with pregnant cats

[msalsa]

Hello Booktigger
The home to home adoption happened very quickly, my friend rang local cp, 20mins after the young couple rang and whilst my friend was on the phone the young couple left a message on the cp lady answerphone with all the replies the cp lady asked, so the cp lady picked up the replies and rang my friend back saying that if my friend wanted to go and look at them she would put her in touch with them, my friend rang the young couple up after the introduction. Went to see them the next day and just picked them up so it all happened very quicky. There are no complaints on behalf of my friend. It was just a case of passing on details. local cp were too full to accept them, and my friend was happy to have them.

[Lilith]

Oh good luck and paws crossed - yes, it might open a can of worms to contact the owner of the possible father; if Maud is pregnant your friend will have all the hard work of looking after the kittens and finding homes. If the Siamese lad is the father, those kittens will come out creamy white - the points appear gradually. If there's a mixture, Maud's been putting herself about a bit, naughty girl! A case of 'come into the garden, Maud'

[msalsa]

Hi
Well apparently the girls are cream seal point and the father is a black seal point, that is if she is pregnant, so we will see....come into the garden indeed

[msalsa]

ok update from friend
Myrtle the sister of Maud, her nipples are very different from Maud's, Maud's are pink and prominent.......Myrtels are flat ......oh dear off to the vets asap I think...

[Crewella]

As Lilith has said, it sounds as though 'Maud' had herself a garden party, and is very lucky to now have someone to take care of her and her 'happy event'!

[booktigger]

ok update from friend
Myrtle the sister of Maud, her nipples are very different from Maud's, Maud's are pink and prominent.......Myrtels are flat ......oh dear off to the vets asap I think...

She needs to book Myrtel in for neutering asap. How old are they?

[msalsa]

Hi
Both girls are 6yrs old, friend spoke to grumpy vet about neutering and booked them in, not bad going as at that point she had only had them for 2 days.
She is going to complain about Mr Grumpy and see another vet at the practice for full look at and advice.
M

[booktigger]

She definitely needs to see another vet - 6 is old to be having kittens, and she needs to do regular checks on their nipples as they are more at risk of developing mammary cancer. She should also speak to cats protection regarding helping with the cost, as they should have already been neutered if they were on the direct homing scheme

[msalsa]

Thank you so much for all your advice I shall pass it on to my friend, I think it was less home to home and more call to call and contact, however all of your advice has been noted and it will be given to my friend.

[Lilith]

Oh Maud! Naughty Maud!

(Bursts into song)

'Maud, Maud, Maud!
I am here at the gate alone!'

Which is what her chap must have said...

Oh dear Maud, my lord...

Six years! If anyone's heard a Siamese girl calling, it's like a colicky baby with super-amplified Karaoke! And they never go off the boil; they go on and on...and on. Though never mind the noise stress, what about the stress for those unsatisfied girls?

As Booktigger says, this is pretty old, especially for what may be her first litter; I'm so glad she's got a decent owner now and - good luck Maud and do please keep us updated. I used to breed 'Meezes...happy days if exhausting lol

[msalsa]

Hi
Update
You know when you get a bit older and someone says a name and 3 seconds later you change it to something else and have no idea you have got it all wrong!!!!! Well Maud is in fact Mabel
And it is now a case of Mabel come in from the cold as she is with kittens!!! Vet did an ultrasound and we think there is 4!! Due in one and a half to two weeks time. So all systems go, friend is excited and very pleased, think she has already had friends asking about them too, so good news for kittens, as friend will do lots of vetting and will only let them go to good homes, she wants me to have one as she knows I am and ultra fussy cat person who treats animals as if they were my own children!!
So watch this space

[Ruth B]

Sounds like is wasn't a case that the 2 girls didn't get on with the boy, but that one got on with him too well

I can't give any advise having never dealt with a pregnant cat, but I can wish Mabel (Maud) all the best and hope it all goes smoothly for her and her kittens.

[Lilith]

Sounds like is wasn't a case that the 2 girls didn't get on with the boy, but that one got on with him too well

Hey I never thought of that, but you know what they say about all's fair in love and war ...

If it wasn't him, your friend will know in a month's time. Congrats Mabel, and hope the happy event goes smoothly

[msalsa]

Hi
Well three hours ago three kittens arrived, mum did it on her own, although appeared a little shell shocked. kittens and mum now beginning to bond ok and snuggling up although the milk doesn't appear to be there yet, so my friend has just got some kitten milk and all the kit too. Mum is happy to let friend help out and all seems to be well at the moment.

[Lilith]

Aww!

Congrats Mabel!

The milk ought to come down soon; one of my Meezes had to have a C-section and I had to feed the kittens overnight (gently swab their little backsides with cottonwool damped in warm water afterwards if Mama doesn't do it, to stimulate waste passing) but despite that op incision she came into full flow the following day.

Bless them! Are they Siamese? Pics?

So glad everything went well and hope Mama and babies continue to thrive!

[msalsa]

I've not done a photo before I hope it works@

[msalsa]

Hi
For those who remember me posting my friends delema, I have a last post update.
Well mummy cat was just too precious to do to much feeding or washing or loving, so when she felt like not doing it then big human mummy took over.
So there were four kittens in total, one was still born, then that left two weak ones and one big strong one. Big mummy did all she could with round the clock feeding and looking after, cat mummy dipped in and out of her duties. So the end result after many vets visits ect ect. The two weak ones passed away..... Leaving big chubster. Bertie has thrived and is now around 6 weeks old. Cat mummy is relieved that all duties are about to be gone and big mummy is pleased to have a full nights sleep.
Last week Bertie met his new big mummy and daddy who already adore him and look to be the perfect fit for Bertie. So he will soon go off to his forever home and my friend will be kept in tough of his progress.
Thanks for all help and advice.

[Ruth B]

Thank you for the update. While it is a shame that three of the kittens didn't make it, it is a sad fact that it happens far too frequently and can only emphasize why, if you are not planning on breeding your pets responsibly, neutering and spaying are the best options.

I know that many will say that you should keep a kitten until 12 weeks before rehoming them, part of that is that they learn a lot of social interactions from any siblings. As Bertie doesn't have any anymore and Mum cat doesn't seem too bothered about teaching him I'm not sure it matters too much in this case.

At least there is one happy ending and Mum cat will never have to go through it again.

[Lilith]

Hi and thanks for the update, very sorry to hear that only one kitten survived but glad little Bertie and Mama are doing well now; love and fusses to them both. Bless her - she did well considering she was such a mature first-timer, but quite a nightmare for all concerned by the sound; she'll be glad to retire now