Getting female stray cat spayed: Shes always pregnant!

[kathryn]

Since I moved into my new house, there's been the same Momma cat hanging around outback. I continually try to get her spayed, but what happens is she has a litter, comes back to me for feed, then disappears for a while, and comes back pregnant again. It's never ending. Is there something I can do to like, stick her somewhere (shelter, foster home??) for a little while to let her have whatever kittens she's having and finally get her fixed! I read you can do abortions in cats to get them fixed, and personally I am pro-choice, but in humans. The idea of aborting a mother cats kittens without her permission (my main problem!) makes me want to cry.

What happens if I just basically grab her RIGHT after she has a litter and spay her? From everything I know you can't do that because it won't work cause she then won't be able to nurse or whatever, because then won't I basically be responsible for her kittens dying?

So I feel like this is a loosing situation all the way around. I let her go, she keeps breeding. I catch her and she turns out to be pregnant, I feel horrible for aborting the kittens. I catch her and she was nursing, something bad happens.


I'm just at such a loss.

I'd bring her in myself, but I have 7 cats already and I live in a 2 bedroom townhouse. We don't have a basement or any room other then my room or my moms room where we could lock her up.

Also, before anyone tries to say I need to work on the overpopulation problem and whatnot, I know that. Fortunately there is not a problem here and my county in particular is basically No-Kill in every way ('cept for totally sickly/dangerous animals) so yeah, I know theres got to be a way to do this that won't result in any death.


As for right now about 2 weeks ago she showed up skinny and I was like.. okay you were fat yesterday... and ever since me, my mom and dad and my neighbor have been doing everything we can to find out where she had these babies, or if she even HAD any and if the lived.

Today she looked round again. I mean she only POSSIBLY had the kittens 2 weeks ago how could she be looking pregnant again already?

What is going on with this cat.. this needs to stop.

Oh and she's not feral (i pet her!!) but shes really beat up and has a broken tail (always been like that nothing i can do about it) and I worry that no one will be interested in her at the shelter and she might just be 'put out of her misery' or something crazy because she's just soooo beat up and scruffy and I'm willing to pay whatever to make this all work out.

Thanks everyone.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Are you sure she was actually pregnant? Could she have been "fat" from a recent mouse/bird catch?

If she was/is constantly pregnant & having litters, there is only on solution - find the kittens they shouldn't be hidden too far away, if you can get them & mama somewhere safe till she has weaned them & get them all fixed.

If she is currently pregnant have her spayed the kittens aborted if not too close to term & prevent her from a never-ending cycle. As for your area not having an over population issue - well every area does, as long as there are animals in shelters/pet stores/ferals/strays there is not enough homes for them all.

[14+kitties]

Thanks for caring about this little one.
First off - I agree with growler. Are you sure she is pregnant or is it a good feed or even worms?

If she is letting you pet her then there are options to what you can do. If your area truly is a no-kill then you should have no issues with taking her to a shelter so she can get the care she desperately needs.

How do you know she is happy about being pregnant? Maybe she is very very tired. I know the ferals we have around here sure seems to be. If you can get her when she is not close to term it is a simple matter of taking her in for a spay. I am all for pro choice too, in humans. I had one litter this year born dead, another one I have found one dead baby. Not sure if there are others yet. There is another one who's one is very very tiny @ 5 weeks. I am still not entirely convinced he will survive. I don't know, I think I would rather be relieved of the responsibility than have to deal with that.

Another possibility - If you could get your hands on a large dog crate you could make it comfy for mom. It is large enough that she has lots of room to move around and the babies would be safe from the other kitties in your house. Word of caution though. The kittens will be able to squeeze through the bars so you would have to put cardboard or something around to stop them. You can look for used crates in papers, kijiji, lots of places.

As for getting her spayed after litter is born... the kittens need to be weaned completely and then mom's milk needs to dry up. Ideally about 2 weeks after being weaned. By that time everything is shrunk back to normal and surgery would be easier.

[kashtin's kin]

Some really good advice and ideas from growler and '14+'... The timing for a feral/stray spay can be a bit tricky, but especially since this poor perpertual? momma is a not wild, somehow restricting her to an area like a garage or a large crate/cage in a shelter would hopefully be feasible.

The first feral momcat I spayed was already 'with kitten' again by the time I trapped her; I had tried really hard to nab her before she got pregnant, but just didn't make it. Luckily, she was not too far along, so the vet was able to abort the litter. It wasn't a procedure that made me jump for joy, but there really are too many cats everywhere, and with their 'speed breeding' that almost rivals rabbits...far better kittens that aren't born than ones that have little chance of finding a home, and/or suffer in many ways.

It is great that you care about this cat, and do want to help-that is a big thing. But don't be afraid to 'think outside the box', and keep an open mind. This BB has some very knowledgable and caring cat/feral/stray people ready to help you problem solve/brainstorm.

If you've got more questions or concerns, please keep the dialogue going by posting again and keeping us updated. There are always different people on the BB at different times, so over the course of a few days you'll likely get a some more feedback. There's an excellent chance that things can work out spay-wise with this overworked momcat, so , and good luck.

[kiara]

This poor female should be trapped and checked by a vet and then fixed. She has had a life of pregnancy and misery! If I was you and she was found to be healthy, I would give her a home. A beat up cat has no chance of getting adopted, you know how people are!!! What's one more to add to your brood??? She is so deserving of peace and happiness!!! I am a cat rescuer and I have a stray at my home. He came to us in such a terrible condition, (that it made me cry at the vet's) very skinny, his legs had been burned in a small area, so he needed antibiotics. He smelled of garbage, so he must have been in a dumpster, since there are several restaurants in our area. We needed to fatten him up. His skin was dry and dirty and full of dandruff. We looked after him and helped him get healthy, he has been here for a while. We were away for a week and when we came back he was so happy to see us. He was running around the house with a huge kink in his tail. (I think he thought that he was being abandoned again). Strays really appreciate you helping them!!!

[kathryn]

Hmm okay you all make good points. Okay, like today I was petting her and she is what I would consider to be too thin. As in, since I take care of all the strays that end up in my yard, she's thin, but her stomach expands to be all round..

...Worms? Like ... yeah I kinda see what you mean now. Like those kids on TV who are in africa and skinny but yet they have big round stomachs.. thats what you all mean right?


I have a crate... I used it for when Socks had her babies.

I think....... I think I am going to have to just lock her up somewhere. Is she going to get mad? My grandmom has an enclosed patio/porch type thing...

I mean I *could* sign her over to the shelter and get her back(TNR), but to be honest I would rather handle it myself if possible instead of dumping her off on the shelter..

But yeah, she is beat up. Like total typical alley cat. I think she's been abused at some point. She showed up around the same time Socks showed up but wasn't friendly at the time or I would have probably ended up bringing her in too.

Her tail looks like someone caught it in the door or a gate, but it's already healed I think I said before so not like anyone can do anything about it.

Adoptions aren't up to me. I live with el parents. Mom says "NO MORE IN TEH HOUSE11111!!!"

I take care of my outside cats though it's not like I just feed em and that's it.

Blahh... you know what I might just be able to ask my vet tech friend for help.



Belly's round, lack of body fat around spine area. Tail bone in broken area fully fused, skin a bit loose, fur not too great either.

By the way, she is the cat out there in the worst condition. All of my other stays look 20 times better then her and are much healthier... this poor Momma is just so beat up I feel awful.. anytime I WANT to get to her to help her out she poofs and it's like argh no matter what I do.


Can I pay to board her at a kennel and have medical treatment provided that way or does it not work that way.....

[14+kitties]

Originally Posted by kathryn

Hmm okay you all make good points. Okay, like today I was petting her and she is what I would consider to be too thin. As in, since I take care of all the strays that end up in my yard, she's thin, but her stomach expands to be all round..

...Worms? Like ... yeah I kinda see what you mean now. Like those kids on TV who are in africa and skinny but yet they have big round stomachs.. thats what you all mean right?

worms as in round worms, pin worms, tape worms, many types of worms. Usually can be treated with pills from the vet. One or two doses 10 days apart


I have a crate... I used it for when Socks had her babies.

Then that would be perfect for her to re-coup in. Are you positive she has no newborns around? Please check before you put her in the crate. You can check her nipples to see if it looks like they have been "used" lately. It is very easy to tell if she is nursing.

I think....... I think I am going to have to just lock her up somewhere. Is she going to get mad? My grandmom has an enclosed patio/porch type thing...

Is it important if she gets mad? She will get over it. The important thing is she gets the help she needs. That help includes having a vet checkup and getting spayed/wormed/needles.

I mean I *could* sign her over to the shelter and get her back(TNR), but to be honest I would rather handle it myself if possible instead of dumping her off on the shelter..

But yeah, she is beat up. Like total typical alley cat. I think she's been abused at some point. She showed up around the same time Socks showed up but wasn't friendly at the time or I would have probably ended up bringing her in too.

Her tail looks like someone caught it in the door or a gate, but it's already healed I think I said before so not like anyone can do anything about it.

Adoptions aren't up to me. I live with el parents. Mom says "NO MORE IN TEH HOUSE11111!!!"

I take care of my outside cats though it's not like I just feed em and that's it.

Blahh... you know what I might just be able to ask my vet tech friend for help.



Belly's round, lack of body fat around spine area. Tail bone in broken area fully fused, skin a bit loose, fur not too great either.

By the way, she is the cat out there in the worst condition. All of my other stays look 20 times better then her and are much healthier... this poor Momma is just so beat up I feel awful.. anytime I WANT to get to her to help her out she poofs and it's like argh no matter what I do.

Cats are pretty smart that way.

Can I pay to board her at a kennel and have medical treatment provided that way or does it not work that way.....

Most kennels will not board a sickly cat. They need rabies shots, up to date needles, and a clean bill of health in most cases.
Good luck!

[Love4himies]

You are very kind to try to feed the strays.

My Sweet Pea, who has had who knows how many litters, stomach swells when she eats, almost like she doesn't have the muscle mass to keep it in. I thought it was just due to her just giving birth, but it has been a year and is still doing the same thing. It was very, very noticable when I first got her as she was extremely skinny.

I hope you can trap her and get her spayed

[kathryn]

Neighbor was over today to check out a little of kittens in my yard (Yes that mom is friendly now and will be spayed when shes done nursing!! no worries with her she loves us now) and she was saying how one other Mommy *their names are Momma and Mommy I know I'm bad at naming* has a round belly somedays too and then looks skinny then looks fat, but theres no evidence of any kittens being born within the last 3 months other then the ones I have in my yard I care for and a litter I sent to the shelter with their mom. I wasn't really attached to that mom and she got trapped and so I just brought her the kittens and the shelter is taking care of them.

My neighbor is thinking worms too.

All of the Tom Cats have been trapped and sent to the shelter. There are currently no un-neutered males roaming , but I know they can come from far away.

There's a clinic this Saturday but my moms working..... I think I should just take her to it and have them decide what to do. The more I think about it the more I get confused and you guys are right...


I just asked my mom and I think we should just try to do this clinic thing even though she has work, I can have my grandmom take me up to drop her off.

It's only 35 dollars and I already had 4 cats fixed by that shelter that does it and they do a good job.

I'll let you guys know tomorrow if we can get her into it.


http://www.ccasnj.org/clinic/clinic.html

I'm going to that 35 dollar one. Will be getting her eartipped.

Will provide medical treatment after that too for any fleas/worms she has.

Is it okay to get her fixed if she has worms ???

[14+kitties]

Yes, it is. Worms are intenstinal. Also, fleas cause tapeworms. If she is a feral that is probably what she has but better safe than sorry. Worms can pass through feces from one cat to another. They can pass from mom to kittens. Unless she has a very very severe case I can't see any problem.

And thank you so much for helping out all of these kitties. I am sure they appreciate it. kitty

[Frenchy]

kathryn , thank you so much for doing what you do , considering your age I don't know too many teens that get this involved

[kathryn]

She's in heat!! Thank goodness! I was worried she was preggo already but nope! A family down the road has a rouge cat who I was told was a girl but everyone is saying it's a boy. He's been yowling and chasing her down allllll night. He has never done this before and I'm sure they've met before.

So now I know that I am RIGHT on time and she will be getting fixed on Saturday for 35$ and I don't have to feel guilty about any possible kitten-abortions because ya, that just freaks me out. So I'm glad I will be able to get her fixed before any boy cats can grab her or even if they do I will be doing the equivalent of a woman taking plan b; preventing implantation. I can deal with that.

After that there 3 more to go. 1 will be no issue I practically adopted her. The other 2 are extremely shy so that will be a toughie... but I'll use my trapper on them hopefully.

[growler~GateKeeper]

If you can trap her now & bring her either in the house or garage - somewhere that the male cat can NOT get to her please do it before Saturday.

Thank you for looking out for all the little ones in your area

[14+kitties]

Originally Posted by growler

If you can trap her now & bring her either in the house or garage - somewhere that the male cat can NOT get to her please do it before Saturday.

Thank you for looking out for all the little ones in your area

Good point growler. If she is going to be fixed on Sat. then she can not eat anything after 8pm on Friday.
Great work on getting her spayed. As Frenchy mentioned earlier - you are one amazing kid!!!!

[Love4himies]

Good luck!!!!!!

You are an kathryn.

[ancientgirl]

Good luck with these kitties. You're doing such a great thing helping them.

[kathryn]

After I ran out there and broke them up last night it started to ran so I'm sure the neighbor cat went home and Momma got to go hide.

Once she comes around for dinner tonight which usually happens around 4 or 5 and then she'll stick around for a while after that. We actually will be able to lock her up in the shed. There's already a litterbox in there because Buddy sleeps in there sometimes.

If she's a stray though do you think she'll even use the litter box?

I told my mom to go get the big dog crate from my grandmoms/aunts house wherever it's at because I don't think she'll get the point of using the litter box and will end up going all over the shed. And I'm sure my mom will yell at me to go clean it up >_<

So it would be better to set up the crate in the shed and keep her in the crate with a bed and a litter box right?

And water of course.

[ancientgirl]

I've only had experience with really one stray, and when I brought her into my apartment, she only used the litter box to poop. She didn't cover it up, but that was the least of my problems. She peed everywhere else but the box.

The others with more experience should be able to give you more info on that.

[kathryn]

Figures it would rain today, and of course she wouldn't come by for dinner

Shelter is nice though and already said if I couldn't get her in for tomorrow they would allow me to bring her right to the shelter and get her done for the same reduced price.

Wish it hadn't rained!!! All of the cats were hiding today and the all only stopped into the yard for a couple minutes and then left. I saw her around 11 AM but it was too early to catch her and my mom was at work still. She ate and ran. Same with the other cats.

>_<

I'm still going to get it done though they understand.

[kashtin's kin]

Rats, if you're unable to have gotten her in today to spay (due to above challenge), but great if the clinic will do her another day . As for ferals/strays using the litter box, when they're been brought inside to a crate or room for temporary holding, all the cats I've had have used the litter box no problem. Actually, most have been real 'neatniks' compared to some of my spoiled/lazy?! indoor cats. As long as the box is clean, and large enough-and you're maybe able to show it to the cat... for everything!

[kathryn]

I found her when she came by for breakfeast. I know I was supposed to keep her overnight cause she wasn't supposed to eat, but it was pouring rain and all the cats were hiding and me and my neighbor are the only people who feed them in the area and we didn't put any food out.

So it's all good.

She comes and looks in the backdoor and is like HI FOOD TIME PLZ so it was like 7:30 in the AM and my mom was in the kitchen making breakfeast and saw her, so she opened up the shed and the cage and quick swooped her up from behind and locked her up. She was mad mad mad!! But she'll get over it.


Total cost came to 55$$ cause they convinced my mom to do a treatment of Revolution for 20$ that would kill off all the worms/fleas/ticks/mites etc so my mom was just like sure whatever go ahead and do what's best.

So not Momma kitty will be all better and no more darn babies!!

I hope they don't say anything cause of her broken tail like thinking we hurt her or something. I doubt it though.

[kashtin's kin]

Always good to hear that there is one less poor baby-machine momcat in the world. Instead, a healthier spayed gal who won't be raising endless litters! Way to go on giving this cat a MUCH better life . All the planning and cat-nabbing plus the $$ can be a challenge, but I always feel as if I've won one more battle in the feline s/n war!! Congratulations, again .

[ancientgirl]

You and your mom make a good team! I'm glad you were able to get her and the Revolution treatment was a good idea. I doubt they will think you hurt the cat. Great work!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Excellent!

Now this grrl needs a name

[chico2]

Kathryn,I just read all your posts and all the excellent advice you have from our wonderful kitty's.
I don't know how old you are,but your mom must be really proud of you,your compassion and love for these little guys is amazing
I am happy you have a clinic that will spay/neuter at a very reduced price,but still,it adds up.
However,you are saving a lot of little lives,worth every penny.
to you for doing what you are doing

[kathryn]

Lol I'm 16 I had to leave regular school because of medical problems and I really didn't get along with anyone so I spend my days taking care of my cats when I'm not reading and stuff like that. So of course I get really attached to the cats when I spend all morning with them.

Okay, now important question. Momma's belly got kind of swollen and her boobies are hanging too. She wasn't like this before the surgery. The same thing sort of happened to my cat though. Socks had a litter and then got spayed about 3 months later so it sort of seems like the same kind of ucky swelling Socks got.

I have some pain meds from Tripod getting his leg amputated (see my other thread) but he's not in pain and is really content. Is it okay if we give Momma a dose of the pain killer?

It is

Torbutrol 1MG but they are cut in half he gets one every 12 hours but it doesn't seem like he's in pain at all, so can we give a half of a pill to her? She's about the same weight as him.

[katherine93]

Hi there Kathryn! so happy to hear from somebody that is around the same age as me and just as passionate about animals! Very awesome what you've done for the kitty! keep up to good work!

[kathryn]

She's in the house now in the crate. We are keeping her until atleast tomorrow cause it's raining out and her belly is swollen and we want to make sure she's okay. Still need to know if .5mg of the pain meds is okay.

Same thing happened to my cat so I know that she's not like, going to die or anything but I need to monitor her and probably get her that medicine my cat had to go on when her belly got swollen.

[chico2]

Sorry Kathryn,it's a long weekend here in Canada,that's probably why nobody has answered.
UnfortunatelyI don't know if it's ok to give her painmeds,or why her tummy is swollen.
I realize you want to give her some relief now,but I honestly do not know,have never given pain-meds to a cat,although I've had cats most of my life. Good Luck with the little one

[ancientgirl]

When I brought the gang home from their S&N, I got some pre measured syringes and .5mg is the amount they gave me of pain meds. But, I don't recall the girls tummy being swollen. Can you call the place you took them and maybe get an after hours number?