5 month old kitten - pregnant?

Question

Hi,

I have a five month old kitten. In the last couple of days, she has
developed a noticably swollen belly - if viewed from the top when
she is walking, it goes out beyond the rest of her body on either
side and seems to sit just below her ribs.

I have one other cat, a seven year old neutered male. My cats live
indoors, so IF she is pregnant, this is either immaculate conception
in the kitty world :) or my male is not as neutered as I thought!

Does this sound like it could be something else? I'm pretty clueless
and don't really know what to look for. I may try to take her to the
vet tomorrow, but the vet I use isn't usually on duty over the
weekend, so I'm not sure how urgently I should try to rush her off to
them.

And if she is pregnant - what's the best option in these
circumstances? I don't really like the idea of aborting kittens, but
she is very young to have some surely?

Thanks in advance for your advice :)
Gogg

Oh, I should have mentioned that she has had all her vaccinations and been dewormed :(

Thanks for your answers, everyone! It seems like a vet visit is definitely in order. Poor little thing.

I took her to the vet; still waiting for conclusive blood tests but everything points to FIP :( The vet thinks she would have been infected at the breeder's. Thanks for your help, everybody.

Answer 1

"hello cats doesnt be alive for 7 years! if the cat alive for 7 years, that will be a grandma....
cats only can leave less than 7 years.
5 months cat is just like 20years old teenager... "

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard ! Cats life expectancy is 15-20 years for indoor cats (less for outdoor cats depending on neighboorhood dangers). A 5 month old cat is not a teenager and even if it was, would you want your 13 year old teenager to get pregnant ?

The best option is to get her spayed. If she is pregnant, then yes, it will abort the kittens but at her age it really is the safest idea.

If you are 100% sure she has never been outside (no escapes) then she can't be pregnant. If all else seems normal, maybe she's just getting fat ? Otherwise, check with the vet !

Answer 2

Yeah, a vet visit is the best way right now. 5-month-old kittens can get pregnant, I have seen it with my own eyes...but I am doubtful that is what has happened to your baby. It is pretty difficult to screw up a male cat neuter, so I would assume that your male is sterile. You can check him pretty easily, just feel his little kitty nut sack and see if you feel anything in there, should just be fuzzy but not firm. Also, with a pregnancy, it would not appear that fast. That is more what she would look like near the end of the pregnancy, not the beginning. If she has been dewormed (with a vet. prescribed wormer that handles all worms, including tape), it is possible she might have a bad case of gas, or maybe she is constipated for some reason. Have you seen her going to the bathroom? My last thought on what it could be is pyometra, an infection in the uterus that any female with a uterus can get. In cats it is noticeable because the uterus gets so big, it looks like a pregnancy but in reality the uterus is filled with pus. It can be very dangerous, so I hope that is not the case. When I see questions like this I always try to get the word out there on pyometra. Before I worked at a spay/neuter clinic I had never heard of pyometra, but I saw it make a lot of female cats sick. It is a great reason to get your female spayed even if she will never ever come in contact with a fertile male.

Answer 3

Well, it could be a few things:
1. She could just eating more than usual.
2.Your male cat may not have been neutered properly.
3.If you got her from a breeder, she could have a genetic problem...it happens sometimes.
But the best option is to take her to the vet soon, a vet is the one that could tell you what's really going on.

Answer 4

My grandpa had a kitten who got pregnent when she was young and she lived close to 30 years.. I think female cats gets on heat from 4 months. So if she is pregnent don't worry she will be just fine. But do take best care of her and dont cause any stress for the young mama.. Abortion of a kitten is definitely not the best option. Nature has its way of dealing things so Im sure your kitten will be just fine..

Answer 5

If she is pregnant, which could very well be, you should definately abort. For her sake, just giving birth could harm her. She is far too young. And then sue the vet that apperently nuetered your male.
If she isn't, then maybe she is sick or bloated. Check with a vet for sure. If I could see a pic, I'd have a better idea. A vet should know. Just don't take her to the vet that your male went to. I just wouldn't trust that one right now.
Good luck!

Answer 6

if her stomach looks like a football then yes she is probably pregnant.

over 4 millions animals are being put down each year in the us alone.
One unspayed cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in seven years!!

best thing to do: have her spayed quickly. i have spayed pregnant cats before, sometimes you just have too, there are not enough homes for all the kittens that are being born.

Answer 7

FIP will kill her

Answer 8

hello cats doesnt be alive for 7 years! if the cat alive for 7 years, that will be a grandma....

cats only can leave less than 7 years.

5 months cat is just like 20years old teenager...

Answer 9

If she's inside, she isn't pregnant, obviously.
Sounds like worms or she just eats too much....
Get her spayed, anyway.
She CAN get pregnant at 5 months if she gets out.

Answer 10

I think you shoul take you kitty to the vet also. I hope she gets better is something is wrong with her.
~Kaitlin~