Should we or not neuter a pregnant stray cat?

Question

We have 2 cats of our own and we also feed several stray cats. One of them is pregnant and the dilemma is - should we bring her to the vet or wait until she gives birth to kittens? The thing is the last time she had a litter - she abandoned them. I don't know why or how, but none of them survived. I am afraid that if we wait, then the story may repeat itself or out estate will have 4-5 more stray cats, who will need to be neutered. What do you think?

By the way, English is not my native language, so I meant to spay a pregnant cat.

Answer 1

I'd do it now. It is sad, in a way, but then, it will also save the kittens a lot of suffering - not to mention the mom! So many things can go wrong in pregnancy, especially for a stray. She might suffer a lot, or it might even cost her her life - and the same is true for the kittens.

Cats don't feel about this like we do. She won't be depressed about the termination or anything. It's really best for her.

And really, why allow more stray cats to be created? There are already way to many of them.

Kudos to you for maintaining a colony and doing TNR. :)

Answer 2

Some vets/neuter/spay clinics DO "abort" stray/feral cats kittens for TONS of reasons. Obviously the world does not need more stray kittens. Then there are health considerations and past experiences.

It seems "bad" to "abort" the kittens BUT sometimes the end justify's the means in these situations.

If you have an "Estate" sweet pea maybe you can shell out the dough to fix ALL of the cats!

Answer 3

Let her have the kittens, but keep mother cat and kittens indoors and confined during nursing and away from other cats. A mother cat will abandon kittens that are not healthy, so it is possible that this will happen again. The mother cat might be a carrier of a disease. However, this is only one reason she left the kittens the first time. After the kittens have weened, you should bring them to your local non -kill shelter. They will be able to find good home. You can even contact the shelter now and just say that it is your cat. Don't say it is a stray.
One more note : Thank you for taking care of the stray cats of the world.

Answer 4

Is it possible to neuter a cat when she is pregnant? Gee, I never thought of that. If it's a possibility, without hurting the cat, it certainly seems the way to go, and then get the damn thing neutered. By the way, I'm a cat lover, so understand where this is coming from. There is no need to bring unwanted kittens into the world who are going to be ignored by Mom. That means they die, which is awful, or you have to hand feed them, which is really hard. Better they should not be born if possible.
I realize it's a stray, but if you can get it to stand still long enough to grab it, take it to the vet and get it checked out.

Answer 5

By having her spayed, you will have the litter aborted. This is an option, but I don't know if a vet would do that.

You can choose to let her continue through with her pregnancy, but you should take it upon yourself to make sure the kittens get good homes.

If she is prone to abandoning her litters, try and catch her and keep her inside so you can monitor her progress. If she does reject the kittens, talk to a vet about dropper feeding them, or contact a shelter that has a nursing cat; maybe she could foster them.

Answer 6

I know it may sound cruel but vet often spay hundreds of cats each year. Sometimes you just don't know they are even pregnant until you open them up. But she is obviously showing so i would talk to your vet about it as it will get to a stage that she will be too far gone that most vets wont feel comfortable in desexing her.
I would definitely have her fixed if you can and the kitten will be Euthanized immediately once they have opened her up and removed the uterus. Soooo many kittens in the world the RSPCA (Australia) Euthanize sooo many kittens every year it is just so sad. So these kittens wont have had a chance to experience life if they Put to sleep now.
Yea unfortunate i say if the vet will do it then do it now.
Also the first litter she had she could have just been inexperienced so she may be a better mother now i just don't know. I say not to risk it

Answer 7

Spay her if the pregnancy is not too far along. Yes, vets will spay while pregnant...like I said if she is not too far along. It is the best thing, the world already has too many unwanted pets, the last thing it needs is more. I glad there are responsible pet owners out there like you that are willing to neuter/spay strays.

Answer 8

If it were me I would go ahead and have her spayed now.

I know this sounds a little cruel, but if she's prone to abandoning her litters and you don't want to hand raise them I think it would be best for both you and the cat to end the pregnancy now and prevent any in the future.

Answer 9

A lot of vets in our area will refuse to spay a pregnant cat. Best thing you can do is wait for her to give birth. She may have rejected her first litter, but may be OK with her second. If she rejects the second litter and you don't feel you're able to feed the newborns, you'll have to enlist the aid of your vet or local animal rescue.

Answer 10

I recommend neutering her now. Why wait for her to go through the agony of delivery and then dead kittens or having more unwanted kittens to deal with if they live.
Our hospital deals with lots of stray/feral cats who are spayed when pregnant. Many of them are in advanced stages of gestation. It is sad but truly is better for the female in the long run.

Terminology for those who must argue about the word "neuter" being used::
Neuter is a general term meaning to desex, that can be used for both males and females. Spaying also means to desex, but only used to describe females.
So you can neuter both males and females but can only spay females.