Expert: Jessica - 12/22/2009

Question
my cat is about one a year and a half.she has been pregnant before but it was a miscarage.but after she had to feed her sisters kittens because she could not feed them.now one of the males are about 7 and a half months and my cat was in heat her belly is bigger,she is more loving,just walks around and sleeps,eats more what could it be. also one of the other kittens are still nursing could that have an effect  

Answer
Hi Amanda.  It's certainly possible that she's pregnant if she was recently in heat and was exposed to any unneutered males over the age of 5 months or so.  It's very difficult to tell if a cat is pregnant for sure until she is about 6 weeks along, unless one is very experienced.  A bigger belly is the first thing most people notice, and this starts to show up around 5-6 weeks into the pregnancy.  Enlarged nipples are another sign.  About 7 weeks in, some cats start to "nest" - they search high and low for a place to have their kittens, and once they find it, they may spend most all of their time there.

The best way to find out if your cat is pregnant is to have a vet look at her.  Some vets offer blood tests that can tell you if the cat is pregnant once she is 30 days along.  Others recommend an x-ray if it has been at least 5 weeks since she was in heat.  The x-ray will pick up the skeletons of the kittens.  I prefer this method, because it tells you how many kittens to expect, and you can get your kitty to a vet sooner if not all of them are delivered when the time comes.  There are also vets who can feel the cat's belly and determine if she is pregnant from this alone.  Some vets are really good at this while others aren't, and there are some stages of the pregnancy where the fetuses are extremely difficult to palpate.  So your best bet may be a blood test or x-ray.

If one of the kittens is still nursing, you need to stop her right away.  It shouldn't cause pregnancy symptoms in your cat.  However, if your cat IS pregnant, it will cause her and the developing kittens malnutrition.  Additionally, your cat should produce an antibody-rich fluid called colostrum before she begins to make real milk.  This is available only for the first two days of nursing.  If this older kitty who is nursing drinks it all, there will be none available for the newborns.  This fluid is what provides protection against germs until the babies' immune systems begin to develop.  Without it, they are left without any defense against deadly viruses.

Even if your cat turns out not to be pregnant, it's definitely time for this other kitty to stop nursing if she is 7 1/2 months old.  It's unhealthy for your cat to continue producing milk for 8 months, as it costs her body a lot of nutrition.  It's also unhealthy for the 7 1/2 month old, because the lactose in cat milk can cause digestive disturbances in kittens over the age of 12 weeks.

All the kitties involved are old enough to be spayed or neutered, and you may be able to find assistance.  Check out:

www.spayusa.org
www.neuterspay.org
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

Good luck with all!

Jessica