Expert: Jessica - 9/1/2009

Question
On 6/26 my family and I left to see a movie. When we returned about 5 hours later we noticed that the houses past "stray" visitor had managed to sneak in. Now I very much doubt this male has ever been neutered but he surely had sufficient time alone with our 2, then in heat, females. They were near the end of their heat cycle and we've been watching them since. One we know is not pregnant as she has gone into heat several times since. The other has shown every telltale sign of pregnancy; pinking, increased girth, increased affection and appetite. The problem is now at what would be 66 days at the time of this writing, we've noticed several inconsistencies. Her girth never got larger then holding one to three kittens at max. The inability to palpate or feel any kittens though we do believe we may have seen movement. To date she has failed to show signs of going into active labor. Matter of fact it's almost as if her girth has decreased a little. Other then waiting to see does this situation sound like anything you have experienced? Pregnant with small litter or false pregnancy?

Answer
Hi Magnus.  Confusing, indeed, and it sounds like at this point, anyone’s guess is probably as good as the next person’s!  It is very possible that she’s carrying a small litter.  One of my Siamese became pregnant with one single baby.  Her nipples became pink and all, but she just barely filled out, and after a few weeks, I wondered if perhaps she’d just been eating a little extra.  Her entire pregnancy, I never felt a movement.  Even the veterinarian could not be certain with an exam, and only an x-ray confirmed the pregnancy existed.  I would really encourage you to have your kitty x-rayed to find out for sure.  If she is pregnant, you’ll be glad you had it done, as it will come in handy to know how many kittens to expect.  You’d be surprised how many cats experience complications during labor and end up not delivering all of their babies.

False pregnancies are much less common in cats than in dogs, but they do happen.  In general, it should be ending right about now if this is the case, as typically they end by the time they would have delivered were they really pregnant.

Another possibility would be that your kitty was pregnant and the pregnancy aborted.  In cats, unless the pregnancy is nearly full-term, the fetuses are very often absorbed by the body rather than being delivered (called fetal resorption).  As the fetal tissue resorbs, it could explain why she is beginning to lose girth, although there are also some who claim to notice their queens look slimmer in the few days prior to delivery due to the alignment of the fetuses for delivery.  

So truly, unless you decide to have an x-ray done to 100% confirm or rule out the pregnancy, it will just be a waiting game to see if she ends up delivering any kittens or not.

Best wishes!

Jessica