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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / May 2005Mother Cat Questions
Last night I started fostering a momma cat who had given up her kittens that day. Her mammary glands are still quite swollen. I have no experience with this. What exactly will happen to the residual milk in her mammaries? Is there any chance she could have become pregnant in the (I estimate) six weeks or so she was nursing her kittens? I think she is more flatulent than is usual for cats. Does this go along with being a nursing mother cat? Any special care guidelines? Feed her normal quantities of food? She is very affectionate and obviously not feral. I was able to give her a manicure without much difficulty last night. She also arrived very clean, FWIW. As some of you may remember, I continue caring for my little hop-a-long cat (with the mending broken leg), too. He had surgery a few weeks ago, wears a pretty sizable cast, and has the cast/bandage changed once a week. He is neutered but I see him pleasing himself (I trust you know what I mean). She of course is not yet spayed. I am keeping them separated, though last night they each got a few glimpses of each other. Each had momentary hissy-fits, though not at the same meeting. I figure with his mending leg, and her being so new, perhaps a little traumatized by losing her kittens, and therefore altogether still a little frightened, I should keep them separated for at least the next few months. After which she'll be spayed and his cast will be off. > Last night I started fostering a momma cat who had given up her kittens that > day. Her mammary glands are still quite swollen. I have no experience with > this. I seen this before; they will go down on thier own, her body will start to absorb the fluid. I'd give it a good 4 days, yule see them go down. > Last night I started fostering a momma cat who had given up her kittens that > day. Her mammary glands are still quite swollen. I have no experience with > this. > > What exactly will happen to the residual milk in her mammaries? Nursing stimulates milk production. The mammary gland will stop producing milk when the kittens stop nursing and the remaining milk will disipate. > Is there any chance she could have become pregnant in the (I estimate) six > weeks or so she was nursing her kittens? Queens can go into estrus anytime between 2 to 8 weeks (avg ~4 wks) from when she stops lactating and weaning. If she was nursing her kittens for 6 weeks, I don't think she got pregnant again-- however, it is possible. If I were you, I'd get her neutered very soon and keep her indoors and away from intact males until she's neutered. > I think she is more flatulent than is usual for cats. Does this go along > with being a nursing mother cat? > > Any special care guidelines? Feed her normal quantities of food? I feed recent moms canned kitten food for a month or so after birthing for the added nutrition for recovery and to strengthen her immune system. > She is very affectionate and obviously not feral. I was able to give her a > manicure without much difficulty last night. She also arrived very clean, [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > least the next few months. After which she'll be spayed and his cast will be > off. I wouldn't wait a few months to have her neutered- If there's a chance she's pregnant, however unlikely, it would be best for her to neuter her *now*. Best of luck, Phil "Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote E wrote snip for brevity > > Is there any chance she could have become pregnant in the (I estimate) six > > weeks or so she was nursing her kittens? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > were you, I'd get her neutered very soon and keep her indoors and away from > intact males until she's neutered. Thanks, Barry and Phil. From this cat's antics the last two nights, I think she may very well be in heat. But I am kinda clueless on exactly what "in heat" ("in estrus") means, other than the cat is looking to get pregnant, so I have to read more. Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are spayed. I'll talk to the Rescue Org and see what they think about the chances of her being pregnant now, as they know a bit more about where she's been recently. > Thanks, Barry and Phil. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I'll talk to the Rescue Org and see what they think about the chances of her > being pregnant now, as they know a bit more about where she's been recently. Why not just neuter her now? Female cats in heat can just drive you crazy, and it's no fun for them either. Plus the risk, however small, that she's either already bred, and why wait a few months? Is she in bad shape, physically? Sherry > Why not just neuter her now? Female cats in heat can just drive you > crazy, and it's no fun for them either. Plus the risk, however small, > that she's either already bred, and why wait a few months? Is she in > bad shape, physically? I will speak to the Rescue Organization. I did google yesterday and saw indications that it's better to spay something at least two weeks after her mammaries stop producing milk. The surgery is easier, IIRC the sites said. She is in good shape. Except for her swollen mammaries (which I feel have already begun to shrunk after just two days), she's active, gentle, and affectionate. Though I understand the latter are also signs of being in estrus. This morning I discovered I had left my bedroom window open half an inch last night. Jumping up to get to the window is where she was particularly going nuts. I finally put her in her kennel (= travel box/crate), and she finally settled down. But, yes, it was a few hours of conniptions from her until then. I noticed on one of her front claws this morning what I think is dried blood. So I'm a-googling more. All help on this subject appreciated. I'm a woman but the whole menstrual cycle thing for cats is new to me. > <sriddles@aol.com> wrote > > Why not just neuter her now? Female cats in heat can just drive you [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > indications that it's better to spay something at least two weeks after her > mammaries stop producing milk. The surgery is easier, IIRC the sites said. I just spoke to the Rescue Org and the person in charge says no way could this cat be pregnant; she was inside and isolated from males prior to giving birth several weeks ago. The Rescue Org does prefer waiting until her mammaries dry before spaying. I'm not in charge on this one, and it seems a matter of weighing tradeoffs, anyway, so we'll wait a couple of weeks, until her mammaries are dry. I guess I'll confine my little fertile female to her kennel at night and keep the windows shut. Thank you all for your suggestions. > > <sriddles@aol.com> wrote > > > Why not just neuter her now? Female cats in heat can just drive you [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Thank you all for your suggestions. Well, good luck with her. Just remember, she's probably nowhere near her real personality right now--hormones just wreak havoc on girl cats sometimes--"affectionate" is an understatement of what we experienced fostering a female with one kitten. We called her "The Unwed Mother from Hell." But, you know what, once the kitten was weaned, and she was spayed, she was the sweetest, calmest cat you ever saw. Sherry > Elle wrote: > > > <sriddles@aol.com> wrote [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > from Hell." But, you know what, once the kitten was weaned, and she was > spayed, she was the sweetest, calmest cat you ever saw. Indeed, I am seeing a lot of sweetness during the day but at night she's a little whack-o. Now I think the blood I found on her claw is from some insane effort she made to climb something last night. I appreciate hearing your experiences on the subject. At least she's rolling gently about here in my office with me, while my other cat (with the mending broken leg) snoozes in his enormous cage. There's a bit of hissing from each but her curiosity is becoming more gentle. If I leave her out of the office she starts meowing like mad. >Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are spayed. Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and 'neuter' is the unisex term. :) Male humans just tend to be more comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'. :D Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > >Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are spayed. > > Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and > 'neuter' is the unisex term. :) Male humans just tend to be more > comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'. :D Heh. > On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:58:32 GMT, "Elle" > <elle_navorski@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and > 'neuter' is the unisex term. :) You're right. I beg your pardon, Phil. >> Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are >> spayed. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Orchid Similar to middle aged womens' sensitivity to hearing the word "hysteria" in the context of "hysterectomy" from a man. ;^) > Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and > 'neuter' is the unisex term. :) Male humans just tend to be more > comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'. :D > > Orchid I remember a Far Side cartoon, a dog is in the car leaving the drive with his daddy. As they are pulling off the dog in the car is teasing his neighbor dog, saying...haha Biff, I'm going to get t u t o r e d , haha! > Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are spayed. Neutering can be used for either gender; spaying can be used for females.  Signaturehttp://www.slywy.com/ > "Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote > E wrote [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > heat. But I am kinda clueless on exactly what "in heat" ("in estrus") means, > other than the cat is looking to get pregnant, so I have to read more. Estrus- is the actual breeding period when the queen is sexually receptive, attracts males and allows males to mount. She displays very affectionate behavior-- rubbing her head and neck against everything in sight, vocalizing, rolling over on her back and wiggling-- and hunching on her elbows and raising the pelvis when her back and base of the tail are stroked. Queens kept indoors under artifical light can cycle (go into estrus) all year round. Proestrus- which preceeds estrus, the female will attract males but won't let them mount. Very similar behavior as estrus but not as intense. Diestrus- is a short period of sexual inactivity and normal behavior between two estrus periods. This stage can fool owners into thinking their cat has entered anestrus.. Anestrus- is the end of the mating and reproduction period. The queen doesn't attract males and her behavior returns to normal. Its very difficult to tell the difference between a queen in anestrus and one that has been neutered without an echo or surgery. > Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are spayed. Actually, neuter and castrate apply to both sexes- can mean to remove the ovaries or the testicles. If you want to be specific, neutering of either sex is called 'gonadectomy'. 'Orchidectomy' or 'orchiectomy' is specific for males; 'ovariectomy' or 'oophorectomy' (removal of the ovaries) and 'hysterectomy' (removal of uterus), and 'ovariohysterectomy' (removal of the ovaries and uterus) is specific for females. I'm so used to hearing "neuter" for both sexes that I rarely use "spay"- even though "spay & neuter" are the simplest and least confusing terms (one of the drawbacks of having a retired vet professor for a vet). > I'll talk to the Rescue Org and see what they think about the chances of her > being pregnant now, as they know a bit more about where she's been recently. I seriously doubt she is pregnant again if she's been nursing her kits for the six weeks. Best of luck, Phil |
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