[razberry]

Hi there!

Me and my girlfriend just adopted a cat left behind by neighbours who recently moved out. The cat is outside -a lot-, and we don't blame her (nice weather, pond outside with lots of little critters to hunt etc)

Well now, my girlfriend and I have the impression she's pregnant. It's hard to tell by her behaviour (since we're both cat-newbies and we don't know how the cat behaved before), but she's grown awfully fat (while not eating more than usual -- at least not from the foodbowl we give her), and when my girlfriend was rubbing her belly once, milk came out of her nipples. When she's inside she loves to be petted, and when we're not petting her, she's rubbing against furniture with her head. It could also be possible that she's fake-pregnant, because in the last two months or so she's been hanging out with a racoon who has been very friendly with her. How to tell if your cat is pregnant? Is there a way, or is the Vet the only one who really can tell?

Secondly, we want to potty train her, since we enjoy the company of the cat in our house, and to keep the garden cat-poo free. How to do such a thing?

Thanks for your advice!

Rogier & Teka, Florida

 

[Sol]

An experienced breeder might be able to tell if your cat is pregnant but she probably is if there's milk coming out of her Cats rarely fet fake-pregnant. But if you want to be sure you should take her to the vet, the vet might even be able to tell you when it's time for the babies.

When it comes to potty training you shoul keep her in a limited area of yout house/apartment. Keep her in one or two rooms only until she has learned to use the litterbox.

I can tell you a little about how my cat behaved when she was pregnant, maybe you'll be able to compare my cats behavior with yours. My cat got really cosy in an early stage, she quit jumping around between furnitures and she slept a lot. Usually the nipples get a little bit swollen and they turn pink/red when the cat is about three to five weeks pregnant. My cat got pinkt nipples when she was five weeks pregnant and then she started to grow in size. And around the same time she started to eat a lot. The only things she did were eating and sleeping.

I hope I've helped you... some at least

 

[Audrey]

Re: Adopted new cat, probably pregnant, not potty trained ye

Secondly, we want to potty train her, since we enjoy the company of the cat in our house, and to keep the garden cat-poo free. How to do such a thing?

Make sure the litterbox isn't near their eatingspace...
I put the cats in the litterbox myself after they've eaten, and after 2 times of showing...they went by themselves! And Demi was even brighter..at 5 weeks never seen a litterbox...i put her in after she'd aten, only once and she knew it!

 

[DizzyJon]

Has this cat been FeLV and FIV tested? If not you should really get it done since she is an outdoor cat.
I agree with keeping her indoors confined to a small room to litter box train. Especially if she is pregnant. It is a lot safer indoors for kittens then outside.