Mother 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.

Elle wrote:
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.

"Elle" wrote in message
link.net...
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,
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.

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." 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?


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.

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.

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.

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

wrote

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.

"Elle" wrote
wrote
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.

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.

Elle wrote:
"Elle" wrote
wrote
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.

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.


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

wrote
Elle wrote:
"Elle" wrote
wrote
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.

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.


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.

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.

On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:58:32 GMT, "Elle"
wrote:


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'.


Orchid
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