Worms or pregnant?

[Hippykitty]

I'm not sure how old mum is JS, but I THINK she's about 2.

I haven't had a good look at the kittens' eyes. They are always looking down for something to eat or play with. I've looked at some youtube vids of kittens at certain ages and I think these are about 7 weeks.

I'm inclined to release mum - if I can catch her - for several reasons:

everyone wants kittens, I've had a hard time homing cats as young as 6mths;
she's used to the outdoors;
she seems to have a decent life outdoors;
I don't want to grow so fond of her, because she's with me for so long, that I add her to my family. I can't afford another permanent cat!

Once she's neutered, I'll let her out as soon as she's over the op. I don't want her to get used to the comforts of being indoors. She gets fed by neighbours, and will probably visit me for the odd meal now. No more kitties from her though.

[Millys Mum]

She can always be recaught if a home found so i would neuter, tip and release too. ALso gives her time to be tamed abit.
Dexter was almost feral a year ago and had he been trapped and kept he would have been a very angry cat for some time, iv brought out his inner domestic in the garden and he is now a very soppy cat that has been saved the stress of being confined and forced to come round before he was ready. Not that i had the space to keep him in this year anyway lol

What colour are the kittens eyes?

[JackSpratt]

How old is she, HK? You could always ask around on rehoming sites before getting her ear tipped. It's a difficult situation to be in, really. You're doing great.

[Hippykitty]

I should be getting a trap from WellCat mid week, hopefully. These ferals are much tamer than the ones I rescued last year. They stand around while I put out food for them. I think the mother has had a lot of contact with humans. She isn't stray, she was born in the 'wild'. Hopefully, she'll be easier to trap. I'm even considering luring her into my kitchen with food, with the kittens, then using the trap once she's in the house. Good job I'm immune to pain!!!! 

Her nipples are pink and swollen, but she's still half-heartedly feeding her kittens. They eat mostly solid food, but still suckle. I must do a google to see if I can find a site with pics of kittens at different ages. I'm not good at ageing kittens. I'm not very experienced with them - I know more about adult cats. They seem just a little older than the kittens I rescued last year (5 weeks, I think). So these are probably about 10 weekish..... though they're much bigger than the only cat I've had from a known kitten age (Minnie, who was 10 wks, and could fit in the palm of my hand).

The fact that they seem more or less weaned is why I'm anxious to spay mum.

I'm guessing she's got worms. She won't have been wormed in her life, and her fur twitches with fleas. I'll have her FL'd and Profendered. If she is pregnant, I'll see what the vet says about spaying and aborting. Horrid, but necessary. I try not to think too deeply about it. I hope the vet won't charge extra for this and that the voucher will cover it. (I've got CP vouchers on the way.)

I'm taking Sam for a checkup on thursday. I'll ask the vet about eartipping. The receptionist says they won't do it because of the dangers of bleeding. I'm intending to put mum (and dad, if I can get him) back outside after neutering. She's so tame that it's a shame to do this, but people only want kittens. GGgggrrrrhhhhh!!!

[Ela]

Our vet says Panacur Liquid (not granuels) or Milbemax for pregnant cats.

[dabs]

Yes, you can worm usually with Panacur or Milbmax is safe for use on queens in kitten and nursing. This is up todate information as I checked with my own vet only a month os so ago for kittens and a nursing queen that I had in. However Panacur I find is not that effective now.

A quick phone call to your vets to check that they feel Milbmax is safe for queens just to double check.

Frontline can be used in pregnancy as well, if you treat for one you need to treat for the other, but it depends how close you can get to aim the frontline on the back of the neck!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

just was thinking....can you worm a pregnant cat or is it dangerous?

[dabs]

The only other way to tell is to look the nipples to see if she has "pinked up" yet, which means that the nipple are bright red/pink due to increased bllod supply. This will indicate that she is over 3 weeks gestation, however I appreciate that it will be difficult with a uncoperative feral! 

In the later stages they eat for england, but if she has worms she may well eat a lot anyway.

I took in a queen last week, that I was convinced was in kitten and the scan showed an empty uterus so even with me an experienced cat owner and rescuer of 20 years plus got it wrong as she looked as if she had pinked up.

I am afraid that apart from palpation by a vet, too dangerous to DIY as it can cause them to abort even if you could approach her, there is no other way. Even vets get it worng though, I took a queen for check up to be told can feel kittens and she came into call a month later!

Queens, even feral ones, can become mega fussy, but if you did not know what she was like before then that would be no firm indicator.

However well done for trying to do your best for this family. I hope someone comes up with a trap soon. I asked my CPL branch for the loan of one in January 07 and they said they would call me when one was free. I am still waiting! 

[Hippykitty]

Is there any way of telling, without manipulation of the abdomen, whether a cat is pregnant or has worms?

I was just speaking to one of my neighbours (who I don't like much) about the cats living in my lean-to. She thinks that the cat is pregnant again, whereas I think she has a heavy load of worms, probably never having been wormed. I don't like this woman's attitude to cats. She treats hers as though cats are disposable.

If anyone knows how to tell the difference, if there is a way. I would be grateful for the knowledge, though I'm still hoping to trap the group and have the adults neutered/spayed/wormed.