I am sure you have heard about spaying cats to prevent an unwanted population of kittens.
There are already numerous orphan kittens who long for shelter, so spaying a cat before they reach their mating age is the best way to avoid this situation.
However, if your cat gets pregnant, what then?
You must be thinking if fixing her while she is carrying babies would be the correct thing or not. Or would the procedure be safe for your cat in that situation?
To clear your doubts, why not read this article?
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Can You Spay A Cat That Just Got Pregnant?
Yes, you can spay a cat that just got pregnant. However, it’ll cause an emotional influx in the mother cat after having her embryos removed.
Most pet owners do not get the hint of their cat’s pregnancy when they take them to get spayed.
Euthanasia of the embryos is a part of spaying a pregnant cat, an idea that could elicit strong feelings.
Although some may consider the euthanasia of embryos to be more ethical than having to put healthy adult animals to sleep because of a lack of space and resources, shelters must carefully allocate their resources.
Is It Safe To Spay A Pregnant Cat?
Yes, it is very safe to perform a spay while pregnant.
Females who are pregnant and have an abortion are frequently given extra attention and liquid after the procedure. The trap requires a typical 48 hours for recovery.
To know in detail the necessity of spaying, let’s take a look at its pros and cons:
Pros
- A pregnant cat that has been rescued and spayed will aid in reducing the overpopulation issue.
- Spaying very young or very old pregnant cats can improve their chances of adoption and excellent health, as well as lower the risk of orphaned babies, who have a low chance of survival and demand a lot of care.
- For the enormous number of homeless cats, there aren’t enough homes.
- A pregnant cat that has been rescued will spend significantly less time at the shelter if she is spayed and will be available for adoption much sooner.
- Shelters must make difficult decisions regarding which animals to save and which to put down when room and resources are limited. Euthanasia is avoided by spaying.
Cons
- Some could claim that because kittens are so adoptable and popular, they will always find homes.
- Some animal rights activists believe that because it is a natural action that is essential to their lifecycles, letting a pregnant animal give birth and caring for her young is more ethical.
- As a result of their large foster networks, many are able to place pregnant cats in foster homes until their kittens are weaned, preventing them from consuming vital shelter space and resources.
As you can see for yourself, the pros of spaying outweigh the cons, so it is desirable to get your cat spayed.
Do Vets Check For Pregnancy Before Spaying?
Yes. If the pet’s caregiver has a doubt regarding this, the vet will check for pregnancy before spaying.
After verifying whether or not the cat is pregnant, a veterinarian will examine her to see if sterilization is safe.
Early in the pregnancy—as early as day 15—an ultrasound can be utilized to diagnose a cat pregnancy. The vet may also be able to tell you how many babies your cat is expecting if she is pregnant by day 40.
This operation is carried out by numerous vets on pregnant cats. The mother’s uterus and ovaries will be entirely removed during this treatment, preventing the kittens from growing.
How Far Along Can You Spay A Pregnant Cat?
The gestation period for cats is 65 days.
The decision to spay pregnant cats will probably be left up to the veterinarian.
When a mother cat’s kittens are regularly consuming canned food, usually between the ages of 5 and 6 weeks, the mother can undergo spaying surgery. After 24 to 30 hours following a spay procedure, a mother can be brought back to her kittens to nurse them.
Claws should be cut if you have the kittens indoors and are able to do so to stop them from clawing Mom’s fresh sutures.
This means that in kill shelters, they will be killed after having some experience with life, which may seem more brutal than having an abortion earlier.
Does Spaying A Pregnant Cat Kill The Kittens?
The spaying process is more difficult if the cat is already pregnant because it also includes removing and killing the kittens.
However, some veterinarians will attempt to save the kittens if the pregnancy is advanced.
The proponents of animal rights view this practice as unethical.
If you look at it positively, stopping an accidental litter could also help reduce the death of alive cats and kittens.
Even when a pregnant female cat is adopted by the finder and her babies have loving homes waiting for them, some individuals still believe that each of those kittens contributed to the death of a domestic cat.
Can A Pregnant Cat Be Spayed And Still Have Kittens?
What if it’s a yes?
Rarely, your cat may have had spaying, but only one of the tubes was tied properly.
Although this might make a cat’s pregnancy more difficult, it’s still possible that your cat will give birth to a healthy litter of kittens if she’s expecting.
But the most common cases prove that spayed cats cannot get pregnant.
Fixed cats have their ovaries and uterus removed. This makes them infertile and so they can’t bear children anymore.
Also, because your queen does not have her reproductive organs anymore, the hormone estrogen is not produced and she will not go into heat either.
Find out more details: Can A Spayed/Fixed Cat Get Pregnant?
What Happens If You Spay A Pregnant Cat?
Aborting the growing kittens is a part of spaying a pregnant cat.
By terminating a cat’s pregnancy, more kittens won’t end up in overcrowded foster homes, shelters, and adoption facilities.
By doing this, cats who are already in the system are given more time to find their forever homes rather than being put to death.
Spaying a pregnant cat, meanwhile, can be traumatic to some individuals. They think it’s fine to let the pregnancy progress to term and to neuter the female cat once the kittens have been delivered.
Things to consider if you don’t want to spay your cat:
1. Cat’s Age
One of the main health issues with pregnancy is your cat’s age.
You run the risk of jeopardizing both the lives of the mother cat and the unborn kittens if your cat isn’t healthy enough to carry them to term. The safest course of action for pregnant cats who are too young or old to give birth is to abort the baby.
2. Number Of Days The Cat Is Pregnant
It’s crucial to take her stage of pregnancy into account if you manage to discover the pregnancy early enough.
There is, in the opinion of many, a threshold beyond which spaying a pregnant cat should be avoided. People are less likely to support the idea of aborting unborn kittens the closer the cat comes to full term.
If a cat is pregnant and her due date is approaching, many shelters and rescues will occasionally allow her to give birth.
3. Availability Of Foster Homes
You can determine whether it’s a good idea to let your cat’s pregnancy continue if there is adequate curiosity.
The young kittens will be able to escape long stays in shelters or being abandoned on the streets if they can find safe, loving homes.
4. Accountability
Four to six kittens can be born in a litter of cats. As a result, small or low-income households can have difficulty managing them.
Even if you may have found homes for your kittens, you shouldn’t take them away from their mother too soon. This indicates that you are in charge of the first 8 weeks of care.
If you choose to have the kittens spayed or neutered before letting them go to their new homes, you should also take into account the expense of that procedure.
You must also consider the welfare of the mother cat. You’ll have to attend to all of her requirements when she’s pregnant and assist her in caring for her newborn kittens.
Interesting Read: Can A Spayed Cat Nurse Kittens?
What Are The Side Effects Of Spaying A Pregnant Cat?
- Any cat may experience an unanticipated adverse response after receiving any medication or anesthesia.
- If a blood vessel ligature breaks or comes loose after the abdomen has been closed, internal bleeding may result.
- The most frequent causes of post-operative infection in cats are excessive licking or being in a wet environment.
- On rare occasions, the body will respond to particular surgical suture materials. This leads to a draining wound or tract, which can develop weeks or even months after the surgery.
- A seroma is an incision-related, somewhat painless pocket of transparent fluid. It has serum within that has seeped beneath the skin.
How Does A Spayed Pregnant Cat Recover?
Depending on the specifics of their situation, queens need anywhere from 48 to 72 hours to recover.
After 24 hours of recovery from surgery, you can take nursing mothers back home so they can tend to their kittens again.
However, if the cat is pregnant, it is advised to give her a full 72 hours to recover.
How Much Does It Cost To Spay A Pregnant Cat?
- A feline’s treatment at low-cost clinics often costs less than $100.
- Even local animal shelters might offer the services in exchange for a contribution or at a greatly reduced cost.
- For individuals who qualify, many charitable organizations do provide subsidized or free spay/neuter services.
- In addition to their own free services for the resident animals, some animal shelters even provide help for spay/neuter costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it wrong to spay pregnant cats?
Spaying cats, while they are pregnant, is acceptable, but the procedure’s risks for the queen are greatly increased.
The risk of death during or immediately following surgery increases with the cat’s stage of pregnancy, largely because removing so much blood and body tissue can cause shock.
Additionally, it greatly increases the cat’s risk of developing an infection in its uterine stump. The increased danger is minimal if the cat is only one to two weeks pregnant.
Can a cat in heat be spayed?
It’s best if a cat is fixed before she gets pregnant. So it is absolutely okay to get your cat spayed when she is in heat. Once operated, you won’t have to face the problem of her getting into the heat.
Final Words
I guess this pretty much sums up your doubts.
Tell you in the comment section when you got your cat spayed- before she was pregnant or after?
Did you face any complications with her?
Further Read: When Can I Get My Cat Spayed After Having Kittens?
