I have a 8month old Burmese who Houdini'd out during calling season a few weeks ago. Im not entirely convinced yet that she is pregnant as it was so recent...but was wondering the damage to her of having a litter while still being so young herself.

Metally and Physically what changes/damage could occur from her having kittens so young?
What is the best age for a cat to become a mother?
What are my options to terminate if she is pregnant..are there any date restrictions etc?

Thanks in advance

I doubt if there will be any problems. My first Burmese had an "oops" litter at nine and a half months. If you wanted to "terminate" (which means spay while pregnant), the time to do it was right away when you realised she had escaped. If it was a few weeks (how many weeks?) she should be visibly pregnant by now. Nipples change at three weeks gestation and they continue to change, that is an obvious sign before they are visibly pregnant.

Liz

You can get her spayed right up until a couple/few weeks before she is due. That would be your responsible option.

With her being so young I would imagine you risk personality change, along with any physical risks to her being so young. She certainly has more chance of having health issues at 8 months than perhaps a 12 month old. At 8 months old she is still learning about life herself and is still classed as a kitten.

That's not to mention the fact that by letting her continue with the pregnancy you're also contributing to the rescue problem. There are already too many cross bred cats over flowing in centres. Some of these cats and kittens could be homed by any potential new owner of any kittens you girl has. Please think about this carefully before you make any decision, as the only way for us as animal lovers to start making a difference to rescue problems, is by acting responsibly when accidents happen.

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Most likely she would deliver without any problems but as you never intended her to have kittens why take the risk, even if it is a small one? Much better to have her spayed right now for all the reasons which Aurelia has given. It's a shame you didn't seek some advice directly after she escaped but it's far from too late to do something about it now as, at this stage, she cant be said to be truly 'pregnant'.

I am certainly no expert on breeding, but I have fostered a good few very young mums with their kittens.... my experience, generally they make pretty rubbish mums. Not all of them, but a FAR higher proportion than you would expect to find amongst more mature mums. I have litters with young mums, that I would frankly have had less work if I had hand reared the kittens myself. So I would say if you go ahead with this litter, be prepared for 2-3 hourly feeding (day AND night) for the first few weeks,, and to take over the bulk of cleaning & toileting. I had a couple of young mums who would feed their kittens .... but only when I actually forced the issue. i.e they would hear the kittens cry, but would do nothing.... only if I physically picked up the queen, and sat down with her, put the kittens on her nipple.... and stayed with her for a half hour till all the kittens fed, and talked and stroked her through the whole process. Pretty much the same with cleaning them, if I presented a kitten literally under her nose, she would clean them.... if I just "left her to it" then kittens would have died. I have a webcam in my kitten room, and some of the footage with young mums and their kittens... really, it's not for the faint hearted... especially if the young mum starts trailing the kittens around the room and dumping them on windowsills, book shelves, tops of cat trees, radiators, litter trays. Quite frightening really.

If it was my cat i wouldn't hesitate to neuter.

Actually, I had intended for her to have a litter of kittens but not until she was a few years of age.

Finding homes for kittens would certainly not be a problem...as friends and family have already expressed massive interest in her kittens regardless of them being pure breed or not. In fact my aunties have always commented on the personalities of my cats...one even asking if I would raise a kitten for her to have back as a cat to inherit the personality my own cats (moggies/pedigres) have had.

Im really not keen for her to continue a pregnancy (if she is in fact "knocked" up) as I am concerned that she still has a kitten's life to enjoy and she is still only small. I would also not want to risk losing her or put her through trauma considering she may not being mature enough to go through pregnancy/delivery and then having the babies leave the house. She has an absolute beautiful personality and we love her to bits...and this is by far more important than her EVER having kittens but I would like to know if having her speyed the only way of terminating the pregnancy?

Thanks all for you comments and the wonderful work you are doing to those less fortunate pussies out there.

Did you notice any changes to her personality? Was she a good mum? Did she have litters after the first "Oops" litter?

Thanks so much

There are several (hormonal) treatment types for terminating a cat's pregnancy but none are 100% effective; none are completely safe and none are without potentially very unpleasant side effects. I'm sure you wouldn't want to put your lovely girl through that.

Some (sticking my neck out, I'd say MOST) vets would be very reluctant to terminate a pregnancycy in this way and would try their hardest to steer you towards a spay.

Forgot to say - call me paranoid (I'm sure somebody will!) but I'd also advise that you speak to your vet about testing your girl in the not too distant future for FIV and FeLV. If she's been mated it will have been, most likely, by a stray (purely because most pet owners couldn't wouldn't put up with the antics of an unneutered male cat at home) which unfortunately means there is a much higher risk of him carrying these diseases.

Thanks...I can appreciate the hard work associated with a mother cat who firstly can not deliver without a cesarean and then just disassociates herself from the kittens. I inheritted beautiful moggy which a flatmate had left behind as she as more attached to me than him...she was around 2 yrs old and fell pregnant...only two kittens but I had to get her to the vet when I realised she couldnt do it on her own. $400 NZ later I bought home 2 kittens and a very unimpressed mother. She wouldnt let them anywhere near her. We thought after she recovered from the surgery that she would warm to them but no such luck. She kept trying to escape outside with them...we presume it was to dispose of them. I took over as Mum and we tried to settle her as much as we could until at least the kittens left for new homes but she disowned me by adopting one of our neighbours and never came home. I found great homes for the kittens and tried to entice her home but I dont think she ever forgave me.