female question

Question
What happens to a female cat when she is taken for spaying and found to be pregnant?  Do the babies abort?  I was curious, as I was recentl at the vet and saw that the fees were more for pregnant females.

Answer
Hi Patricia,

There is no blood test to tell if a cat is pregnant so often its not known before the spay and by the time the vet has cut into the uterus it is too late, the fetuses will be aborted.  The reason it costs more include the cost of disposing of the fetuses and the cauterizing (sealing off of the blood vessel by burning it with a special instrument) of all the blood vessels between mother and fetus.  Vets often charge more to spay a cat in heat, too, because the blood vessels have become engorged and need additional cauterization.