female cat question

Question
I am curious-- if a female cat is pregnant when she is spayed what happens to the babies?  Are they aborted?  I don't have a specific reason for asking, as I have male cats, but when I went to the vet recently I noticed their fees were larger for "pregnant female cats". Thanks.

Answer
Patricia,

Due to the serious pet overpopulation problem you often must sign a release when you take a female cat in to be spayed saying that if the veterinarian finds that the cat is pregnant you want the surgery to be continued. It is not mandatory that you give permission for this, however given the unfortunate euthanasia rates for unwanted cats and kittens it has become more common than I would like to see. It is an abortion of sorts because they just remove both uterine horns and the ovaries and they don't usually bother to resucitate the infants as they are often too young to be born anyway. You have to specifically ask that if the babies are old enough to survive outside of the womb that they are basically born via c-section at the time of the spay and rescusitated then given to mom when she is awake enough to care for them. Most times the vet will tell you to allow the cat to have the kittens on her own and then wait until they are weaned to have their mother spayed if that is what you want to do. The reason that the fees are more expensive for pregnant females is that the surgery is more complicated and time consuming, also pregnant cats require substantially more anesthesia also contributing to the higher cost. Personally I am a very strong advocate for spaying and neutering before the cats have the chance to reproduce, it is easier on everyone. The vet does not like having to perform a kitty abortion, it is difficult on the cat and there are certainly some ethical issues surrounding the whole process. I do hope that this answers your question adequately. Please do not hesitate to contact me again with any further questions or concerns. I will do my very best to make sure that you get prompt and accurate answers to your questions.