'Today she jumped in my wife's car': Couple take their newly rescued cat to the vet, get told that she is pregnant, only to find out that 'she' is actually a 'he' who has an extra large belly

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Nov 25, 2025 11:00 AM EST

Rescuing a cat from the street always comes with a certain risk for a couple extra… surprises. Kittens. We're talking about kittens. You never know if the pretty female cat who adopted you might have a couple of them baking in her belly. Of course, that comes with a whole list of consequences, for you and for the momma, but it does happen. And when the pregnant stray cat you rescued finally has her babies, you deal with that miracle the best way that you know how. If she is actually pregnant. 

Some stray cats are just chonky though. As unlikely as it might be for a stray cat who is living off of whatever it can find out there in the big world, some of them still manage to chonk-up. So, if you adopt a cat like that, their size might fool you. It should not fool your vet though. So the fact that this vet thought that not only was this cat a female but that she was a pregnant one when 'she' was, in fact, a 'he' is a unique way to start an adoption. 

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    "Are we doing the right thing?"

    H
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    Cheezburger Image 10579244544
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    STALGIA
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    This car has been coming up to us at daycare drop off for about a week. Our daycare lady has been seeing her and feeding her for multiple weeks.
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    My wife posted on the neighborhood Facebook 2 days ago and nobody responded that she is their cat. Today she jumped in my wife's car. My wife took her to get a chip scan.
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    No chip, not spayed. Likely pregnant. We brought her home for the day. Taking her to get x-rayed to confirm pregnancy. If we adopt, would likely spay/abort.
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    Is there anything else we should do? Will probably put up a sign that says 'found cat' at the grocery store and entry to the neighborhood. Trying to be ethical here. We really like the cat and would be happy to adopt but don't want to accidentally steal someones pet.
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    She is very sweet, longing for affection. She is relatively clean and soft but has a cut on her ear. Definitely a bit skinny but not starving skinny. Vet said 2-3 years old
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  • First of all, you won. If this cat has been coming up to you consistently, has jumped into your car, and let you take it home without issues, then it has chosen you, regardless of its previous living situation. You won, the cat won, and we have won by hearing this story. 

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    OP Woolly-Willy First, Thanks everyone for the responses! I haven't had a chance to respond taking this one to the vet again for x-rays BUT Turns out the first vet got it wrong. It is a neutered male. The firmness they thought was pregnancy was probably a large BM lol They simply mis identified the gender So.... Does that change the equation? Our gamelan right now is to keep him for a week and check Facebook/flyers etc to see if anyone looks for him
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    Stan Lee Marvin Are you sure the first vet was actually a vet? Those seem like some pretty basic things to get wrong. Anyway, congrats on your new grey boy. He's a handsome kitty.
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    OP Woolly-Willy I know right.. it's our regular vet and they normally do a great job... Haha. Mistakes happen
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  • Second of all, goodness, we don't know if we would be happy about this discovery or not. On the one hand, kitty not being pregnant means that there are less difficult choices for you to make. On the other… heck, kittens are cute! We would have been happy either way. 

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    AnnaBanana3468 Keep him. But, you very likely need to report that you found the cat to your local animal shelter. In many places it's required by law. Posting flyers or are on social media is nice, and modern, but that's not the legal requirement, because there is no way to know if the original owners will see it. That doesn't mean you need to bring the animal in. Most places just have an online form you can fill out and they ask for photos or a physical description of the found animal. After a
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    OP Woolly-Willy Good call!! Filling out the found cat form right now
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    amythewang wtf kind of vet did you initially take kitty to? unbelievable
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    OP Woolly-Willy Our normal vet lol... A little concerning but mistakes happen
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    Coloredgemstone1316 If the cat is pregnant I wouldn't worry about trying to return it. They were irresponsible. You've been chosen.
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    OP Woolly-Willy I'm back at the vet now. Vet mis gendered this morning. He is a neutered male apparently and what they felt as a firm uterus was actually full bowels... Lol Not sure how to proceed now. I think we are going to keep him at our house for a few days and keep an eye out for flyers or FB posts
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    MissSunnySarcasm You're doing everything you can. Cat seems happy. From the looks of it, it's either a decently socialised (gotten food and pets from neighbourhood) stray or it was someone else's cat but they took very bad care of her (not even chipped or spayed!) and perhaps don't even mind she's gone. You could, as a last resort, hang up a flyer around the daycare, but at one point, with no- one responding, you'll have to make a decision. And it's obvious what all the hearts say It might be a
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    OP Woolly-Willy We ended up putting up a handful of flyers around the neighborhood and grocery store, posted on FB, and will register with the local shelter in the morning. Took him to the vet to test for diseases (all negative) Hoping nobody calls because he is a great & very sweet cat and we'd be lucky to adopt him ! Has been doing great at our house. Haven't introduced him to our dog or other cat yet, though, obviously. Fingers crossed
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    keetojm It is/was someone's pet. If it was a TNR one ear tip would docked to let other vets know incase he got trapped again.
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    OP Woolly-Willy It was not a notched ear. Open wound
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    wizzerstinker Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Congratulations and good luck with your new best friend!
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    yrnkween She looks like she's ok with this. Sometimes people move and can't/don't take cats with them, so the cats are in decent shape but with winter coming and babies she will definitely be in a bad place outside.
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    Ella0508 If she's someone's pet but they haven't spayed her and allow her to roam free, they don't deserve to have her. She's yours.
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