Not advice from cats. Advice from people. With cats.
Livvy was spayed today. 🙁 She was a good girl at the vet clinic, but she’s feeling pretty lousy tonight.
My question concerns this- the vet informed me that they could find no ovaries or uterus with Livvy. The vet made a longer incision than usual to see if it was hiding behind the kidneys, but nothing was there.
Wha??
I got Livvy at about 8 weeks old. As far as I know, she had not been spayed. I had spent time with Livvy’s previous owner, who said Livvy had gotten “shots” but never was any spaying mentioned. It’s hard to believe that Livvy was spayed before I got her.
So the bewilderment is: can a female cat be born without reproductive organs?! I did some searching online, and found nothing. I know that cats can be hermaphrodite, but Livvy isn’t like that- a hermaphrodite cat has all the reproductive organs; Livvy has none.
Any guesses? Anyone ever hear of such a thing? I spent a pretty penny on the surgery, too. I’d be pretty upset if she suddenly goes into heat after all this… but the vet (who is experienced) said she looked and looked for organs, and so did the other doctor. Nothing.






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January 26, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I am no expert on cats but she really looks pissed in that first picture.
January 26, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Poor Livvy! I’ve never, ever heard of such a thing.
I can’t believe she was spayed before you got her. I had a cat my vet wouldn’t do at 6 months because she was still physically too small.
And if she’s mad at you, it’s probably because of the hair missing from her belly. Cats hate that. It’s best not to rub it, or point it out. Just pretend she still has all her hair until it grows back in.
January 26, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I have a cat that is a hermaphrodite. Livvy is just beautiful!
January 26, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I have worked in vet clinics for years (I’m a SAHM now) and it is very likely that she was spayed before you got her. Some humane societies and animal shelters routinely spay/neuter at 6 weeks of age (highly NOT recommended!!!). It is possible that the uterus and ovaries were hiding- if there is a diaphragmatic hernia (a hole in the separation between the chest and abdomen) , they could be hanging out in the chest cavity. Very very unlikely, but I think it would still be possible.
Good luck!
January 26, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Livvy is a beautiful cat!!! I’ve never heard of such a thing either. I did a search on Ask and this is the link I came up with. gagay
November 15, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Hi,
today i came from the vet and he told me the same story. He said: “In the 30 years I do this job i’ve never heard of this before, but i really could not find ovaries. My collegue once had a cat with one ovarie (assymmetric).” He made a bigger incision and he even got everything out of her belly. The poor one! That’s why i had to pay the price because although there was no sterilisation/castration he had to do surgery. Anyway, your cat is not the only one in the world. But it’s hard to find information to find on internet… In Dutch (I’m from Belgium) there are no hits at all…