Week 6: Affectionate, frequent purring Cats are known to become more affectionate. Pregnant cats purr more frequently during the final weeks. Felines can be aggressive or intolerant of other pets in the household. Her appetite will increase again during this time. The best food for pregnant foster cats is kitten food as it contains a high volume of calories. Week 8: Nesting Two weeks before a feline delivers kittens she will begin nesting.
A cat starts looking for quiet, warm, safe places to settle into for labor and the birth. To minimize her nesting choices, keep doors to rooms, closets and cupboards closed. Leave large, cleaned cardboard boxes lined with soft newspaper, paper towels or a washable blanket in a convenient, wind-free, pet-free, low-light areas in the house. Week 9: Kittens A pregnant cat may refuse food as she enters the final stage of gestation in week nine.
Kittens usually arrive between 63 and 67 days , or nine to nine-and-a-half weeks. Cats can deliver kittens without human interference. The affected gland will be tense, hot, painful and enlarged. If it is only congested, the application of heat and subsequent gentle massage will bring normal milk out of the teat orifice, and the situation may be speedily relieved by milking the gland concerned.
If an abscess is present, the cat will become anorexic, dull and feverish, and in addition to pain and swelling in the gland, a pointing, or purplish area of fluid pressure from the accumulation of pus will be seen.
Antibiotics are essential. While, ideally, they should be chosen according to culture and sensitivity, first-line treatment usually consists of a broad-spectrum antibiotic, eg, amoxycillin-clavulanic acid, or a cephalosporin. Lactation tetany could, in theory, occur during, or at any time after, parturition.
Early cases are well known in the bitch. However, in the cat, most cases have been recorded later in lactation, 17 days to eight weeks post-kittening being most typical.
While the precise causes of the condition are not known, it involves a sudden drop in the amount of calcium circulating in the bloodstream. It is undoubtedly connected with the demands of milk production and the affected cat usually has a fairly large litter to suckle. The first signs of the onset of the condition usually include lack of coordination and tetanic muscular spasms with later collapse and coma.
Treatment by the intravenous injection of calcium preparations leads to a spectacular reversal of the condition. A later subcutaneous injection may be required to maintain the recovery. Kittens should be removed from the cat if old enough, otherwise, their numbers must be reduced or supplementary feeding given. Any affected cat should only be allowed to rear a small number of kittens at any subsequent litter.
Lactation tetany often occurs after each kittening so this fact must be remembered when considering the advisability of breeding again and taking prophylactic measures, or alternatively of neutering. All our advice is freely accessible to everyone, wherever you are in the world. However, as a charity, we need your support to enable us to keep delivering high quality and up to date information for everyone. Please consider making a contribution, big or small, to keep our content free, accurate and relevant.
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For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. Click Yes to help us continue to make these improvements. Our Other Sites Close. Our Other Sites. When to wait and when to worry… While many authors believe that problems in parturition birth are rare in the cat, others feel that with the progression of selective breeding these problems are becoming more common. Late pregnancy and premonitory signs of parturition In the cat pregnancy generally lasts for 63 to 65 days; however, it is not unusual for some cats to carry a normal litter for either a shorter or longer time range 58 to 70 days.
The stages of parturition For the stages of birth see here. Interrupted labour So-called interrupted labour is common enough in the cat to be considered a normal occurrence. Abnormalities of labour — dystocia Dystocia difficult birth can be classified as either maternal or foetal in origin, depending on whether it is caused by problems with the queen or kittens.
Abnormalities of the first stage Abnormalities of the first stage can include all forms of primary inertia, and occasional rare disorders, such as torsion or rupture of the uterus. Abnormalities of the second stage Secondary inertia arises after prolonged second-stage labour, and may be associated with obstructive dystocia, muscle fatigue, or excessive pain.
Malpresentation Posteriorly presented, or tail-first, kittens occur quite frequently, so much so that this could almost be considered a normal presentation, often causing no delay in birth. Malposition Malposition usually occurs when a kitten has died in utero prior to rotation. Malposture Malposture is of most importance in relation to the position of the head.
Inhibitory behaviour A late manifestation of inhibitory hysterical behaviour may cause delay when the kitten is already through the maternal pelvis and protruding through the vulva.
Midwifery The above was a rather daunting, but by no means exhaustive, list of what can, but rarely does, go wrong. Treatment Apart from the value of observations and knowledge of the behaviour of the cat, breeders can, and in some cases must, be responsible for the treatment of some parturition problems. Methods of kitten revival The normal mother cat will generally make a much better job of cleaning and drying her kittens than any human, so do not interfere unless necessary.
Tear the membranes from the nose, wipe the nose and open the mouth, tilt the kitten head down and clear away any fluid. If the cord has not broken on delivery, tear it a good inch from the kitten and remove the membranes. Complicated cutting and tying of the cord are not necessary.
The cat would chew it through, providing a blunt crushing action to prevent bleeding; tearing it between the first two fingers and thumb does much the same thing. The kitten should be supported and the cord held at the kitten end so that the risk of pulling on the kitten is minimised.
If the kitten is not breathing and obviously vigorous, or if it has come tail first and possibly inhaled fluid, it is necessary to clear debris and fluid from the air passages. If gentle suction equipment is available this can be done by sucking debris out of the airway. This can also be achieved using a Jackson cat urinary catheter attached to a ml syringe. One of the traditionally used methods involves swinging the kitten. To do this, place the kitten in the palm of the hand, its back towards the palm and neck between forefinger and third finger, its head protruding between the fingers.
Enclose the kitten in the fingers and, turning the hand palm downwards with the arm extended, give a very gentle swing; make quite sure first that you are not too near the table or other protruding edge or disaster will follow. The swing will have the effect of forcing fluids out of the air passages and a further wipe of nose and mouth will clear it away. The swing will also serve to stimulate respiration. Take care; if performed too vigorously this method can result in brain haemorrhage.
Keep up the good work!!! Sincerely, Flowerchild. Aww my cat is also pregnant and due in the next weeks! I actually watched my cat give birth. It was crazy she ate the placenta and every thing. At this point we only know of one time where he for sure got a hold of her. Depending on what source you consult, cat pregnancy ranges from 58 to 72 days. Never ever under any circumstances intervene with natural birth process between mom and kittens unless there is a need for you to intervene.
I rescued a stray one week before she delivered 7 kittens. She instead went to drink some water and potty instead. And sure enough Baby came back and is now 11 weeks and thriving just like the other 6. It is very rare that you need to step in and touch the kittens at all. Have you watched them give birth? Ideally, due to how new they are, so long as she is doing her job as a new mom, there should be no touching of the kittens at all for a few days. I wait at least 24 hours and just for a second to get a weight each day and make sure they are gaining weight accordingly.
You can step in only if you notice danger. Pingback: 5 stages of cat pregnancy. In my research I found days for the length of pregnancy. It is usually impossible to say for sure when a cat conceived, hence the range. Thankfully, we witnessed the mating… So we got lucky. Please let your readers know cats can get pregnant when they are nursing even very young kittens. Oh wow.. So important to share this information… we were feeding a stray cat that showed up in our yard, trying to gain her trust.
After approximately a month she showed up on the back porch with four kittens. Took the family to the vet and discovered mom was only 7 month or so old, her babies were about 18 days old. Please please be part of the solution…. I disagree! If the mother is meant to be a good mom, let HER be the mom.
She will figure out what to do. This is great advice that I needed to know. Thank you for taking the time to care enough to share your experience with others.
Some vet practices can diagnose cat pregnancy using ultrasound, sometimes as early as 15 days into her term. The vet may also be able to give you an indication of how many kittens your cat is expecting by day 40 of her pregnancy.
Bear in mind that in cat pregnancy, a larger kitten can obscure other smaller kittens in the womb, so you could have more kittens than expected! There are several signs to look out for that signal that the kittens are on their way. Right before giving birth, mum may become more vocal, appear agitated and want to wash herself constantly.
Delivery should start with strong abdominal contractions, followed by some discharge from her vagina. If the discharge is heavy and black, or blood-coloured, then contact your vet. After this discharge, the kittens should follow very quickly! Explore our cat brands:. Related articles.
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