Most of the people encounter cat pregnancy at some point in their life. They may be working at a clinic, by an accidental liaison or deliberate breeding as pets in most homes.so, how long are cats pregnant for, and what you should expect can be grouped into five stages of cat pregnancy namely; fertilization stage, the middle stage, pre-labor, labor and delivery.
How long are cats pregnant? I know you are wondering because cats are small adorable creatures that we live with but don’t know when they get pregnant and after how long they deliver. Most of the cats reach sexual maturity at the age of six months with Oriental breeds generally reaching this stage the earliest which is by five months old. The simplest answer we can give to the question is two months which is equivalent to nine weeks as an estimate. Depending on where you consult, the answer to “How long are cats pregnant?” ranges from fifty-eight to seventy-two days.
During the early stage of cat pregnancy, which is the first two weeks of her pregnancy, the cats may eat less because of nausea. This may come as a surprise to some people getting to know that even a cat may have what may be termed as “morning sickness!” By the third week, you may start to notice that the cat is pregnant.
Now, your cat will gain weight in the middle stage of cat pregnancy. The kittens get bigger depending on how many kittens she’s carrying. If necessary, you may know how many kittens she`s carrying by having your veterinary officer do an X-ray scan at this time.
The cat will go to pre-labor about a week before delivering. Her nipples are visible at this point. The cat will start looking for warm and safer places to create a nest for her kittens. It would be advisable if you offer nesting boxes in the places she may seem interested in or prefer. It is also imperative to note that your cat will stop eating about two days before she goes into labor.
During labor and delivery, it is obvious that your cat will start licking her genitals and may even make noises of discomfort. If it`s her first time she will start pacing and act anxious. She will be able to give birth to her first kitten about an hour after labor starts. After that, the kittens should come out every fifteen to twenty minutes until the last one has been born. Eventually, the mother cat will clean up the kittens, lick up and eat the placenta to give her the extra nutrition she needs. This may seem so gross to some people but let the cat eat those placentas.
When the cat goes into labor, there is no need to panic or rush your cat to
DVM, Lina