“A mother’s joy begins when new life is stirring inside. When a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.”
Pregnancy is a phase of a lot of changes. For any female, this phase of life comes out to be a turning point. All of us should take good care of our health, especially if you are pregnant.
Pregnancy demands high rich, nutritious diet to keep our baby healthy as well as fit. For all the cat owners, I have something very important to discuss with you.
Here I will be talking about your beloved cat’s pregnancy phase.
Cats are not wild animals. You will be surprised to know that cat can get pregnant as soon as she turns out to be four months old, and a cat’s pregnancy lasts about 60-65 days.
It is not at all easy to identify as if your kitty is pregnant or not. The signs that you may think of pregnancy may come out to be because of some other reasons or vice-versa.
There are five major stages of cat’s pregnancy that every owner should be aware of it. Below down is a detailed discussion on it.
Stage 1: Fertilization
You may not be aware of the fact that cats reach sexual maturity just at the age of six months. There may be more than one father of a litter of kittens.
During the first two weeks of conceiving, there are no perfect signs of pregnancy in cats. During the first week of mating, male sperm enters the uterus with the fertilized egg.
There the process of development of kittens starts; however, this is an internal process and symptoms aren’t visible enough.
Stage 2: Symptoms
There are no early signs of pregnancy in the kitty, but your cat may get morning sickness. The diet of the cat may fall for the first two weeks but will gradually increase after some time.
Make sure that they drink a good amount of water per day to avoid dehydration. You may schedule an ultrasound to visualize embryo as well as a heartbeat.
As soon as your cat enters the third week, you will be able to see lumps of developing kittens. Here some changes can also occur in your pregnant queen’s body.
These symptoms may be darkened as well as swollen nipples, morning sickness, etc. If your cat vomits a lot, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Stage 3: Pregnancy
This is a stage where your cat grows in size depending on how many kittens she is conceiving. Belly will be swollen. The main change can be your cat may become more affectionate to humans rather than other pets.
If you are eager to know how many kittens are there, you may go for x-ray in this case. It will not be wrong to describe your kitty as a football here.
Diet of you kitty may increase here as she has to feed her kittens as well. You should give enough food to them.
Stage 4: Labor
This stage refers to the week before the delivery. At this point, your cat will be looking for a place to reproduce.
Her nipples will be visible, and sometimes milk can also come out of it. Here you can help her by providing nesting boxes that are safe as well as secure.
At this stage, the cat may become restless and may howl loudly due to discomfort.
Just two days before delivery, your cat may refuse to eat anything. This time comes out to be the most difficult time for anybody. The cat may become restless due to distention of uterus.
Stage 5: Delivery
Group of small striped kittens in an old basket with balls of yarn
As soon as your kitty enters into the last stage of pregnancy, your cat will start licking its genitals.
After an hour of labor only, your cat will give birth. Kittens will come out after every 15-20 minutes. Cat will lick them and clean up its kittens.
Afterward, she will eat the placentas that will give her the extra nutritious. Here I need to mention one thing.
You should allow your cat to eat the placenta even if you think they are gross as they provide the rich nutrition that is most needed by them then.
There is no need to panic or worry about your beloved kittens. Provide the space and warmth because these are the things that they need the most.
Don’t force them to eat when they don’t want to. Make sure that they get the suitable temperature at every stage of their pregnancy.
I hope this article can solve your doubts to a large extent. Also, I would love to hear about your kitty’s pregnancy stories if any of you have.
