Mammary Glands Will Increase In Size
During the final week of pregnancy, the mammary glands of your cat will increase in size. Her mammary glands are arranged in 2 parallel rows running along the outside body wall that extends from the groin area up to the underside of her chest. Cats usually have 4 pairs of mammary glands. Approximately 2 days before your cat gives birth, shell start to produce milk.
You may notice some cream colored thick secretions coming out of her nipples. Your cat might lick it off or she could just let it dry up and youll notice that her nipples will have small whitish scabs on them. Its commonly believed that each nipple has its very own unique smell, which kittens use to attach themselves repeatedly to the same nipple.
How To Prepare For Dog Giving Birth
Prepare your cat for giving birth by staying current with vaccinations before your cat gets pregnant, but when its too late for that, seek advice from your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will advise you on how to best prepare your cat for giving birth, including safely treating worms and fleas while pregnant.
Three to four weeks before your cat delivers her kittens, she will need to eat about 25% more food while maintaining her normal feeding schedule. She will continue to need more calories until after the kittens are weaned. This is best achieved by feeding her kitten food.
During the week before she delivers her kittens, you will begin to see a change in her behavior. She will likely be looking for the purrfect place to give birth. Prepare your cat for giving birth by providing a clean, warm and secluded place for her to deliver her kittens. Warm blankets and clean linens, which can be washed and replaced as needed, should be provided. Your cat should also have free access to fresh water before, during and after birth. Make sure her water source is safely out of reach for the kittens to avoid drowning.
How To Help Your Cat During Birth
Before your cat gives birth, talk to your vet to ask if your cat needs any specific support or treatments during pregnancy and birth.
The secret to being a good midwife to your cat is observation and timing. It is best to watch your cat from a distance, taking care not to disturb her or make her anxious. Your cat may be able to give birth without needing any help from you, but it’s important to understand your cat’s needs, as well as those of her kittens, in case your help is required. Contact your vet if any problems occur.
Have clean towels, a warm water bottle, a feeding bottle or syringe and some specialist substitute cat milk replacement – not cow or goat milk – ready in advance.
Birth, also called kittening or parturition, is divided into three stages, and the second and third stages are repeated for each kitten. Time between delivery of kittens is usually 10 to 60 minutes and stages two and three are repeated. The birth is usually complete within six hours after the start of the second stage, but can last up to 12 hours.
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How Long Does It Take For A Cat To Give Birth Between Kittens
Another concern you may have when a cat is in labor is how long it should take for a cat to give birth to another kitten after the first is born. Generally, a cat will give birth to their kittens in half hour intervals. However, it is not unusual for especially rapid births to occur every minute or so. It is also possible for the next kitten to be born up to an hour. If it takes longer than this time and you are sure there is another kitten yet to be born, you will need to consult a specialist.
Give The Mother What She Needs
Naturally, mother cats are tired and spent after birth. Make sure she has plenty of water and food nearby, so she doesnt have to exert herself to stay healthy.
Nursing mother cats need extra nutrients. Increase their usual portion and consider switching to, or adding in, kitten formula food. If she needs encouragement to eat more, try adding canned tuna, salmon, or chicken.
Put the litter box far away from the food, but not so far that she struggles to reach it. The litter box can go outside the nesting box at first, since kittens wont start using it until theyre about 4 weeks old.
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Preparing Your Home For Your Cat To Give Birth
Ideally, your pregnant cat should be allowed to have a room or space to herself at the end of her pregnancy. Queens can become aggressive in the final two weeks of their gestation, so isolate her and keep her away from children. The room needs to be quite warmaround 72°Fto help her feel comfortable and reduce the risk of hypothermia, and ideally needs to have 65-70% humidity.
You should put together a nesting box where your queen can give birth. This can be a cardboard box that’s big enough for her to lie down in and with tall enough sides so the kittens won’t fall out. Line it with plastic and then newspaper, which is easily removed if it becomes soiled, and cover it with a blanket.
The nesting box should be warmer than the rest of the room to support the kittens when they are at their most fragile during the first few days of life. An infra-red lamp is a good way to do this as it doesn’t direct heat too harshly in one area, and it should be set to 86°F.
How Can I Tell If Something Is Wrong
If a kitten or a fluid-filled bubble is emerging from the vaginal opening but has not been born within a few minutes, you should intervene to aid the birth process. It is possible to shatter the bubble using dampened gauze or a thin washcloth, and then grab the head or feet with it. When the next contraction begins, pull softly but firmly in a downward direction until the contraction is complete . If you are unable to readily remove the kitten from the nest, or if the queen screams uncontrollably throughout the operation, the kitten is most likely stuck.
It is also beneficial to have a bulb syringe on hand to aid in the suctioning of fluid or mucus from the throat.
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Cat Giving Birth: What You Need To Know
Whether you are intentionally breeding your cat, or, more commonly, are suddenly surprised that your cat is pregnant, you need to know what to expect when your cat is expecting.
In this article, we will be covering the basics of how cats give birth, the birthing process and the stages of labor, what to do when your cat is birthing, and how to care for mother and newborn kittens after birth.
Watch For Vaginal Bleeding
Vaginal bleeding is abnormal during any feline pregnancy and should be a cause for concern.
If the bleeding is noted during the early or middle stages of gestation, its likely that the queen has had a miscarriage or aborted the babies.
If the bleeding is noted at the end of the pregnancy, the mother may be going into labor early, and immediate veterinary intervention is necessary.
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Cleanliness And Litter Box
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The nesting box will most likely need to be changed at least once a day since the mom is stimulating the kittens to urinate and defecate for the first several weeks of life. Youll want to use bedding material that is soft yet washable towel and fleece blankets work great.
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The mom should always have access to a clean litter box. At around four weeks of age, the kittens will begin sand-scratching behavior. Initially, they will follow the mom to the litter box and play in it. By about 4-5 weeks of age, they learn to eliminate in the litter box.
How To Help Deliver Kittens
Is your cat due to give birth? You might feel nervous at the prospect of your cat going into labour – as well as ensuring that the kittens are safely delivered. Cats often give birth unsupported and are private creatures, so watch quietly from a distance in case you need to help or call the vet. You can find out more on how to deliver kittens in our video below.
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How To Tell If A Cat Is Pregnant
It can be very difficult to see the signs that a cat is pregnant. The most definitive ways to confirm pregnancy include a blood test, ultrasound, x-rays or abdominal palpation.
When a cat is pregnant, they are typically referred to as a queen. Usually a queens behavior will not greatly change during pregnancy, but some cats may become either more affectionate or aggressive.
Eventually, the cats abdomen may look rounder or her nipples may become more prominent. However, these signs will sometimes not occur until later in the pregnancy.
Cats can also suffer from false pregnancy, or pseudopregnancy. Its believed to be caused by hormonal imbalances that allow non-pregnant queens to show symptoms such as lactation and behavioral changes. These changes usually occur one to two months after her heat is over and can last for up to a month.
Pregnant cats have different nutritional needs. Heres what you need to know about providing the right food for a pregnant cat.
Building A Birthing Box
Its important to introduce your cat to her birthing box, or to the designated place where she will be giving birth in your home, in advance of her labor to ensure shes comfortable in the area and feels safe during delivery. Separate your cat from other cats or kittens in the home so that her birthing area is as quiet and squabble-free as possible, Duganne said. Keeping her apart from other cats in the home will also help you to monitor her food and water consumption and keep a close eye on any changes in her health. If you prefer to use a crate rather than a box, Duganne recommends a Pet Gear crate that has three doors to allow you access to the center and sides of the crate before, during, and after the birthing process.
Image:Christian Wilkinson/Shutterstock
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How To Know Your Cat Is About To Give Birth
Signs Of A Pregnant Cat About To Give Birth How Do You Know Your Cat Is Pregnant Cat Pregnant
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Tips To Prepare For The Big Day
Make your home a comfortable place for the impending birth. If you normally let your cat go outside, stop that, to avoid them to go into labor during one of their walkabouts.
About 2 weeks before the due date, you may notice your cat is acting different as they get into nesting mode. To help out, you can scan your home for a good birthing spot for them. Find a medium-sized box with a low opening, and cover it with newspapers, old towels, and soft blankets to create a relaxing area for the mother and their future kittens.
You should place the nesting box in a quiet corner of your house. Let your pregnant cat visit it often, before the birth, so they get used to the area and feel comfortable.
Keep in mind that you can guide your cat as much as possible and set up the ultimate birthing spot, but they are going to do what they are going to do. If they want to give birth in a laundry basket, behind the garbage can, or in the back of your closet, they will.
When you notice that the cat is in nesting mode, take them to the vet for their final prenatal visit. The vet will give you more information about how to prepare for the delivery, check on the mother and kittiesâ health, and tell you want to do if thereâs an emergency during the birth.
Two clues that the big day is coming: Cats usually stop eating 24 hours before they give birth, and their temperature drops below 100 F. Youâll meet those kittens soon!
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Keep The Area Private And Quiet
The mother and her kittens should be kept in a quiet, low-traffic area of the house. If there is too much commotion around her, she may become stressed and neglect her kittens.
As the kittens get older and more rambunctious, your cat will want more and more time to get away and sleep, groom, or socialize with members of the household. Give your cat space to get away from the kittens, but make sure that she is returning often to check on them.
Symptoms Of Birth Difficulties In Cats
Mechanical blockage and uterine inertia are most likely to take place with older cats, with queens who are obese and, with queens who birth small litters of relatively oversized kittens. These conditions are apt to occur in cat breeds with big heads and flat faces like Persians. It also frequently involves the birth of the first kitten or the last kitten.
If any of the following signs occur, call the veterinarian. It could help to save the life of the kittens as well as the mother
- No birth of a kitten after one hour of deep straining
- A kitten is visible in the birth canal after 10 minutes of strong labor
- A constant flow of fresh bleeding occurs 10 minutes during or after kittening
- Abrupt lethargy and fatigue
- Rectal temperature above 104 degrees Fahrenheit or below 97 degrees Fahrenheit could mean the queen has an infection
- If labor ceases and the queen is agitated, anxious or weak
- Kittens should come down the birth canal 15 minutes to two hours apart. When the amniotic sac surrounding the kitten ruptures, birth of a kitten should take place within 30 minutes. There is cause for alarm if more than three hours pass between kittens. However, if the queen is relaxed and tending to her kittens without showing distress, she and the kittens to come should be fine.
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Is My Queen Having Interrupted Labor Or Difficult Birth
- Normal birth interval between kittens is 10 minutes to 1 hour but may be up to 3 hours.
- The entire birthing process will usually be complete between 1 to 12 hours, sometimes up to 24 hours.
- The queen may have gone into a state called Interrupted Labor. This is a normal occurrence in cats and not necessarily a result of the pet parent having done something to interrupt the cats labor. During this period, the queen ceases to strain, will rest and nurse happily, will eat and use the litterbox. This stage can last for between 24 to 36 hours after which straining and birth of subsequent kittens should recommence, otherwise, have the queen seen by the veterinarian.
- The queen may be having dystocia or difficult birth. There are many possible reasons for this condition which the veterinarian can identify. You will see your queen straining for more than 20 minutes already without producing a kitten. Or sometimes a kitten is visible at the opening of the vulva but cannot properly come out, even when the queen has been straining for more than 10 minutes already. The queen will be in obvious distress and show signs of pain and exhaustion. You will see her restless, panting, constantly crying and sometimes you may observe a foul-smelling discharge from her vulva. This condition is an emergency and take her to the veterinarians office immediately.