# pregnant cat



## jennie1981 (Aug 17, 2009)

my cat is definately showing signs of being pregnant. Huge belly, swollen nipples, sleeping a lot very affectionate etc. I think she is about 6 + weeks now. How will i know when she is ready to give birth and how long are cats usually pregnant for? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Pregnancy lasts about 63-65 days(9 weeks ish)
Have a read of this so you can prepare yourself
Cat Pregnancy - Prepare yourself for ... kittens!


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Pregnancy is an average of 65 days, some cats go 63, but most go 67. When queens are carrying their kittens the 'bump' is fairly high up on the sides of the queen. A couple of days before she's ready to give birth, you should notice that the bump has dropped and her spine is more obvious.

As she gets near the time to give birth, she may become restless, wander around crying and investigating places to nest, that’s a sure sign that she will be in labour within 2 days. If you have other cats, you may find her trying to drag them into the nesting box as most cats appear to need company at this time. My queens kittened their litters with my Havana neuter on duty until the first kitten appeared and then he made a run for it!!!

The first signs of labour are when the placentas detach and the kittens make their way down to the birth canal. At this stage you will not see contractions, but will see rippling along the cats spine as if she is ‘tickly’. When you see this the kittens are likely to be born within the next 10-15 hours, but they may come before that if you haven’t noticed these ripples as soon as they start. 

Eventually you will see true contractions and that’s the first kitten on its way, but this kitten may arrive in half an hour or 2 it depends. She may kitten quickly one after the other or she may stop and rest in between for quite a long time (even a day!), there’s no set pattern.

The best advice I can give you at the moment is that you should now be feeding her on kitten food, as this has a higher protein level and more vitamins which should help her produce healthy kittens and hopefully prevent her from losing too much condition herself.


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## xemx (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks! My cat is also showing major signs of pregnancy! at what point do you stop them going outside? if she is mainly an indoor cat (goes out to toilet and to play - comes back every afternoon without fail) there isnt a chance she will nest outside? thats what im really worried about. even me trying to keep her in my family are really clumsy and leave windows open and dont try to get her away from the door when opeing so alot of the time she runs out  iv got 2 boxes upstairs that im hoping she will use to nest in. I think we have about 2weeks left maybe 3.

Thanks


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I would watch her like a hawk just in case. If you can get her to see these boxes as possible nest boxes, then she's not likely to go outside and have her kittens under a hedge, but I couldn't say for certain that she would.

I would be more alarmed about her going outside once the kittens are born. I've known of too many outside cats with young kittens going out and never coming back and people trying to handrear the babies that have been left. Especially when you consider that she could very well come back into season when the kittens are as young as 4 weeks and go off looking for a mate again!


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

You need to get her used to staying inside as soon as possible as she may have chosen an outdoor nest already. Could you not get your family to be extra careful about remembering to keep windows and doors shut


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## xemx (Jan 13, 2008)

ok ill do all i can to keep her inside

thanks


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## jennie1981 (Aug 17, 2009)

well i read all the info on the linked site thanks a lot very good info. Got box set up with old towels and blankets in and she has spent most of today sleeping in there so she seems comfortable with it. Her tummy is definately looking more rounded now so i think she may almost be ready. she follows me everywhere i cant have a minutes peace lol bless if i ignore her she rubs her face against mine until i stroke her very cute . She also wont go outside at all either now prefers to spend all day nibbling small amounts of food then sleeping. Are these signs she could be getting close to labour do u think?


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Pregnant cats tend to be more affectionate and clingy than usual due to the hormones they produce. A heavily pregnant cat has a very distended belly which drops as the ligaments stretch when the birth is drawing near. An imminent birth usually starts with intense nesting behaviour and restlessness,rythmic purring, then panting. Without seeing your girl it hard to know how far pregnant she is. Im glad she staying in the house for you


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