How Long Will My Cat's Pregnancy Last? | Cats

By JaneTompsett
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This has to be the number one question owners ask. After all, you need to know how long it's going to be before you need to start panicking!

Have you any idea at all? Has your cat been pregnant before and previously given birth to kittens?

One thing is for certain, knowing how long a cat's pregnancy lasts from start to finish won't be of much use to you unless you know the approximate date when she conceived her kittens.

In the general way of things, your cat doesn't let that sort of information slip out!

Just when you think that your life holds no surprises, your cat comes home with more than she went out with......

Your affectionate cat has been coming into season and all that cute rolling around hasn't been for your benefit at all - she's been working up to attracting every Tom, Dick or fur-covered Harry that she can get her paws on.

And now, out of the blue, you strongly suspect that you're going to be a grandparent to a litter of kittens and you have no idea when that might be.

So, how long will you have to wait to see your newly born, cute and fluffy kittens?

On average, feline pregnancy lasts for 63-65 days but can be anywhere from 58 days to 70 days long. In 'real money', that's around nine weeks.

But as a midwife-in-waiting, it's up to you to make the best guess at the delivery date that you can and unless you happened to see (or hear) your promiscuous puss-cat in action with the local toms, you're likely to be a day or two out.

It's far more usual not to have any idea that your beautiful, pregnant cat is 'with kittens' until she is 35-42 days into her 65 day pregnancy and starts to show certain signs.

By the time you begin to suspect that you need to know how long feline pregnancy lasts, more than half of it will have passed by.

If you know your cat well, you may have noticed a definite pinking up of your cat's nipples. Her milk glands are the first part of her body to undergo changes in readyness for full-scale milk production and this will happen after just 3 weeks into pregnancy.

About this time, you may also notice that your cat loses interest in her food. Could it be feline morning sickness perhaps?

Mind you, most cats go through phases of turning their furry noses up at whatever choice morsels you place in front of them, so it's highly unlikely that you associate a lack of appetite with pregnancy at this stage.

Unless you have experienced a previous pregnancy with your cat, it is highly unlikely that you will attach any significance to these subtle changes.

It is only at the five or six week stage of your cat's pregnancy that you will begin to be certain that your beautiful pet is carrying kittens and at this point, you will only have 21-28 days to go before her kittens are born.

Naturally, as a loving and responsible cat owner, you will want to make sure that you are fully aware of what care you will need to give during the birth and to your newly born kittens and their mother. So make sure that you have equipped yourself with the knowledge you will need by finding a comprehensive ebook that will easily guide you through all the stages of pregnancy, labor, birth and nursing.

But best of all, just savor the anticipation of the joy that your new kittens will bring!

About the Author

Are you waiting for the birth of your new kittens? Discover all you need to know about how to deliver kittens and subscribe to Jane Tompsett's free Cat Owners Confidential newsletter by following these links.

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