How Can You Tell If Your Cat Is Pregnant? | Pets and Animals

By JaneTompsett
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The normal length of your cat's pregnancy is nine weeks but it is almost impossible to tell that she is expecting kittens until around halfway through the term. The early indications of pregnancy are often written off as normal, unpredictable cat behavior or are simply not noticed at all.

Around week three many cats go off their food for awhile or even refuse to eat anything you may put in front of them. Pregnant women often complain of experiencing morning sickness so it may be the same for our feline friends. At the same time, the area around your cat's nipples may become pinker as her milk glands prepare to deliver their milk but this sign can easily be lost in your cat's fur and consequently go unnoticed.

Around the halfway stage - weeks four and five - you will certainly experience a changed attitude in your pet. She will either become far more attentive and affectionate towards you or become the complete opposite and want nothing to do with you at all.

In the fifth and sixth week things suddenly being to make sense to you. Your cat's girth becomes noticeably wider and her nipples are much pinker and more swollen.

The seventh week of pregnancy often brings a change in appetite again. This time, however, your cat may find that she is hungrier than usual or may lose her interest in her food for awhile. She will also look very definitely pregnant as she will be extremely rounded in shape. Cleaning her fur will be a chore and you can assist in this difficult task by grooming her regularly, if she will allow you to.

Weeks eight and nine are exciting ones as you will be able to see the unborn kittens moving around in your pregnant cat's tummy. You will need to be strong willed to resist feeling them as this can so easily cause problems or injury at this stage. The developing kittens will be making huge demands on your cat's body and her appetite will have doubled to keep up with their needs. In spite of the increased food intake, constipation is often a problem now and a few drops of liquid paraffin in her food will keep thing moving along nicely.

Finally, in week nine, as she begins to prepare for the birth, your cat will start searching for a good place in which to give birth. As she roams around the house she will be looking for somewhere that is safe, warm and private. She will need to feel secure during her confinement and this may cause her to seem unsettled.

As your cat searches for her ideal birthing place, you will want to help guide her in her choice. Left to her own devices, your cat may decide that the best place to give birth is in the middle of your bed and that most definitely will not be to your liking!

After nine, long weeks, it will be time for the kitens to be born. Your soon-to-be mother cat may appear to be feeling anxious or unsettled as she repeatedly enters her birth nest and tries to arrange the nesting material to fit her requirements. This is know as 'treading' as that is exactly what your cat will be doing - treading on her blanket or newspaper. You will certainly hear her purring loudly as she feels the change in her body as it prepares for the birthing process to begin. Her pregnancy is over and it will be your responsibility to be around to assist her during the birth of her kittens, should she need you.

The excitement of your cat's pregnancy will now give way to the apprehension of the birth but if you have made it your duty to familiarise yourself with what to expect, what is considered to be normal and what signs indicate that your cat will need the help of your vet, you can be confident that you will be able to provide the very best care for your pet.

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