Does she display the standard characteristics of her breed? Does she have the correct paperwork detailing her ancestry? Does she have breeding rights? Did her mother or grandmother have any pregnancy complications? Cats that have been shown and done well will produce more desirable kittens, so consider whether you can show her successfully (or whether she has already been shown). Is she friendly and sociable? (These are inherited traits![3] X Research source )
Vaccinations should all be up to date FeLV and FIV - these tests should happen directly before each breeding Ringworm, ear mites and fleas A stool check should be performed for internal parasites Genetic diseases including polycystic kidney disease, hip dysplasia, patellar luxations, and heart disease. Any breed-specific diseases[6] X Research source
Veterinary care - like human mothers, feline mothers need extra veterinary check ups to ensure that the pregnancy is going well, and can have unexpected complications necessitating procedures such as a C-section. Pre-breeding check up - $700 During pregnancy check up with ultra-sound - $160 (or with x-ray $110) Emergency C-section - at least $300[7] X Research source Food - good quality food for your queen is important thought her entire life, but especially during pregnancy. You also need to make sure her kittens have good quality food as they are weaned - this is essential to their development. You should budget for things like fresh chicken, fish, special kitten food, and raw good quality minced beef, all of which are good for weaned kittens. Food for the queen during pregnancy and lactation - $147 Emergency food for the kittens if something goes wrong with their milk supply - $20 Registration fees - $155 for your first year as a breeder. If you want your kittens to have the advantage of a pedigree, you need to register yourself as a breeder and register your queen, and each litter. Heating, in the winter. Kittens need to be kept warm all the time, and in the winter, this can add up to a sizable bill.
Money - can you afford all of the costs of kitten-raising if you don’t manage to make a profit selling the kittens? Time - breeding cats and raising kittens are both time intensive activities - you should not leave an expectant mother or little kittens alone for extended periods of time (even a work-day is too long). Finding homes for the kittens - is there a market for bred cats in your area? Are you prepared to do the marketing required to find good homes for them? Any home is not a good home; you’re responsible for making sure that the people who adopt your kittens aren’t going to get tired of them, or get rid of them because the cat developed bad behavior due to poor treatment. Ethical issues - while there are some people who are looking for specific appearance of characteristics in cats that are only found in purebreds, consider whether your kittens might end up in homes that would have been equally happy with a rescue cat. Every year in the US 1. 4 million adoptable cats are euthanized in shelters because no suitable home for them can be found. [8] X Trustworthy Source American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Leading organization dedicated to the prevention of animal cruelty Go to source , [9] X Trustworthy Source The Humane Society of the United States National organization devoted to the promotion of animal welfare Go to source
Proestrus - this stage may last one to two days, but may be as short as an hour, and isn’t seen in all cats. During this period, she may call to the tom, roll and rub on the ground, but won’t allow the tom near her. Estrus - this stage usually lasts about a week, and is when the queen should be taken to the tom for mating. The primary sign of this period is her vocal call to the male with a specific type of yowl. [12] X Research source This sound is generally a short-ish, plaintive, hollow sounding yowl that sounds almost like “aah-roo-ugh?” (though it can vary between breeds, so be sure to check with a breeder who is familiar with your breed) and will be accompanied by the cat doing all she can to get to any toms in the area. [13] X Research source Interestrus - if the cat did not ovulate she will enter this period, which usually lasts about a week before estrous or estrus periods return. She will show no sign of reproductive activity during interestrus.
The tom needs a place to escape to just after mating takes place as the female often reacts viciously. Be prepared to hear a bloodcurdling shriek from the female - this is normal. [14] X Research source Immediately after mating, the female will probably frantically groom herself for about an hour, during which time she won’t allow anyone near her. After this, the estrous period will continue as it was before mating occurred until its natural end. It is important to make sure a cat is bred more than once during an estrous period since she will not ovulate until after she has mated. Three breedings a day for the first three days of the estrous cycle should produce a 90% chance of the queen ovulating. [15] X Research source
She didn’t ovulate. If this is the case, she will become fertile again in about a week. She ovulated, but didn’t become pregnant - this period is called metestrus; it lasts 5-7 weeks, and during it she will not demonstrate any reproductive activity. [16] X Research source She became pregnant, but the pregnancy was unsuccessful. If this is the case, she will become fertile again 2-3 weeks after losing the kittens. [17] X Research source
Abdominal palpitations from day 20 - these should only be undertaken by someone with a lot of experience because you can easily cause a miscarriage if you are too forceful, and there are other parts of her abdomen that may feel lumpy. At this stage, the kittens feel like evenly spaced swellings about the size of un-shelled peanuts. Between day 35 and 49, it’s not possible to feel the fetuses due to the sacs of fluid they are contained in. Ultra-sound - though the presence of kittens can be seen after 15 days, heartbeats appear at day 20. A test for the hormone relaxin can detect pregnancy in cats after about 25-30 days. [19] X Research source Morning sickness during the 3rd or 4th week of pregnancy - this doesn’t occur for all cats, and includes apathy, vomiting and bring less interested in food, but only lasts for a day or two, and can easily be missed. X-ray - past day 43 an x-ray will show the bone-structure of the kittens, and is better than ultrasound at counting the number of kittens. External signs - by day 35 the nipples will begin to be pink and obvious, and the cat will noticeably increase in size. In the last two weeks, a pear-shaped abdomen will be noticeable. Shortly before giving birth, the cat will develop more noticeable breasts, and a milky fluid may be excreted from the nipples. [20] X Research source
A check-up with your veterinarian can provide a very accurate due-date. Your vet will probably use one of the diagnostic methods in determining whether a cat is pregnant to guess how far into her pregnancy she is. Signs that queening is imminent include vomiting, crying, seeking out a place to have her kittens, and grooming. [22] X Research source Remember when you last heard her giving the mating call discussed above (this sound is generally a short-ish, plaintive, hollow sounding yowl that sounds almost like “aah-roo-ugh?”) - this was a sign of the last time she was fertile, and the pregnancy probably began during that week. Watch the tomcats in the neighborhood - the week they stopped being regularly found around your house is probably when she became pregnant
If the pregnancy appears to be normal, then one more visit about a week before the kittens are expected is all that’s necessary. The vet will check to make sure that the kittens are healthy, and go over what you should do when they are born. [23] X Research source
Easy access to food, water, and a litter box (but don’t put the litter box too close as you don’t want to invite an infection!) It should be in a quiet, dark corner of the house with little traffic. A box lined with cozy blankets is generally a good idea. It should be somewhere that the kittens won’t accidentally stumble out of - newborn kittens are blind and deaf, and the mother will want to keep them enclosed in a small space until they are old enough to jump out of it. Remember, if she chooses a spot other than the one you have prepared for her, accept it - moving her will stress her out and may cause her to delay the birth.
Easy access to food, water, and a litter box (but don’t put the litter box too close as you don’t want to invite an infection!) It should be in a quiet, dark corner of the house with little traffic. A box lined with cozy blankets is generally a good idea. It should be somewhere that the kittens won’t accidentally stumble out of - newborn kittens are blind and deaf, and the mother will want to keep them enclosed in a small space until they are old enough to jump out of it. Remember, if she chooses a spot other than the one you have prepared for her, accept it - moving her will stress her out and may cause her to delay the birth.
Any yellow-green or bright green discharge Any bloody discharge Each kitten born should be followed by a placenta, if the placenta does not emerge, take the cat to a vet to have it removed - do NOT attempt this yourself, it can kill the cat if done incorrectly. If you come upon your cat after she has already had one or two kittens, don’t be alarmed if a placenta or two is missing, mother cats eat the placenta to regain the nutrients they contain. No kittens have been produced 3-4 hours into labor The queen is distressed, crying, or licking her vulva without producing any kittens.
Acquire a surrogate mother - this means a cat who has kittens of the same age but has a very small litter. Cats are generally happy to accept surrogate kittens, provided they have a small enough litter of their own, and the surrogates are of a similar age to their own litter. Hand feed the runts. To do this you will need milk formula specifically for kittens and a bottle with a teat designed for kittens. If you’re having difficulty finding these, contact your vet for assistance. Make sure to follow the instructions on the milk substitute to make it the correct temperature and consistency. Do NOT feed kittens cow milk, this will upset their stomach. [24] X Research source
