Is Your Cat Pregnant?
There are many times that the only real symptoms of a pregnant cat are an expanding midsection. Cats can be notoriously ‘silent’ about their impending blessed events. However, their ‘quietness’ may also be considered another indication of pregnancy. For the short nine weeks that your cat is pregnant they will also not be coming into their regular heat cycles that seem to last forever and occur just as frequently. If you cat is normally quite vocal (as most are) during that time, the sudden silence could easily be considered a ‘clue’.
If you think your ‘queen’ has been exposed to a male you can check her belly regularly. At about three weeks you will probably begin to see a change in her nipples. They will become pinker as they get ready to produce milk. You may also notice your once very aloof cat becoming very affectionate and actually demanding attention. Pregnant mothers often want to be pampered and your cat is no exception to that rule.
Around this time your veterinarian may even be able to palpate your queen’s abdomen to feel for the fetuses. This is dangerous to attempt if you do not know what you are doing so avoid the temptation to probe your cat’s belly on your own. You can cause abortions or other damage to your cat’s developing kits.
In the final weeks you may really begin to see the thickening of her midsection, and her nipples will swell. During all of this time there is relatively little you need to, or even can do to help or improve on the situation except to be sure they are getting the best nutrition you can provide for them. This by no means includes a need to overfeed. Gaining too much weight is just as detrimental to a pregnant cat as it is to a pregnant woman.
If you cat is accustomed to going outside she will probably automatically stop wanting to leave her home. At the same time, if she does show any desire to go outside for a bit, in the final weeks it is a good idea to discourage that so that she does not end up having her kittens somewhere away from you. Not only is it better to be around to help your queen if she has trouble, even if that is rushing to the veterinarian for help, but kittens that are raised from birth around you will be tamer and easier to handle than if your cat returns with her new brood several weeks after their birth.
Generally nature is an excellent midwife and cats give birth without much assistance. It is best to leave the new mother to her duties so long as there are no danger signals, however if you notice any depression, or complete lack of appetite in your very pregnant queen in the final days of her pregnancy you should consider this something to be concerned over. Be aware that most queens will have a decrease in appetite at this time, but they should still have enough interest in food to eat some. Finally if you notice any unpleasant smell or discharge from the vaginal area this is cause for immediate concern and you should always have your veterinarian’s phone number handy.
Most likely your queen will have no trouble at all and you will soon be enjoying the fun of watching kittens grow, play and make you smile the way only kittens can.