pregnet cats

Question
when can you tell when your cat is suppose to have kittens?

Answer
Megan,

Most people will notice that their cat is putting on weight around her middle. When the cat is ready to go into labor most will become restless. They will tend to meow and pace. I would strongly recommend that you leave her to her own devices and check on her progress every hour or so. You do not want to bother her too much while she is in labor or you can cause her labor to stall and then she may need medical assistance to have her kittens. I would set up a bed (a cardboard box cut so that mom can get in and out easily, but the kittens stay put) and line it with an old bath towel. You really should change the bedding once all of the kittens have been born. I would suggest that if you are unsure about whether your cat is pregnant or not that you take her to the vet for an accurate diagnosis. I very strongly suggest that you not allow mom any access to any intact males while she is raising her young as cats can become pregnant while they are still nursing their little ones. I urge you to wait until mom has weaned her kittens (6-8 weeks) and her milk supply has been dried up for about 2 weeks to have mom spayed. There  is a serious pet overpopulation crisis. There are approximately 250,000 pets euthanised in animal shelters every year across Canada alone simply because there are not enough good homes to meet the ever rising need for the pets who end up in shelter systems. Another sad fact is that most people seem to view cats as disposable pets. Unfortunately only about 3% of cats admitted to animal shelters are ever claimed by their owners, the rest face an uncertain future at best. There are medical and behavioral benefits to spaying or neutering your cats. Medically cats who are altered tend to be at a much lower risk for getting infections or tumors in their reproductive systems. Cats who are spayed and neutered also tend to fight less which ultimately means that they will not need the medical care to deal with abscesses, stitching up the cat on a losing end of a fight not to mention the antibiotics and other supplies that may be necessary to treat a cat injured in a fight. Behaviorally cats who are spayed and neutered tend to not mark their territory with urine as often (this applies to male and female cats), they fight less, they wander less, and the loud meowing and caterwauling to advertise their availability to mate are no longer problems to lose sleep over. The bottom line is that spaying and neutering saves lives by preventing unwanted litters from being born. Hopefully you find this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.