lactating cat

Question
I have a female cat that has come in contact with the male.  We have to appt. to get them both fixed but I was wondering if the female could still get pregnant if she is still nursing the kittens she had 8 weeks ago?

Answer
Lisette,

Lactating queens often come in to what are called lactation heats when the kittens are still not weaned.  I have seen these as early as 4 weeks after giving birth. The female CAN conceive during these heats.  This is problematic since the chances of having trouble increase if the female is bred too soon after kittening.  The rule of thumb is to wait at least 3 months + 1 month per nursing kitten.  So, if she had 3 kittens who nursed until weaning, we are talking about at least a 6 month wait before breeding her again.  We usually wait a year between litters for any given female.

The kittens are ready to be weaned, so I would wean them and, then have the female fixed post haste, so she does not have a chance to conceive.

Of course, all this would be in consultation with your vet.

Best regards... Norm.