Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The tom takes no role in raising his kittens, and some toms are even
aggressive toward kittens. On the other hand, a queen will be very pro-
tective of her babies.
You may remember Scarlet, the mother cat who made headlines in
1996. Scarlet entered a burning building five times to save her five kit-
tens, although she was severely burned in the process.A mother cat will
also protect her kittens from you. If you are caring for a feral queen, be
careful of how much you handle her kittens, because she may reject
them. She may also become aggressive with you if you try to handle
them in her presence.
Signs of Pregnancy
An inexperienced cat owner may be unaware of the signs of heat. Some
cats put on more of a show than others. If you have a cat who has come
in and out of heat and suddenly seems to stop cycling, she's probably
pregnant.
Cats do not need much special care to maintain a pregnancy.They
seem to do fine on their own. Other than allowing a queen to eat what
she wants and protecting her from illness and parasites, you can leave
the rest to her.
Because cats are only pregnant for about nine weeks, things happen
fairly quickly.The progression of signs is:
1.
Increased appetite and weight gain
2.
“Pinking up” of the nipples within two weeks of being bred
3.
More rounded appearance of the abdomen
4.
Engorgement of the mammary glands
A veterinarian can palpate a female cat's abdomen and confirm a
pregnancy three to four weeks into gestation.The fetuses develop bones
at about 54 days, so an X ray at this time can tell how many kittens will
be born. An average litter contains three to five kittens, but in reality,
litter size can vary a lot. X rays do not damage the fetuses, and they can
be useful if you want to know what to expect. Ultrasound is useful for
confirming pregnancy as early as two to three weeks, but it is not reli-
able for determining the number of fetuses.
Can You Terminate Your Cat's Pregnancy?
Purebred cat breeders know when their females are cycling and try to
plan their pregnancies. Ideally, they mate cats who are not too closely
