Feline Pregnancy Question and Answers

Feline pregnancy can cause some owners some worries and concerns and I have been asked many different questions about it.

So if your cat is having kittens and you have some worries check through this page for some of the most common questions asked.

Common Feline Pregnancy Questions

The following questions have all been asked by other site visitors in the past.  

The red boxes indicate further information about that topic on another page.

Question

My Siamese cat is 8 years old can she still get pregnant

Answer

Hi yes cats can still get pregnant up to the age or around 14. That may surprise a lot of cat owners but it's true. Another good reason to have your female cat spayed

Question

How do you know if your cat is pregnant? My cat is one year and the male cat was five months. Is that possible?

Answer

Hi well at one year she certainly can get pregnant but at 5 months he is a little young and it would be unusual for him to father a litter at this age. There are no real ways to tell if your cat is pregnant until the later stages. See more information on my cat pregnancy page

Question

My cat is pregnant. She is due in around four days, but keeps acting as if she is in heat, i.e howling and going into "mating stance". Help! 

Answer

Well it sounds to me that she may be starting to go into labor. Often their behavior changes just before they start to have their kittens.

Rolling around is not an uncommon sign that she is preparing to give birth.

Question

Pregnant Cat Is Having Problems Giving Birth

We have a female cat having babies now and one of the kittens feet are hanging out of her and she bled a little. Will she push that out naturally?

Answer

I am guessing that by the time you receive this reply she will have had her kittens.

It is quite rare for a cat to need assistance giving birth, when it does occur you have to be very gentle and just try to ease the kitten out but let the mother do it if possible.

My Ebook gives more detailed inforamtion about what to do if you do need to get involved

Question

Pregnant Cat Is Peeing A Lot

What does it mean when you pregnant cat starts peeing a lot more than normal?

Answer

It could be that the kittens could be pressing on her bladder. I believe pregnant woman say they need to go to the loo a lot more too due to this pressing on the bladder. This is normal and nothing to worry about.

Hoever if the urine smells extra strong then she may have a urinary infection. In which case she should be seen by a vet as soon as possible

Question

Pregnant Cat Not Eating Or Drinking

We are fostering a pregnant cat and we have had her for two days and she is not drinking, eating, or going to the bathroom. She is due in two weeks. Is this normal?

Answer

Hi her behavior may be caused by her new unfamiliar surroundings. Sometimes cats can take awhile to adjust to changes and are so anxious that they stop eating etc.

Dehydration is an issue, she must drink water at the very least. If you feel that she has not had anything to drink or eaten any moist food in more than 48hrs then i would suggest a trip to the vets may be in order as the health of her unborn kittens may also be at risk.

Try to temp her with some nice smelly wet cat food on the end of your finger to see if you can entice her to eat. Offer her some cat milk (not normal milk) and leave her to it, she may be feeling anxious about people being around her so also try putting her into a room on her own with her food and water for a few hours this may help her to relax and eat something.

Questions

Not Using Litter Tray During Feline Pregnancy

My cat is heavily pregnant with her first litter, she's only 10 months old. My neighbours decided they didn't want her so she's been living with me for about a week. The problem is she wont use her litter tray. She's too pregnant to let her outside and she will get into the tray and scratch around, but seems incapable. I've actually had to take the litter tray into my neighbours house and that's the only time she will go. I'm worried because I want her to feel settled enough in my home to birth and raise her kittens, but she obviously doesn't. I don't know what to do, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Answer

She needs a period of time to get used to her new home and her new litter tray etc. The best way to do this is to confine her to one room for a week or so with her bed and litter toys and only letting her out to eat.

I have more information about this litter tray training page.

Question

Pregnant Cat Sleeping On Floor

My cat is pregnant and ever since she got pregnant, she's been sleeping on the floor. She's always sleeping on the couch but now she's constantly sleeping on the floor. Is that normal? I'm not worried I was just wondering :)

Answer

Often pregnant cats, especially in the later stages of pregnancy to become uncomfortable. She may therefore simply find it more comfortable to sleep on the floor instead of trying to climb onto the couch.

The floor area will also be cooler and this may also may her feel more comfortable. I wouldn't worry about this new behavior, I'm sure it will pass once she has her kittens.

Question

Pregnant Cat Attacking Pet Dog

Is it normal for a pregnant cat (probably about a week before delivery) to attack a small female dog that also lives in the household for no reason? 

Answer

I wouldn't say it was normal but then again i wouldn't say that it was unusual either

.

Your cat may be feeling vulnerable at this time and she may also be starting to feel maternal knowing that her kittens are on the way. She is simply warning the dog off.

I wouldn't worry too much at this stage but i would say that it would be advisable to keep the dog away from her if possible at this time and for the first week or so after the kittens are born. This will give her time to settle down with the new situation. Then introduce the dog back to her under supervision to prevent any further attacks.

Question

Pregnant Cats Hissing At Each Other

Hi my name is Brandi and I have two cats they are sisters, and both were pregnant, my cat Missy just gave birth to her 4 kittens yesterday and when she came out to eat and stuff today my other cat Callie who is still pregnant started hissing at Missy and trying to attack her why is she doing this? 

Answer

This is probably because either the pregnant cat senses the anxiety of the new mother through her recent experience or she may smell different too. Both of these can cause your cat to become afraid. Cats react to fear aggressively.

Also in nature cats would chase off other cats from their territory if they were about to have a new litter. This is make sure that her kittens have enough food and territory. Cats do not like to live in packs.

You may have some problems on your hands with so many cats and kittens all at the same time. I don't know what your plans are for them all and how you are going to look after them until they are weaned (weaning is from week 8 to week 12).

I would advise that the cats and kittens need to be kept separate for the first week to give the new mother time to get used to her new litter.

Question

Pregnant Cat Is Leaking Clear Stuff

I'm not sure how far along my pregnant cat is but she is leaking clear stuff from here female parts it was a whitish color before she did this a little bit when she was pregnant before  but there is more this time is it normal for a female cat to leak like this during feline pregnancy? She is eating well and doesn't seem ill just wants cuddles off me all the time

Answer

It may be that he is near the end of her pregnancy and this is fluid preparing the way for the birth.

However white liquid can also indicate an infection so I would contact your vet for more advice. He may want to examine her to make sure all is well with her and her kittens.

Question

Pregnant Cat Has Blood In Poo

My cat Kallie is extremely preggers and ready to pop and I just changed her litter box and found blood in her fresh poo.  Is this normal and a sign of impending labor or should I be worried?

Answer

I cannot say for sure but if she is very close to giving birth then it may just be the early signs of labor.

All I can say is if you are at all worried telephone your vets and just ask them if this could happen or not. If they are a good vets they should be able to tell you on the phone.

Personally I think she may be going into labor. Keep an eye on her and if there are any complications you will have to get her to the vets. Normally however mother nature is very good at this sort of thing and intervention from a vet is rarely needed.

Question

Pregnant Cat Needs Flea Treatment

Should I treat my cat for fleas if she's pregnant or heart worms? I'm pretty sure that any digested treatments shouldn't be given until quite some time after birthing process. But what about treatments applied on the outside of a feline? I'm not to sure about either but I would love to here your thoughts.

Answer

It very much depends on the type of flea treatment you are using.

I would stay away from flea collars and look for spot on treatments that state that they are safe for pregnant cats

If you are prepared to put in a little more work I would not give a flea treatment but regularly brush your cat with a flea comb to remove any flea eggs etc to keep them at bay

Once your kittens are born it is very important to keep them flea free as it can cause severe illness in kittens. However again you cannot use flea treatments on very young cats and when they get a little older you have to use the correct treatment for their age. Check the packaging

Choose spot on treatments especially formulated for kittens.

Very young kittens should not be treated, except by bathing and brushing.

4 MONTH Advantage II Flea Control Kitten (for Cats under 5 lbs.)

Question

Pregnant Cat Chews Off Her Fur

Why is my pregnant cat chewing all the fur off of her butt?

Answer

It sounds like she may have some sort of irritant that is causing her to over groom. It could be mites, a skin condition or an allergy. Poor thing must be in some distress if it is so bad that she is pulling the fur out. She will need to be seen by a vet so that he can diagnose the problem and treat it effectively.

Question

Pregnant cat And The Winter

My cat is due to have kittens sometime in the next 3 weeks. It gets about 20 degrees out at night. I have a small dog house that I put a pillow in for the cat, we also are going to put some straw in there and a flap over the entrance to keep out the cold. 

Will this be warm enough for my cat and her kittens or will the kittens freeze to death. I feed the pregnant cat plenty of food. Three or four times a day with kitten chow. Will this be enough nutrition?

Answer

Well if you consider that a lot of feral cats give birth outside and their kitten survive then i would hope that you straw laden kennel would be ok. Normally a queen will seek out the warmest spot to have her kittens in. You did not mention if she has access to inside your home or not, this would obviously be the best place for them all.

As for the food question, well queens do require a good nutritional diet so that their kittens are born strong and she is bale to look after them well. There is special pregnant cat food available. However if you can't get it then She should be Ok on kitten food and the amounts you are feeding her.

Question

Pregnant Cat With Strange Tube Shaped Lumps In Abdomen

I am fairly certain my cat is pregnant with her first litter. Under her skin on her abdomen I can feel this soft tube shaped things. You can move them around in her tummy. They are quite large almost as thick as a pencil and about 2 inches long. Could they be the kitten's umbilical cords? It is really weird they feel kind of squishy.

Answer

It really is impossible to say what it is you are feeling, it could be the kittens themselves or it could be the cats intestines.

It is inadvisable to squeeze the tummy of a suspected pregnant cat as it is easy to damage the unborn kittens. Only a vet should do this as they know what they are are feeling etc.

The trouble with feline pregnancy is that it is not always possible to know when a cat is pregnant as often signs do not appear until quite late into the pregnancy. I have a web page about cat pregnancy which has some more info on this here

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