Cat Labor Signs

As you approach the end of your cat’s pregnancy, you need to be fully aware of the cat labor signs to watch out for. These will signal the beginning of the birth of your new kittens and will enable you to swing into action with your prepared cat birth plan!

You will have seen your lovely cat getting rounder and rounder over the last three or four weeks of her pregnancy and the excitement of the approaching birth of her kittens will be mounting.

Fortunately, there are a number of cat labor signs that will alert you to the fact that the big day has arrived.

The earliest indication that you will see is in the week immediately prior to the birth. Your cat will begin searching for a warm and secure place in which to deliver her kittens. Now, if you have taken the opportunity to learn all about what to expect during your cat’s pregnancy beforehand, you will already have prepared a suitable nesting box for her to use. This also enables you to steer her away from an inappropriate choice - inappropriate for you, that is - such as in the middle of your bed!

In the 24 hours immediately before going into labor, your cat may go off her food completely and become very clingy - following you around and calling to you repeatedly. These classic cat labor signs will probably be accompanied by her going in and out of her nesting box again and again and treading on the bedding, seemingly trying to arrange it to her liking.

The final cat labor sign to watch for is often that of your cat appearing to be uneasy whilst purring loudly at the same time. These are not conflicting signs, as many owners think, but just part of the overall preparations for labor that any female cat will normally go through.

When the first stage of cat labor is about to begin, your cat will have settled in her chosen birthing place and will be experiencing her first contractions. Her apparant unease will give way to rapid breathing or panting and you will know by these cat labor signs that the delivery will have begun.

Now will be the time that you have to be at your most vigilant. Cats giving birth in the wild generally do so during the hours of darkness and your domestic cat will probably do the same. You may lose some sleep but the end result of having a healthy litter of newborn kittens will be well worth the sacrifice!