How Long Are Cats Pregnant For?

Posted by Jane

This has to be the number one question owners ask. After all, you need to know how long it’s going to be before you need to start panicking!

Do you have any idea at all? Maybe you’ve done this before and your cat has already had a litter of kittens.

One thing is for certain, knowing how long a cat’s pregnancy lasts from start to finish won’t be of much use to you unless you know the approximate date when she conceived her kittens.

Generally speaking, your cat keeps that information to herself.

Just when you think that your life is running smoothly, your pet cat comes home with more than she went out with…..

All that affectionate behavior and cute rolling around she’s been doing for the past week or so hasn’t been for your benefit after all – she’s been in season and has been anxious to get outside and call for any Tom, Dick or fur-covered Harry to mate with.

And now, out of the blue, you strongly suspect that you’re going to be a grandparent to a litter of kittens and you have no idea when that might be.

So, how long will you have to wait to see your newly born, cute and fluffy kittens?

On average, feline pregnancy lasts for 63-65 days but can be anywhere from 58 days to 70 days long - about nine weeks.

But as a midwife-in-waiting, it’s up to you to make the best guess at the delivery date that you can and unless you happened to see (or hear) your promiscuous puss-cat in action with the local toms, you’re likely to be a day or two out.

It’s more likely that you won’t have any idea that your lovely, pregnant cat is ‘with kittens’ until she is five or six weeks into her pregnancy and starts to show certain signs.

By the time you begin to suspect that you need to know how long feline pregnancy lasts, more than half of it will have passed by.

At the fifth or sixth week of your cat’s pregnancy you will be able to see that her belly is becoming larger and more rounded as she takes on the distinctive pregnant shape. At this point you will begin to be certain that your beautiful pet is carrying kittens and you will only have 21-28 days to go before her kittens are born.

This isn’t a long time to gather all the information that you’ll need to make sure that everything goes smoothly during the birth. You’ll need to be able to recognise when your cat’s labor is about to start and you will have had to put all the necessary preparations in place, ready to go at a moments notice.

Subtle changes in behavior will signal the last phase of pregnancy and at this point, correct nutrition will be of great importance, as will the choice of birthing place. 

Will you be prepared?

Your cat and kitten’s lives may depend on you should problems arise. Fortunately, the better informed and prepared you are, the less the liklihood is that a developing problem will become a crisis - or even a tragedy.

That’s why I’ve put together all the information you’ll need to see your cat safely through the birth of her kittens in ‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’

Written in an easy to follow style, ‘Hey Mom! Fat Fred’s Having Kittens!’ contains all you need to know about caring for your pregnant cat, how to recognise the signs that labor is starting, step-by-step instruction on the best way to prepare for the birth, what to expect and what to watch out for during delivery and how to give the best care to your newborn kittens - right up until they are weaned.

You won’t have to worry at all as you will have all the details of what to expect at each stage of your cat’s pregnancy, labor, birth and beyond - all in one place. So no rushing around trying to search for a particular answer in the heat of the moment and when you are under high stress.

And as many cat owners are likely to be experiencing the home birth of kittens for the very first time, at each stage you’ll find a yes/no troubleshooting section specifically designed to let you know if a certain worry is something that you need to act fast on or whether things are really ok.

Follow the link to www.HowToDeliverKittens.com for more information and make sure that you are the one who could make the difference between a successful birth for your cat or a tragic one.