Gestation, Queening and Weaning Care of Cats
The gestation period for cats is between 63-67 days, with an average length of 66 days. The size of a litter averages three to five kittens, with the first litter usually smaller than subsequent litters.
Kittens are weaned at between six and seven weeks, and Females can have two to three litters per year
Cats are ready to go to new homes at about 12 weeks old, or when they are ready to leave their mother.
Pregnancy Diagnosis
The first sign is the distinct change in the teat at about 3 weeks of gestation, it turn from a pale colour to pink and become enlarged and more firm.
Next sign is failure to return to estrus. Pregnancy can be palpated as early as 15 days on wards.
Uterine locules feel like a string of small distinct lumps about the size of walnuts, separated from one another along each uterine horn.
Palpation beyond 30 to 35 days of pregnancy become difficult because the uterus becomes diffusely enlarged and separation between fetuses are difficult to detect.
Ultrasonic examination of abdomen can be used as early as 14 to 15 day of gestation.
After about four weeks, the queen‘s stomach starts to distend, the nipples become very prominent, and she begins to look pregnant.
By around 28 days, all the kitten‘s internal organs have formed, and the embryos are about 2.5 cm long. The skeleton develops from about 40 days, and at 50 days, the kittens quicken – show signs of movement.
Management at Queening
A quiet place that is free from draft and cool place is suitable for queening. The pregnant cat should be introduced to this area 1 week prior to expected date of queening.
This allows her to become adjusted to the area and have her scent deposited throughout the queening area before the kittens are born.
Queening boxes may also be provided, it should provide easy access to the mother while preventing young kittens from escaping.
The box should also be large enough for the mother to stretch out in full length on her side and have room to spare.
A box that measured 1 to 2 times the length of the queen is ideal. Old towels, mattress pads or cloth diapers can be provided as bedding material.
Signs of Parturition
The average length of gestation is 63 to 65 days and female will show signs as early as 61 days.
At the final week of gestation, the mammary glad enlarge rapidly, milk can be squeezed at last 1 to 2 days.
One reliable mean is the body temperature of the queen, during the advanced stage of parturition, the body temperature should be monitored regularly, normally the female‘s body temperature falls down 12 to 36 hours prior to parturition.
The rectal temperature usually falls from 101.5° F to 98-100° F.
The average time between initiation of strong uterine contraction of 2 stage labour to birth of kitten is around 10 to 30 minutes, and the total litter will born within 2 to 6 hours.
Some times the female may take rest and will not show sign of labour for up to 2 hours between kittens.
But active straining and signs of hard labour for more than 30 to 60 minutes is a sign of dystocia.
Care of Newborn Kitten
Mother provides most of the care of newborn kitten. At birth the kittens are relatively immature.
Their eyelids are not yet opened and cannot see. Their ears are also not yet functioning.
When picked up, healthy newborn kitten should have good muscle tone, feel firm and plump and wiggle vigorously when handled.
Healthy kittens are also quiet most of the time, crying only when they are hungry or cold. Excessive or prolonged crying is the first sign of a problem.
They spend most of the time in sleeping and when they are awake, nursing. Healthy kitten should show normal weight gain.
They should gain equivalent of their birth weight each week for the first 2 or 3 weeks. After 12 weeks of age; male kitten grow faster than female.
First week they spend 4 hours or more per day for suckling, divided into short period. It gradually decreased to 3 hours and 2 hours in subsequent weeks.
The mother cat gives a characteristic ‘murmur‘ cry to initiate suckling and she adopts a body posture that makes the nipple easily accessible.
Both the mother and the kitten usually purr continuously while nursing, and the kitten show treading movement (kneading) when their paws held against the mother‘s abdomen, it facilitates milk ejection.
Signs of Healthy Kittens
A healthy kitten exhibits several key signs of well-being, including bright, clear eyes, a clean nose, and a soft, shiny coat. It should be active, playful, and responsive to stimuli, displaying curiosity and social interaction.
Weaning of Kittens
Kittens are weaned at between six and seven weeks, generally mother cat introduce solid food such as killed prey (mice) to the kittens. Similarly nutritional weaning of house cat also involves the introduction of solid food in the form of prepared cat food.
In both cases, nutritional weaning involves a very gradual change in the diet from queen‘s milk to solid cat food or prey. During first introductory week soupy gruel by mixing dry food with warm water can be provided.
The mother cat should be separated form the litter for an hour prior to each feeding to ensure the kittens are hungry and not recently suckled. This will shift the kitten from suckling to lapping and then to chewing. Gradually the added water to the dry food can be decreased when age advances.
The length of time that the mother is separated from the litter should also be gradually increased.
Most queens will initiate these separations voluntarily and begin to make their milk less available to their kittens by walking away or using body postures to block access to their nipples.
By 6 to 7 weeks of age most cat nurse little but it is advisable to continue to allow interactions between the mother and hen kitten until 7 to 9 weeks because these interaction are important for normal social development.
Spaying or Neutering
Cats can be surgically sterilised (spayed or castrated) as early as 7 weeks to limit unwanted reproduction. This surgery also prevents undesirable sex-related behavior, such as aggression, territory marking (spraying urine) in males and yowling (calling) in females.
