I’m going to talk to you today about how to tell if your cat is pregnant.  First of all it is important to know when your cat can get pregnant.  Cats are extremely good breeders and if you have an intact female cat she will come into heat periodically.  She will do everything she can to get pregnant during that time.

Pets can come into their first heat anywhere from four months onward.  They will typically be in heat for a few times each year.  Also it is important to remember that once a cat gives birth she can become pregnant again remarkably soon.  It is also important to remember that cats who are family will still breed with one another.  So if you have a brother and a sister cat who are four or five months old they absolutely will breed with each other and produce kittens.  So how can you tell if your cat is pregnant or not? It is actually quite hard to tell during the first half of your cat’s pregnancy which lasts around 63 days more or less.  If you are suspicious you can bring your cat into the vet and have them checked.  The vet will be able to perform a number of tests including x-rays as well as stomach feeling tests to determine if there are kittens in your cat or not.

Some things you can look for are your cat increasing in size or the mammary glands starting to get bigger.  You may even see signs of milk!  If your cat is pregnant you should call your vet and ask them what to do.  If you don’t want your cat to get pregnant in the future you can get them neutered or spayed.  A lot of people think a cat should have a litter of kittens before they are neutered or spayed.  This is simply not the case though as there are many more cats alive today than there are good homes for them.  Also your cat can get diseases from mating and can have a whole host of other problems once pregnant.  So it is certainly not recommended that cats have a litter before getting neutered or spayed.  To have your cat neutered actually will save you a lot of money as well.  Paying for the kittens to be vaccinated is quite costly as well as any complications that may arise from the pregnancy.

If you notice your cat gained a few extra pounds and think they may be pregnant bring them to the vet to have them checked out.  If you don’t want to have kittens though it is highly recommended that you get your cat neutered or spayed.

Filed under: Cat Habits

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