Cat Fact Files

It is advisable to establish a signal other than just a name call from the earliest days of owning a cat. This signal – which could be the sound of a tinkling bell, a spoon tapped on a food dish or even a whistle – would precede any name call. Once a cat strongly associates [...]

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During weaning, begin with a small single meal to supplement the litter mother’s milk. This is because a kitten’s stomach is tiny and you do not want to overload it. Gradually increase this until the kittens are eating between three and six small meals per day at 6 weeks old. By about 8 or 9 [...]

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This may vary, depending on the degree of material drive the litter mother naturally displays. A litter mother with a strong maternal instinct will care for her kittens throughout the 9 or 10 weeks of their early kittenhood, usually until her milk begins to dry up. In nature, this mother would almost guarantee a perfect [...]

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The queen’s breathing rate will increase and early occasional contractions can be seen rippling through her underbelly. This phase can take anything between 4 and 8 hours. As the kittens, which are enclosed in individual fluid-filled birth sacs, travel towards and into the birth canal, the contractions increase until they are only seconds apart before the [...]

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It is possible for a pregnant queen to miscarry. This would normally indicate sexual immaturity or infirmity, stress, foetal abnormality or an infection in the womb (uterus) region. It is known that foetal mortality in the early weeks of pregnancy can result in their reabsorption by the cat. Marc de Jong runs an acclaimed web [...]

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There are several telltale signs to look for. These develop at different stages of gestation: The earliest point at which you will be able to tell is between 14 and 21 days after mating. Close examination of the pregnant female’s nipples will reveal that they are slightly enlarged and pink, and this is an early [...]

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