by Jill Mullen

Created on: January 20, 2009   Last Updated: September 10, 2009

Taking care of your pregnant cat.

Good news! Nine weeks from conception, give or take two or three days, and you'll be the proud 'grandparent' to your litter of kittens.

Ideally this will be a planned litter, so that any vaccinations have been done in advance of the mating. This will ensure Mum passes her immunity to the litter and they are born with maternal protection against infections like cat flu.

Treat the queen for worms prior to mating, since kittens become infected with worms as soon as they are born via the mother's milk. The lower the Mum's worm burden, the less will be passed to her litter. If worming has been missed products containing fenbendazole can safely be used in later pregnancy.

You will also want to make sure that that the queen and all her bedding are free of fleas. Kittens becoming infested with heavy flea burdens will become anaemic, possibly fatally, but products containing fipronil can be used in pregnant and nursing queens.

Feeding is also important for the pregnant queen. In the first third of the pregnancy nutritional requirements will not change. During the second third you will need to slowly introduce a diet that supplements her with essential extra protein, energy and minerals. This can become her exclusive diet in the last third of her pregnancy to ensure she is able to produce a litter of well sized healthy kittens and still have enough left to lactate. There are many kitten foods that are ideal for this, and are highly palatable as the queen becomes heavily pregnant and may not be willing to eat larger meals.

Your cat is pregnant not ill so the chances are she will want to continue taking her normal amount of exercise in the first two thirds of the pregnancy. There's no reason to restrict exercise, if she usually goes out she can still do that. As she becomes more heavily pregnant and less mobile she will naturally start to rest more. So long as she's safe she will be happier sticking to normal routines.

As the kittening approaches your queen will seek out a safe and secluded 'nest' for the litter. Providing her with a cardboard box lined with newspaper and a thick single layer (so kittens can't be lost in the folds) of fleece bedding is a good idea. Put it somewhere quiet and warm, but where you can watch over her as she kittens. Cats may totally reject the 'nest' you provide if they don't feel it is secure, so let her get used to using the 'nest' you provide throughout her pregnancy. Then even if she doesn't chose it to actually have her kittens in her 'nest' , she will happily allow you to move her and her kittens to it once they are born.

If you have concerns that your queen is unwell during her pregnancy, make sure you tell your vet she is pregnant before any medicines are prescribed. Some may not be safe for the kittens in the womb.

The vast majority of queens will go through their pregnancy without any problems, all you need is to ensure basic preventative steps are in place to ensure a happy, healthy Mum and a gorgeous litter of kittens.

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