Remember, Bailey recommends that you have your cat spayed or neutered no matter what! Please do your part to reduce pet overpopulation!

Pregnancy A female cat, or queen, can have her first litter as early as six months of age. You will know a female cat is in heat because of their loud vocalizing, rubbing on everything in site, writhing on the floor, and other odd behaviors. Signs of pregnancy include swollen nipples, increased appetite, enlarged abdomen, and increasingly affectionate behavior. A gentle hand on kitty's tummy can feel the babies as little lumps as early as 20 days into the pregnancy. The average gestation period is between 60-65 days, or about two months. During this time the mama cat's food should be switched to a kitten formula, to provide extra protein and nutrition to the babies, and food should be available at all times. Mama should be kept indoors, and not picked up if possible. Don't forget to continue the mama's flea prevention. Revolution is available from your vet and approved for use in pregnant cats. A mama could have anywhere from one to nine kittens, so it's best to be prepared. You can prepare a nice quiet "safe room" for your cat complete with birthing bed, but beware, a mama will sometimes ignore your good intentions and choose to give birth in your closet or sock drawer.

Birth In most cases the birth will go smoothly and the mama will take care of everything herself. When mama starts purring like crazy it's a good indication that she's ready. Some experts say that a cat purrs while giving birth because cats sometimes purr when they are in pain. Having watched a proud mama give birth, I disagree. I am convinced her purring was proud new mama bliss. Another sign of impending birth is "nesting," or restless behavior including pacing, crying, or searching for a safe and quiet spot. So try to redirect the cat to the designated birth area if you can, but don't interfere if the mama doesn't cooperate. Just stand by and watch quietly. The entire litter should be born in no more than six hours, with kittens appearing every 10 to 60 minutes. If mama has contractions for more than an hour without producing a kitten you should call the vet right away. After the birth of each the mama will eat the placenta and membranes of the kitten's sac, and lick the nose and mouth to clean out fluid so the kitten can breathe. If for some reason the mama should neglect to do this you will have to clean the kitten using a warm, wet washcloth, and being very gentle. It is rare that the mama should neglect this duty, but it is good to be prepared just in case. If newborns or mama have any unexpected problems be prepared to contact your vet immediately.

Kittens are cute and fun, but they can sure be a handful. Be sure to kitten-proof your home, being careful of small objects they can choke on, cords they can chew on, breakables that can be knocked over, etc. Kittens are experts at getting into trouble. Fortunately litter box training is very easy. The mama will feed the kittens her milk for the first four weeks or so, and during this time she will clean up any kitten waste. During this time mama should continue on her kitten food diet. At four weeks of age the kittens can try solid food, and after they eat you can place them gently in the litter box This is usually sufficient to teach them, however some need more reminders than others. Watch for lazy kittens that like to snooze in the box. This is a bad habit because they won't tend to potty where they sleep. Most of them will figure it out pretty quickly. They may continue to nurse from mom even after they have started eating on their own, and this is fine, it is important family bonding. Mama will wean when she is ready. Weaning time is a good time to take mama to get spayed, she can be ready to get pregnant as soon as two weeks after giving birth. Be sure to take all your new babies for their first check-up, shots, and don't forget to spay and neuter! Although kittens are adorable they are expensive, keep this is mind. Also, please consider adopting kittens from a shelter rather than allowing your cat to become pregnant, it will save lives and reduce the number of homeless kitties out there.