Pregnant Cat Signs Of Labour
& The Birthing Process

A pregnant cat will behave very similarly as a normal cat.

For instance they will still want to play, climb, hunt etc as normal and often cat owners are unaware that their cat is pregnant until quite near the end of their term when physical changes become very apparent.

In fact the only early sign of pregnancy may be that the cat's nipples may become a little larger and pinker in colour.

It is not until the fifth or six week into her pregnancy that changes will become apparent, both physically and behaviourally.

Early Signs of A Cat About To Give Birth

A pregnant cat will start to behave differently as she nears the end of her pregnancy. These include but are not always present:

Becoming overly affectionate towards their owners. Seeking their company more often and behaving in a more babyish way. for example rolling around the floor and rubbing against legs.
They may become more vocal.
Alternatively some cats may withdraw from the family and want to be on their own during the last few days before giving birth.
Her nipples will enlarge even further and there may even be signs of milk being produced a few days before giving birth.
She may become restless and start to seek out places to give birth.
She may not want to eat as much or at all as she near labour.

Nesting Behavior Of The Mother Cat

A cat will want to seek out a nice dark quiet place to have her kittens. Unfortunately she may choose a very unsuitable place which may cause difficulties in the home, so it is advisable to try and help her find her place by providing her with the perfect spot, this should be:

Quiet
Warm
Semi-dark and secluded
Contained so a cardboard box lines with newspaper which she can tear up herself to make comfortable.
Plenty of plastic under and around the box to soak up any fluids.

First Signs of Cat labour

During the early stages of labour the pregnant cat will display some signs of discomfort and sometimes symptoms of ill health. It is important not to panic at this stage and to allow nature to take its course. Some of these symptoms are:

Vomiting
Panting
Pelvic contractions as the kitten is squeezed into position for birth.
There may be a small plug of blood excreted.

Cat Birth

Something which often surprises the new cat owner of a pregnant cat is the length of time labour can take. Although there are no hard and fast rules about length of time it is worth noting that several hours can go by between the birth of kittens sometimes it may not even be until the next day.

The first kitten is normally born within half an hour of the queen beginning to strain, during which time the queen does not appear to be in pain. She may let out a cry as the first kittens head emerges. A second kitten is then normally born between 10 to 60 minutes later.

If there are more kittens to come the queen may then cease labour for several hours even up to 24 hours later before the rest of her kittens are born.

The queen will remove the membrane sac from around the kitten and begin to lick the kitten. This will encourage the kitten to take their fist breath and get rid of any fluid from its respiratory system.

It is very rare that the pregnant cat cannot successfully complete labour and sort out the umbilical cord etc on her own without the help from a human. Even when breech presentations occur is there rarely a problem. If difficulties do arise then a vets advice needs to be sought.