Feline Pregnancy

Poppy was our very first breeding queen, a beautiful girl, who we very, very reluctantly felt we should rehome when she was just two years old because she was such a gentle soul that she'd become intimidated by the other cats.  It was very obvious that she would be happier as an only cat rather than part of a group.  We love Poppy very much and it was an awful decision to make to have her neutered and part with her, but we know it was the best thing for her.  But this was our first experience of breeding:-))))

See the orange  print on this page for a diary of how kittens grow from conception.

We arranged the stud, who belonged to Poppy's breeder, and when she called several weeks later, with great excitement we dropped everything and made the journey south - about three hours drive away.  By the time we got there she'd stopped calling.  We hoped she would start again within a couple of days, but she didn't, so one week later, we brought her home again, but we'd missed her so much, that we were just happy for her to be home again.  Several weeks later, she started calling again.  Again we dropped everything and took her straight there.  She stopped calling in the car and didn't start again, but this time it was suggested that we leave her there for a bit longer, in the hopes that being with the stud might just get her going again.  Five long weeks later, missing her desperately every single day, there was the possibility that she might have mated, although nothing had been seen, and because we were due to collect a kitten from the same breeder a week later we wanted to bring her home so she could settle in again before the new kitten came.  We had a slight hope that she may have conceived, but not for long!  Again, though, the main thing was that she was home again - even our Christmas Dinner got postponed until she came home.

The day before we were to collect the kitten, Poppy started calling again.  So, we decided that we'd take her to visit the stud for a couple of hours when we collected Sophie, the kitten.  This time, in the car on the way, she did call a couple of times, and was very happy to see her stud again and settled in with him while we had a bite to eat and a cup of tea and a chat.  We didn't want to leave her there because we felt bringing a new kitten in first and then bringing her home again a week later might cause problems with the relationship which may never have been overcome.  So when it was time to go, back she came with us, with no indication of if a mating had taken place.

Signs

We were absolutely over the moon when 21 days later her nipples turned pink!  Previously they had been white/very pale pink, but there was certainly a change!  In fact, the colour on this photo isn't as strong as they actually looked to the eye, but does give some idea.  This is normally the first sign of a pregnancy!

Within a couple of days they had gone bright neon pink!  And on Day 25 I noticed just a slight bulge on her tummy just past her rib cage.  This was getting so exciting!  We noticed her appetite had increased and she was sleeping more than usual.  We worked out when her kittens would be due - pregnancy is about 65 days in a cat. 

Poppy's nipples at 28 days - they are beginning to enlarge and her tummy is growing larger too:

then just 5 days later:

For more photos see under the information about kitten's development from conception.

I looked up  just what was happening to her growing kittens:

The day of mating - The sperm travels through the cervix.  

24-36 hours after intercourse - The act of mating (the male has spikes on the penis) causes the cat to ovulate (release eggs).

The first stage - called preimplantation, takes from Days 0 - 12.  This is when the egg is fertilised in the uterine tube and it then travels down the oviduct and enters the uterus, (which is 'Y' shaped with a horn on each side in which the kittens will grow), on about the sixth day of development.  Here is it is covered by special cells to implant in the uterus wall.  Some cells then cluster together at one end which will form the embryo (the new kitten) and the other which will make up the placenta, which is the part which forms the connection between the mother and kitten.  

The second stage - called embryogenesis, takes from Days 12 - 24 and is the most critical period.  This is when the nervous system, the heart and the vertebral column (spine) are established.  Then blood vessels appear within the embryo (kitten) and between the embryo and the placenta - all this happens in just two to three days.  Then the liver, digestive tract, respiratory system, limbs, sense organs, skull and bladder etc. begin to be formed.  The kitten measures  just 1/8th of an inch at 15 days, 3/8ths of an inch at 21 days and 5/8ths of an inch at 24 days. A vet (this should not be done by someone inexperienced, or damage could be caused) can feel the kittens by abdominal palpation at twenty days after conception.  At about three weeks, the queen's nipples begin to pink up and slightly enlarge.  The fur on the queen's belly and around the nipples may become thinner.

The third stage - called fetal growth, takes from Day 24 to Birth.  This is the rapid growth time.  The organs take on their proper shape, nerves develop, and the hormonal glands etc. begin to function and control the processes, although these processes continue after birth, such as full development of the eyes is not accomplished until five to six weeks after birth, and nerve cells in the brain continue to form and develop for several months.   At four weeks from conception, the kittens are just over an inch in size and have developed into little cats. By day 35 the kittens are floating in capsules of fluid and can't be felt until day 49, when their heads are large enough to be felt as separate structures.  As above, this should only be done by a vet or damage or miscarriage could be caused.  The later signs of pregnancy are a pear-shaped abdomen and fetal movements can be observed during the last two weeks.   The breasts also enlarge and a milky fluid may be expressed from the nipples.  There may be clear or blood tinged discharge from the vulva 12 to 24 hours before the queen is due to deliver.

We've just got her a lovely 'Snowsilk kittening pen' ready for the delivery (there is a link to them on the 'more links' page) and are getting together other things we may need, such as small clean towels ready to dry the kittens with (clean terry nappies are ideal for this) and  at day 28, we can see she has expanded round her tummy just a tiny bit more.   We will update this page with her progress regularly.

Poppy at 6 weeks - only three weeks to go!

Poppy is now 7 weeks pregnant on 17th March- only two weeks to go and today we saw the kittens moving inside her for the first time!  She's feeling slightly grumpy, but is eating well and sleeping for most of the day.

Here Poppy is just over 8 weeks pregnant and is showing signs of looking for somewhere to have her kittens.  The kittens are making quite bold movements now.  Not long to go!......................

The birth was very straightforward.  We had been expecting it a day earlier, but we went to bed, with nothing apparently happening, and woke in the night to hear a squeak.  We found that one kitten had already been born, and the second was in the process of being born.  Poppy cleaned the kittens and did everything herself - an excellent mother.  She was VERY proud of herself and very happy to have her kittens.

Sometimes people find it difficult to sex kittens, so we did the following pictures to show the difference:

This is a boy

This is a girl