Mary Allen
Nothing is more exciting for cat owners than watching your own cat give birth to kittens. Even if the mother does most of the care, cat owners can be on hand to help. Find out how you can support your cat here.
Pregnancy and Childbirth
As soon as you suspect that your cat may be pregnant, it makes sense to have the pregnancy confirmed by a veterinarian. Your cat’s vet can answer your questions and guide your cat’s pregnancy.
Before the birth itself, the cat often goes through a relatively long period of labor. The birth itself is usually quick, often even unnoticed by the owner, in a nest chosen by the cat. As soon as the mother has freed the puppies from the amniotic sac, she pushes the kittens to her stomach, where they are warmed and suckled. Breast milk is immensely important as it contains important antibodies that protect the young from diseases in the early days. The other kittens then follow at intervals of around five to sixty minutes. With the first litter there are usually only three young animals, but generally litters with up to eight puppies are not uncommon. The young animals are around 10 cm tall at birth and weigh between 70 and 100 g.
The Evolution of Kittens
If you look at the development of kittens, you can divide the first seven months into three different phases:
Weeks 1-2: The newborn phase
The blind and deaf pups are completely dependent on their mother. In addition, this phase is mainly characterized by sleeping and drinking. The mother animal not only nourishes the puppies and provides vital warmth, but it also stimulates the digestion of the little ones by licking the stomach and ensuring hygiene in the nest.
Between the 10th and 14th day of life, the little ones open their eyes and begin to hear. However, they stay in a safe nest for the time being. At the end of this phase, this is where you start your first attempts at walking. They are now almost 20 cm tall and weigh around 200 g. It’s best to weigh the little ones regularly. This is the only way to control the weight and determine in good time whether a kitten is developing less well. In this way, health problems can be recognized early and treated accordingly. Regular, monthly wormer treatments are also important from the second to fourth week.
In this phase, the kittens still sleep a lot, but the waking phases become longer and longer. Your sensory perception improves progressively until it is fully developed by the end of the 6th week. In addition, the ability to walk and deciduous teeth develop. As these skills develop, so do curiosity and the desire to perceive life around you. The safe nest is left and the area explored. Now comes the time when it is up to you to make your house or apartment safe for puppies. Be careful to avoid potential hazards. Hide cables, cordon off stairs and defuse other sources of danger.
This second phase of life is characterized by socialization. This means that the kittens discover, get to know, and acquire a lot. The experiences that the young cats have during this time shape the character of the animal for the rest of their lives. It is therefore important that the kittens get to know as much as possible, including different people.
Gentle caresses and a calm voice are beneficial here so that the little ones have good experiences with people from the start and develop a basic trust. This also applies to other animals, for example, the family dog. If you familiarize the cats with dogs at this stage, it will be easier to socialize them later. In addition to other living beings, it is also important to get the kittens used to everyday noises and things like vacuum cleaners, umbrellas, and the like. If you teach them from the start not to be afraid of these things, they will develop better and grow into confident cats.
In addition to socialization, the point of learning is also an important part of this phase. The learning process takes place mainly through two motivations, the first is play. By romping with their siblings, the little cats sharpen their senses, become more and more coordinated, and also learn typical behavior such as sneaking up, attacking, and hiding.
In addition, they receive important lessons in the area of social behavior. In addition, the little ones learn a lot by imitating their mother. They imitate their behavior, for example using the litter box and also taking care of their bodies. From the 6th week on, the kittens usually do this themselves.
The little ones also want to try solid food more and more often, which can be fed slowly from the 6th week. Special puppy food is ideal here, the nutrient content of which is adapted to the needs of the growing cats. Care should be taken to increase the chunk size of the food components only slowly so that one can switch to solid food step by step. This should be the only main food from the 12th week after stopping breast milk.
Week 8 – 28: The youth phase
This phase is also still characterized by learning and socialization. The relationship between kittens and humans is developing in particular. It is easier to build a good relationship with the little ones when you have a good relationship with the mother. After all, the young animals learn from their mother that people can be trusted.
Basically, you should keep the litter together until the 12th week. If the young animals spend this time with their siblings, they are later much more open to other conspecifics. They show good social behavior, develop healthy self-esteem, and are less anxious.
In order for the kittens to develop physically well, they should receive the first vaccination against infectious diseases such as cat disease and cat flu in the 8th week. This is repeated after four weeks. Also in terms of growth, there is a lot more around the 10th week. The kittens get more and more “adult proportions” and start changing teeth. This can drag on up to the 6th month. Even if cats are only considered to be adults from one year of age, they reach sexual maturity between 6 and 9 months of age. This depends on the particular breed of cat – some breeds, e.g. the Siamese, can in rare cases be sexually mature as early as 4 months. So you should consider neutering early enough.