Expert: W - 6/14/2009

Question
after the first litter of kittens, when can a mother cat safely have her 2nd litter.

Answer
Hi Pauline
A Queen can have up to 4 litters in any one year but this is NOT recommended.
I would suggest that you wait until at least six months after she has had a litter before presenting her to a tom again. This will give her time to build up her health and resources for the next one. It would also give her time to get over her last litter.
After birth the queen would suckle her young for about 4 weeks. Then they would be weaned off her and onto solids. This could take another four weeks. DAt 13 weeks the kittens should be old enough to be rehomed after vacuring this time the queen is using up her reserves of fat and proteins built up before pregnancy.
At 13 weeks of age the kittens would be a perfect age to rehome after their vaccinations, if that is what you plan. Then the queen needs to build up her fat resource and general health before she goes through the whole process again. In total about 26 weeks.

Regards

Ray