Expert: Marcia Owen - 9/17/2009

Question
Dear Marcia,

my cat is pregnant, and we are very aware of where she is going to have her babies. She goes out regularly. in 3 weeks, in australia there is the school holidays and we are locking her inside because it is the 62nd day of pregnancy. Is it true that is it approximately 63-60 days for cats to give birth? And we would like to know that will she surely have her babies inside, or will she have them out under someone's house. and what happens if her babies have been injured or died in the mothers womb. How will we know that this terrible thing has happened? Thank you marcia for or the other answers you have answered for us.

Answer
Dear Jimmy

A cat's pregnancy is usually 63-65 days though it is no unusual for a cat to have kittens any time from the 60th day through to the 70th day, so I would advise you to keep your girl in for a week before the 60th day to ensure that she has her kittens in a safe environment and where you will be able to check on her and be able to take action should she run into problems.

Most girls tend to want to have their babies in a familiar place and like their owners to be there so hopefully she will be happy with your intended location.  Do make sure boxes are provided for her well in advance so that she can 'nest' should she feel she wants to.

I think from your email that she has about another 3 weeks to go so in the next week or so you should be able to see/feel the kittens moving.  

You mention what would happen if the kittens are dead in the womb - you will need to keep an eye on her and if she has any messy discharge then you need to take her to the vet as it may be that one has died and is decaying inside her which will eventually make her very ill.  This is not very usual with cats so try not to worry about that happening, but if it does it is definitely something that a vet needs to treat.

Marcia