Expert: Ali - 3/25/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi I'm just wondering is my cat pregnant? She is 10 months old and she is in heat. The other night she got out for the whole day up to 11 o'clock and she was out all yesterday and didn't return home until 7 o'clock this morning. But she didn't return, we found her having sex with the next door neighbors cat.she got out today again and i came back from work and she was out! and i found her having sex with the same cat again! She has escaped a few times. she is meowing all the time and scratching at the windows.

ANSWER: Nicole,

When a cat is in estrus (commonly referred to as being in heat) she's showing her availability to mate. Cats are referred to as induced ovulators which means that they require the stimulation of intercourse to ovulate. Female cats will mate several times during their estrus cycle if they are allowed to, the reason for this is to stimulate the production of more eggs to be fertilized. I'm sure that you can attest to the fact that a female cat in heat is quite obnoxious to say the least, the best way to stop her from cycling and becoming pregnant with unwanted litters is to have her spayed. At this point since you've seen your cat mating several times I think it's fairly safe to say that she's pregnant or will be shortly. The average gestation period for cats is between 60-68 days so if allowed to continue with the pregnancy she will have her litter within a couple of months.

Caring for a litter of kittens and nursing mom properly can be expensive and time consuming. Newborn kittens are born with very little resistance to infections and they're unable to maintain their own body temperature which means that they should really be born and cared for indoors. It's probably best for you to begin setting up an appropriately sized nesting box lined with some old towels or a blanket roughly 6-7 weeks into your cat's pregnancy. I recommend placing the nesting box in a room that's climate controlled, quiet and dimly lit. Mother cats prefer to give birth to their offspring quietly and privately. It's best not to interfere with the labor and birth process, have too much noise or traffic into and out of the room when mom is delivering her kittens because stress can cause the labor to stall which could require treatment by a vet to start things rolling again or your cat may even require a caesarian.

It's not a bad idea to keep a close eye on mom once she starts showing signs of labor so that you have a general idea of how things are progressing. Signs of imminent labor can include pacing, meowing, anxiety, panting and trying to nest. Once mom begins the pushing phase of labor things should progress fairly quickly, it's perfectly normal for mom to issue some fairly dramatic yowls during the course of delivering her kittens, especially since this is probably her first litter. If mom pushes for longer than an hour without producing a kitten she should be taken to the vet because this can be an indication that a kitten is in the wrong position for delivery or too large to fit through the pelvis. The vet can help your cat by assisting her with a vaginal delivery or performing a caesarian section. If mom has a dark greenish discharge from her vagina during the delivery it could indicate that the placentas are separating prematurely, this is another situation that a vet should be consulted about. If your cat has a large litter or she's a fairly small cat she may develop eclampsia which is a dangerous calcium/magnesium deficiency. Some possible indications that your cat may have eclampsia include a stilted gait, anxiety or seizures in the later stages. If you have any concerns that your cat may have eclampsia she should be taken to the nearest vet for treatment immediately.

Kittens should ideally stay with their mother until they are at least 12 weeks of age. Mother cats don't require human assistance to wean their kittens, they will do so on their own typically within the first 10-12 weeks of life. During the first 12 weeks of life kittens become stronger, more active and they begin the process of socialization. Newborn kittens are born with very soft bones and they stay that way for the first several weeks of life. Young kittens placed into adoptive homes prior to 12 weeks of age can have a higher chance of accidental injuries because their bones are quite soft and growing rapidly. In the first several weeks of life kittens are quite vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections so it's important to keep mom and her kittens separated from other pets in the household and anyone handling the mother or her kittens should wash their hands thoroughly in hot, soapy water prior to handling the little family. Female cats can become pregnant fairly quickly after giving birth so it's best to keep mom inside at all costs once she's given birth to avoid anymore unwanted litters. It's important to thoroughly clean and disinfect the family's food and water dishes daily using a weak bleach solution (5 parts water, 1 part bleach), the same bleach solution should be used to disinfect the litter trays that mom and her kittens have access to on a weekly basis. Any bedding in the nursery box should be changed promptly if it becomes wet or soiled, this will help to keep the kittens clean and warm. The first several weeks of life are crucial in terms of socializing kittens so it's important to handle the kittens gently and frequently so that they become comfortable with people. If at all possible having people of different age groups and genders handling the kittens is optimal, just be sure that everyone takes the appropriate hygienic precautions until the kittens are old enough to be placed in adoptive homes.

In view of the serious pet overpopulation issue affecting shelters and rescue organizations worldwide I typically recommend that pet parents spay or neuter their pets before sexual maturity to avoid accidental pregnancies. Many healthy, adoptable cats and kittens are euthanized worldwide every year simply because the shelters and rescue groups just don't have the space, time, or finances to keep every unwanted cat until someone comes along to offer them a permanent home. It is a commonly held belief that female cats should have at least one litter of kittens prior to being spayed in order for them to become calmer. Unfortunately what many people don't realize is that many female cats become pregnant around the time that they would normally begin to settle down anyway. There are several medical and behavioral benefits to spaying/neutering our cats. Cats who are sterilized are far less likely to develop serious behavioral problems which can lead to euthanasia such as house soiling, fighting or being aggressive with cats/people when defending their territory. The medical benefits to spaying/neutering a cat include a reduced risk of prostate/mammary cancers, preventing testicular, ovarian or uterine cancers. Female cats that haven't been spayed have a substantially increased risk of developing breast cancer or mastitis (a painful infection of the mammary glands). An infection of the uterus called pyometra affects intact female cats, this infection causes the womb to fill with pus - if left untreated the uterus can rupture spreading infection throughout the abdomen almost certainly causing death or this serious infection can simply overwhelm the cat's system.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So does that mean she is pregnant then ?

Answer
Nicole,

I apologize for any lack of clarity, I've taken the liberty of including a portion of the original answer that will help you understand more about feline mating and pregnancy.

Cats are referred to as induced ovulators which means that they require the stimulation of intercourse to ovulate. Female cats will mate several times during their estrus cycle if they are allowed to, the reason for this is to stimulate the production of more eggs to be fertilized. I'm sure that you can attest to the fact that a female cat in heat is quite obnoxious to say the least, the best way to stop her from cycling and becoming pregnant with unwanted litters is to have her spayed. At this point since you've seen your cat mating several times I think it's fairly safe to say that she's pregnant.