Around week three many cats go off their food for awhile or even refuse to eat anything you may put in front of them. Pregnant women often complain of experiencing morning sickness so it may be the same for our feline friends. At the same time, the area around your cat's nipples may become pinker as her milk glands prepare to deliver their milk but this sign can easily be lost in your cat's fur and consequently go unnoticed.



In the fourth or fifth week of your cat's pregnancy, it is quite usual to find that she completely changes how she acts towards you and your family. It may surprise you to find that she may become one of two things - either extremely attentive and affectionate or, at the other end of the scale, totally disinterested and stand-offish in her attitude.

Weeks five and six are the ones to bring enlightenment to a puzzled owner. All of a sudden you will see that your cat is definitely rounder than she was and the previous signs will begin to add up. If you are stroking her tummy it will be difficult to miss her enlarged and unmistakenly pink nipples.

As week seven comes around there will be little doubt that your cat is expecting kittens as she will have acquired a very rounded shape and you will start to notice that she is beginning to have difficulty in grooming herself. If her temperament will allow, extra help from you here will make the job of keeping her fur clean and in good condition much easier. Her appetite may change again but this time it may increase or she may lose her interest in food for awhile.

Weeks eight and nine are exciting ones as you will be able to see the unborn kittens moving around in your pregnant cat's tummy. You will need to be strong willed to resist feeling them as this can so easily cause problems or injury at this stage. The developing kittens will be making huge demands on your cat's body and her appetite will have doubled to keep up with their needs. In spite of the increased food intake, constipation is often a problem now and a few drops of liquid paraffin in her food will keep thing moving along nicely.

In the last week of pregnancy, your cat will begin to prepare for the birth of her kittens and her behavior will change noticeably. She will begin searching for a suitable place in which to give birth to her kittens and will wander around the house looking for a place that she feels will be safe, secure, private and warm.

You will certainly want to keep an eye on your cat as she searches for a good place to give birth. Her choice of an ideal spot may not co-incide with yours as the middle of your bed may seem very appealing to a heavily pregnant cat!

Finally, as the delivery date approaches, you will find that your heavily pregnant cat seems to be becoming uneasy and will be wadering around, unable to settle. She will repeatedly go in and out of her chosen nesting box and you will see her treading on her nesting material as if arranging it to her liking. She will be purring loudly as she feels her body starting to prepare for the imminent birth of her kittens. Your cat's pregnancy will be coming to an end and you must be fully prepared to assist her during the birth of your new kittens.

You may be feeling apprehensive about supervising the birth of your cat's kittens but if you have made sure that you have familiarised yourself with what to expect during the birthing process, you will be well prepared to recognise what is normal, what is not and when you might need to call in your vet to help. The excitement of your cat's pregnancy will give way to the pleasure of seeing your new born kittens for the veryt first time.