How Many Kittens Can A Cat Have In Their First Litter
This is somewhat less than the average litter size which ranges between three to five.
How many kittens can a cat have in their first litter. Cats that are bred often and cats that are in mid life tend to have the largest litters. This is a hard question to answer with usually because so much depends on the individual mother cat and the circumstances around the pregnancy and birth. Roughly 12 hours before the birthing begins she may seem restless and wander from room to room and. Some litters born to cats within this age group can contain ten kittens.
For example a first time mom that is still young will usually have 1 3 kittens per litter. Most cats or queens unspayed female cats have a litter of three to five kittens but feline litters can vary in size from one to more than 10. This is my cat rosalee s first litter and mine also. This number will increase once the cat is between two and eight years old.
She s had a very healthy appetite the past few days and has been pacing and doesn t want to be left alone. The first kitten birth that i witnessed was of my street cat oliver delivering her earliest litter of. I also live out in the country so i want to be there when she has them so i can get her and the kittens. The average mature cat can have 3 litters with a total of 12 kittens per year.
Factors that influence litter size. Once pregnant a cat s gestation period is roughly 2 months making it possible for her to birth as many as five litters a year. Getting to witness a different being arrive fresh into the world is a pretty incredible experience whether animal or human. 10 2 surviving kittens of which 4 7 are female the average litter size is 4 kittens with 15 loss before reaching weaning age 3 4 kittens per litter gender ratio per litter averages of males to females is roughly 46 5 female of 3 4 kittens 1 8.
In my experience which involves mostly feral mothers who have stressful and often malnou. So what kinds of factors can affect the size of a litter. The first birth i witnessed was that of our calico cat fluffy delivering her first litter of kittens when i was about 6 years old. Although cats don t experience menopause and they can have kittens their whole life their age plays a part in the number of the kittens you can expect.
That s a big range. When your cat starts to bear new kittens there are in fact a number of factors that can manipulate how many kittens are in a litter and how many she would deliver. Cats are perfectly capable of delivering their litter of kittens all on their own but you should know what to expect in case any problems arise. Responsible pet owners should spay or neuter their pets.
She s an outdoor cat so i have no idea when she got pregnant. Cats that are pregnant for the first time typically have two to three kittens per litter. The first notable sign is darkened and enlarged nipples as your cat s body prepares to make milk for its young. If your cat mistakenly slipped outside during heat there are a few potential signs of pregnancy.
This is a sign that her furry brood is coming shortly.