By Marcus De Jong
If your cat is pregnant, then you probably have some planning to do. Many pet owners do not intend for their cat to become pregnant. If your cat is going to have babies soon, then you should not only prepare for the new litter, but you should also give your cat special attention. A proper diet and nutrition is vital for a pregnant cat, just like it is for a pregnant human being.
The most important factor is that your cat needs extra calories. This does not mean that your kitty should overeat, but simply have more food than normal. More protein enriched foods and calcium should also be added. Not only will this help give your cat the vitamins that she needs for the after-birth, but it will also give her the extra energy to make it through until delivery.
Instead of buying the same food that you always give your cat, pick up a bag of kitten food. This does sound out of the ordinary, but the same food that your new kittens will soon be eating is an excellent food for your pregnant cat, the reason being because kitten food has more calcium, protein, and fat than normal adult cat food. All of the nutrition that your pregnant cat needs is wrapped up into one type of food.
You should also continue to feed your cat normal adult cat food while she is pregnant. A recommended brand is one such as Eukanuba. A good way to do this is to mix up the kitten food with the regular food. Instead of feeding your pregnant cat two large meals per day, feed her small frequent meals.
During the later stages of the pregnancy, she should be eating two times more than she ate before she became pregnant.
Many veterinarians will recommend a vitamin mineral supplement in order to help give the cat the extra calcium that her bones will need. Just as with a human pregnancy, the babies are taking all of her strength and calcium that she needs. In order to keep her healthy, it is up to you as her owner to add it back into her diet or blood stream. This will prevent future tooth decay or bone deterioration.
The total gestation period for a cat is nine weeks. The energy that your pregnant cat will need is reflected by the amount of weight that she gains. After your pregnant cat delivers her litter, her most important role will be nursing. You should pay attention to her changing needs throughout the process. She will need as much energy as possible in order to keep reproducing milk. The intake of water is very important in order to help her keep reproducing milk.
Around five weeks of age, the kittens will start to eat more solid food, and nurse from their mother less. At the same time, the mother will also start to eat less. Most kittens are weaned from the mother at eight weeks of birth, and by this time, the mother should have enough energy to go back to her usual pre-pregnancy food and diet.
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marc de Jong is a journalist and long-time cat lover. For his easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidebook How To Take Care Of Your Pregnant Cat - available through http://www.pregnant-cat-care.com - he interviewed several award-winning breeders and specialized vets. |
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