Cat Pregnancy and Birth
Necessities

"Here's how to prepare for your cat
to give birth to her kittens..."

Cat pregnancy and birth are a natural part of a cat's life. If this is the first time your cat is delivering kittens, she may be a little nervous, but her animal nature should still kick in. This article primarily discusses how to set up an area for your pregnant cat to give birth to her kittens.

For more information about cat pregnancy symptoms and how to care for a pregnant cat, click on the Cat Pregnancy box in the Navigation bar on the left side of this page.

Preparing for the Kittens' Birth

Your pregnant cat will start looking for a place to give birth at around the seventh week of feline pregnancy. If you normally let your cat go outside, now is a good time to keep her indoors so that she doesn't look for a birthing place outside. Birthing kittens outdoors leaves them vulnerable to predators and other dangers.

You should also take care to not to let your pregnant cat start to prepare a nest in places you don't want, like an open drawer with your favorite sweaters!

The safest place for your cat during the later stages of cat pregnancy and birth is indoors.

Kittening Box for Your Pregnant Cat

Preparing for cat pregnancy and birth requires preparing an ideal place for your cat to give birth to her newborn kittens. Now is the time to start preparing a "kittening box." You can find special boxes for kitten birthing in some pet supply stores, but a homemade kittening box will do just as well. A cardboard box works great because it's inexpensive and you can easily dispose of the box when you no longer need it or if it becomes soiled.

Find three or four cardboard boxes about the size of a wine case. Check the boxes for staples or other sharp or dangerous objects and make sure the boxes weren’t used for packing harmful substances. The top flaps of the boxes should be able to loosely fold over to offer privacy. Put two holes in each box. One hole should be on the side and be big enough to allow your pregnant cat easy access. The other hole is smaller and is for you to observe your pregnant feline during labor and after. (Of course, you're going to want to look at the newborn kittens after they are born, too!)

Your cat will ultimately only use one box at a time, but you'll want to place the three or four kittening boxes in different locations to allow your feline to choose her favorite. You'll also want to save the extra boxes in case the first box becomes too soiled for the kittens.

Lining for the Kittening Box

Some clean, soft kitchen towels make the ideal bedding for your pregnant cats kittening box. Crumple them up and place them in the bottom of the box. Don't count on using the towels again. This is perhaps the messiest part of cat pregnancy and birth.

You shouldn't use newspaper for the bedding as this contains printing ink with chemical solvents which can negatively affect your cat's health, and especially her kittens' health.

If you don't have spare towels, you could also use an inexpensive shelf lining paper for the kitten's box. You can crumple some paper to form a soft bed on the bottom of the box.

Placement of the Kittening Box

As any cat owner knows, cats are creatures of habit and they certainly do have their own ideas about things. And cat pregnancy and birth is no different! You can really only "offer suggestions" to your cat about where to give birth to her kittens. She will ultimately determine where she will give birth. However, you can try to persuade her by placing the kittening boxes in desirable places for both you and your pregnant feline.

Although your cat may want some privacy to give birth to her kittens, she is still part of the family and will want to keep track of what's going in. So the best place for your cat's kittening box is a warm and draft-free place within sight and sound of the household activities.

Of course, these are only suggestions to your pregnant cat. Placing the three or four boxes in different places gives your cat more options and allows her to decide which one she likes best. If she rejects your choices and prefers another spot, you should go along, as long as the temperature of the location is alright and it is a draft-free location.

You can try to persuade your cat that your spot is best by showing her the kittening box and how ideal it is for giving birth. You can rustle the bedding and try to entice her inside to see how comfortable it is. Show her how she can have privacy with the box tops folding over.

Once again, if your pregnant cat refuses your chosen spot, let her choose her own, and be careful to keep locations that you absolutely don't want her to give birth in inaccessible to her. Take away the other boxes and use them later if you need to replace a soiled kittening box.

If this is your first cat pregnancy and birth, you may want to consult your veterinarian for more pointers.

For more information about cat pregnancy and birth, cat pregnancy symptoms, and how to care for a pregnant cat, visit our Cat Pregnancy page. You can also use the Google Search Box to search the Internet or My Healthy Cat for more feline health information.

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