How long does it take for a cat to give birth to kittens

Female cats can give birth to kittens after about 2 months of pregnancy, usually between 56 and 67 days. It is said that there are also 72 days in some cases. If there is no delivery within the time limit, be sure to take the cat to the pet hospital in time.

The interval between a female cat giving birth to kittens can vary, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. Generally, one litter can produce 1-8 kittens, usually around 4.

Female cat birth can be divided into three stages:

1. Stage 1: The female cat will become restless and her uterus will begin to contract. It will last approximately 6-12 hours. The cervix will then dilate, at which point the cat will become more asthmatic.
2. The second stage: During delivery, you will first see the fetal membrane (like a water bag) coming out. Then the kitten’s head and body are born. Usually the head comes out first, but there are other places where it comes out first. It takes anywhere from 5 minutes to half an hour to give birth to a kitten. After the kitten is born, the mother cat will bite off the umbilical cord, then tear open the fetal membranes, and lick the kitten’s mouth and nose to clean it.
3. In the third stage, the female cat will excrete lochia (remaining placenta)

Remember: If the female cat has dystocia or the birth does not go smoothly, she must be sent to the hospital.

Understanding the signs before giving birth and the physical status and changes of the female cat during the two stages of delivery can help you determine the abnormal problems of the female cat before, after and during the birth process, so that you can take measures to deal with the abnormal problems in a more timely manner.

Conditions for a smooth delivery

For a female cat to successfully give birth, generally speaking, the following conditions must be met:
■ Fetal size and position are normal
■ There are no abnormalities in the birth canal (this includes soft birth canals and hard birth canals, please refer to the relevant content on reproductive outcomes)
■ The intensity and frequency of contractions are normal
■ Environment without interference
Generally speaking, we divide the birth of a female cat into two stages.
The first stage is the preparation for birth and the second stage is the actual birth of the kittens.
The first stage usually lasts 2-24 hours, and different cats vary greatly. Therefore, it is very necessary to observe and record the breeding process of each breeding mother, so that when she gives birth again in the future, there will be a relatively accurate individual. data.

The first stage is the preparation period for childbirth.

During this period, the behavioral changes of different female cats are also different.
Generally they will have the following changes:
■ Looking for someone extra and seeing you meowing frequently
■ Walk back and forth in your own activity area and go to your own den frequently
■ Some female cats may not eat, while others eat normally or better
■ You may find a clear discharge on your vulva, similar to egg white (sometimes it will be licked clean by the female cat)
■ The labia become softer (in fact, the entire birth canal starts to become soft at this time)
■ Breathing will become more rapid as the second stage approaches.
The data you can measure during this period is body temperature. If the anorectal body temperature is measured every eight hours in the first few days of the expected delivery period, the body temperature of the female cat entering the first stage of delivery will suddenly drop by 1-1.5°C.
Suppose that the average body temperature you continuously measured is 38.5°C. When its body temperature suddenly drops to between 37-37.5°C, it means that it has entered the first stage of labor and will enter the second stage within the next 12 hours. Stage two.
In the first stage, different female cats are really different. Some female cats may almost skip the first stage. Of course, this may also be because their response in the first stage is too weak, and you just ignore it.
There are also many female cats who will bark at you a few times, or lie on your lap to sleep for a while, and then jump directly into the nest to give birth directly.

The second stage is the birth period of kittens.

At this stage, you can observe irregular contractions of the female cat’s abdominal wall (uterine contractions). At first, the contractions may occur once every 15-30 minutes, and then gradually accelerate to once every 15-30 seconds.
As the strength of the contractions increases, the female cat will stand for a while and lie on her side for a while.
When standing, you are often in a half-squatting position, with your hind legs touching the ground hard. This will help the kittens enter the birth canal. Therefore, the ground when the female cat gives birth must be rough and grippy.
Sometimes, you may not let the female cat get used to its nest in advance, which will cause the female cat to run around during delivery. When it runs on the floor or tile floor, it will be very slippery, which is very detrimental to her delivery. It is recommended to give birth in advance. Prepare materials that can be laid on the actinic floor, such as cardboard.
If you find that the amniotic water has broken or blisters have appeared, it means that the fetus has begun to enter the birth canal.
Normally, if either of these two signals is detected, the first kitten will be born in about 30-60 minutes.
In some cases, it may take up to 2 hours for the first kitten to be born successfully. After such a long time, the probability of the kitten surviving is generally low. Therefore, if the birth of the first kitten takes too long, it should be treated as dystocia, and most dystocia cases occur at this stage.
Kittens are usually born wrapped in an amniotic sac. Sometimes the umbilical cord connected to the placenta is not broken, sometimes it has broken, and the placenta will be expelled later, usually in about 5-15 minutes.
Generally speaking, the birth of the second kitten will follow immediately, usually no more than an hour, usually more than ten minutes, or even a few minutes. This is because the kittens are evenly arranged in the horns on both sides, so one comes out on each side.
Kittens are born in pairs. If the trees in the two corners are not consistent, the kittens in the corner with the greater number will be born first.
The distance between 1 and 2 is shorter, and the distance between 3 and 4 is shorter.
Most female cats will resolve the battle within 6 hours. There are also some cases of extremely long labor, such as 10-12 hours, or even more than 24 hours, but these are extremely rare.
It is still necessary to take prenatal X-rays so that you can know in time when the female cat has given birth.
Generally speaking, if a female cat gives birth to four or five kittens, does not respond to contractions within an hour, is very quiet, and starts looking for her babies, it means she has finished giving birth. Sometimes, if you touch its belly, it may still feel hard and you will think that the baby is not finished. Unless you are absolutely sure, it is generally not allowed to touch it in this case. The hard part has not recovered yet. to normal uterine horns.