How Much Weight Does a Pregnant Cat Gain and How to Feed It?
The answer to the question of how much weight a pregnant cat gains may vary for each cat. Pregnancy in cats usually lasts around 65 days. Sometimes it can be a few days longer or shorter. During the first few weeks of pregnancy, the mother cat’s body begins to gain fat. In the last weeks of pregnancy, the weight gained by the mother cat is related to the growth of the kittens.
The weight gained by the mother cat in the first weeks of pregnancy should not be more than 40 percent of her current weight. Excess weight can cause the mother cat to have difficulty in giving birth and to suffer from health problems after birth. For this reason, it is necessary to pay attention to the cat’s nutrition and food selection during pregnancy.
How Should Cats Be Fed When Pregnant?
Your cat’s diet during pregnancy is very important. In order for both mother and kittens to be healthy, the mother cat needs to be properly nourished during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Pregnant cats need a high energy diet. To do this, you can feed your cat kitten food. You can give them both wet food and dry food, and most importantly, make sure they drink enough water. As the pregnancy progresses, you should increase the number of meals. You shouldn’t give your pregnant cat milk, as it will cause digestive problems.
When your cat is pregnant, you should continue internal and external parasite treatments because internal parasites can be passed from mother to kittens. You should have parasite vaccinations in consultation with your veterinarian. You can adjust the most appropriate diet by consulting your veterinarian about how much weight a pregnant cat gains during pregnancy.
What Should be Considered in Feeding a Pregnant Cat?
When your cat is pregnant, you should first investigate the answer to the question of how much weight a pregnant cat gains and create a diet accordingly. You should pay attention to the following points in your pregnant cat’s diet;
-
Calories for the mother cat to have plenty of milk and for the kittens to develop quickly,
-
Protein for healthy growth and development of the fry,
-
Phosphorus and calcium for good bone development in the young,
-
Fat for the mother cat’s excess caloric needs.
You can adjust your cat’s diet so that it is adequate in terms of the vitamins and minerals listed above. You should definitely monitor his water consumption and observe whether he drinks enough water.
We have come to the end of our article How Many Pounds Does A Pregnant Cat Gain And How To Feed It? If you have anything you would like to add to this article or want to ask about your cat, you can specify in the comments section. Also, do not forget to review our most frequently asked article Why Are Cats’ Whiskers Long?
