<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nUnlike dogs, cats start building up the reserves for the energy-consuming breastfeeding process at the beginning of the 66-day gestation period. They begin gaining weight at the beginning of the second week of pregnancy, and their body mass steadily increases until they give birth. Therefore, you should adjust the amount of food you\u2019re feeding your cat starting from the second week of its pregnancy. The vet can use ultrasound or even careful palpation to make a pregnancy diagnosis at this early stage. If the pregnancy is planned, you can switch your pet to a more energy-dense food as soon as it goes into heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Which Food is Best For Pregnant Cats?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nComplete kitten food is the most suitable option for feeding pregnant cats. This kind of food provides the mother cat and its kittens with a lot of energy, loads of high-quality protein, and many other nutrients that are important for the offspring\u2019s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some pet food manufacturers even enrich cat food for kittens and expectant mothers with nutrients that promote healthy development. One of such nutrients is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an essential fatty acid necessary for brain development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the early weeks of your cat\u2019s pregnancy, it is important not to overfeed her. There is no doubt that she needs plenty of good nutrition. Nevertheless, the kitten food contains more calories and nutrients she needs. If your pregnant cat becomes overweight, it can cause problems for her and the kittens. Once you have confirmation of the cat\u2019s pregnancy, start slowly switching it to kitten food, but do not increase the amount of food the pet is given unless she is underweight or seems more hungry than usual. You should always closely monitor your cat\u2019s condition during her pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the sixth week onwards, it is recommended to feed your cat smaller meals with a higher frequency. Since the kittens put more and more pressure on the mom\u2019s stomach, it becomes harder for her to eat a lot at once. However, she still needs extra food. Giving a pregnant cat four to six meals a day is an optimal solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>How Much Weight Should My Pregnant Cat Gain During Pregnancy?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAt the end of gestation, your cat should weigh 40 to 50% more than before pregnancy (if she was at her ideal weight). That means that her weight should increase by about 5% every week. For a 4 kg cat, that would be a weekly gain of around 200g.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the common belief, the mother cat doesn\u2019t lose even half of the weight she gained during pregnancy with the birth of the kittens. The fat reserves built up during pregnancy get gradually used up during the breastfeeding period, so your cat should regain its normal weight once her kittens are fully weaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Feeding a Cat During Breastfeeding<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAs long as the mother cat is breastfeeding her offspring, she should continue to receive high-energy food for kittens. One of the advantages of this practice is that the kittens and the mother can consume the same food as soon as the little ones start to eat solid food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The amount of energy or food that your cat needs while breastfeeding depends on the number of kittens. At three to four weeks, the kittens will start to eat solid food. If that works well and the cat\u2019s milk production decreases, you can also reduce the amount of food for the mother cat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After weaning, you can switch your cat back to its regular adult cat food. However, if the pet is more than 10% below its starting weight, it makes sense to continue feeding it with high-energy kitten food for a while until the weight has normalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the cat\u2019s weight is normal, you can try to feed your cat insect-based food manufactured by the Petcan. It will provide your cat with a complete and nutritious diet after pregnancy while simultaneously being sustainable and animal-friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>FAQ<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
How much should a pregnant cat eat?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Your cat\u2019s food intake will gradually increase throughout the pregnancy. Generally, during the last trimester, pregnant cats consume 50% more food than usual.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Do pregnant cats not eat?<\/h3>\n\n\n
If your cat experiences loss of appetite at the end of her pregnancy, it might be a signal that she will deliver her babies very soon. However, ensure that the pet has easy access to food and water if she is hungry or thirsty.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
How do you know when a cat is close to giving birth?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Some of the early signs that a cat is close to giving birth include excessive licking, pacing, restlessness, howling, meowing, or chirping. The cat\u2019s water will also break at some point before labor.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Key points Are you getting ready to breed your cat and want to know how to take good care of your pregnant pet\u2019s health? Or is your cat already pregnant, and you want to make sure that you feed her correctly? When your cat is pregnant, it\u2019s crucial to provide it with a specialized diet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2058,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions\/2058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world-arabia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}