Sexing a Kitten
One of the basic questions that people have when
they get a kitten (if they didn't purchase it at a pet
store or shelter and were told what the sex was) is
whether or not it is a boy or a girl! So how do you
tell the sex of a kitten?
The easiest thing to do is to try to look for testicles.
If you see testicles it is a boy! However if your kitten
is a young kitten they may not be noticeable yet.
Thus the best way to determine the sex is by
measuring the distance between the two holes
(anus/vagina or anus/penis).
A female's vagina will be more of a vertical slit and
will be fairly close to the anus. A male's penis will
be a rounder looking hole and will be farther away
from the anus. Thus a male's parts will look like a ':'
or colon and be fairly far apart and a female's parts
will look more like a ';' or a semicolon.
Contacts for advice and information
3
Broken Hill City Council
PO Box 448
BROKEN HILL NSW 2880
Animal Control Officer - 0409 717 944
Environmental Services - (08) 8080 3340
Broken Hill City Council - (08) 8080 3300
OTHER BROCHURES IN THE CAT SERIES
CATEGORY I
1. Origins of the Cat
2. Cat Owners Responsibilities
3. Having Kittens
ANIMAL CONTROL
SERVICES
This brochure has been developed in the interests of
community education, health and safety as part of a
nationwide project promoting responsible pet ownership.
All brochures are numbered and cross-referenced, with
corresponding brochures indicated by number (eg, 5)
after a particular topic.
Having Kittens
There is a lot to learn about breeding cats and many
people don’t really get it right, with many sub-standard
breeders regularly producing sub-standard animals and
selling them to sub-standard owners - pounds all over
Australia are full of these cats.
The Beginning
Most cats have a very distinctive behaviour when they are
ready to be bred. They typically roll around playfully on
the floor and rub their posterior against you and the
furniture. They often become vocal and try to escape
outside. They stand arched with their tail straight up and
their back and rear legs stiffen whenever they are touched.
Heat periods will usually last 4 to 7 days. They become
longer and more frequent if the cat is not bred. A female
cat will mate several times during her heat cycle so kittens
in the litter may have different fathers.
Early In the Pregnancy
The fact is breeding kittens is a labour of love; that is, it is
not a money-making venture.
Gestation or the length of pregnancy of a cat averages 64
days. It is generally between 62 and 67 days or about nine
or ten weeks. You might notice subtle indications of
pregnancy after the first three weeks. The cat’s nipples
begin to swell and their colour changes from white to a
rosy pink. By the fourth or fifth week the cat’s belly will
begin to swell. During this early time, the cat only needs a
low stress environment and high quality cat food. Keep a
dry kibble out all day and let her eat as much as she wants.
A veterinary exam early in pregnancy is a good idea to
check the cat’s general health. By the twenty-sixth day of
gestation a veterinarian can usually feel the spherical
lumps in the cat’s oviducts that are the developing foetuses.
Veterinarians that use an ultrasound can detect the
developing kittens earlier and determine their number
more accurately. By the 45th day the kitten’s skeletons
will have calcified enough to be seen on x-ray.
Prepare a room for the birth to occur. This room should
have an impervious floor that makes cleaning easy. It
should not be drafty and should be in a quite area of the
home. Prepare a bed for the cat, a laundry basket lined
with towels or unused clothes works well. Get her used to
using it. If the mother won’t stay in it, you can encourage
her to by petting her and giving her small food snacks.
You can lead her to the designated nursing area when
labour begins but don’t expect her to stay there. She will
almost certainly have her kittens outside of the pre-assigned
area, let her. When she has completed the delivery, move
them all into the designated bed. Cats don’t like to be
bothered when they are having their kittens. There is no
need for you to spend time comforting her. After the birth of
the first few kittens, the mother usually is preoccupied with
her babies and not as upset at your presence. Give her the
space she needs, but keep checking in on her regularly. It is
quite possible that you will miss the birth process entirely.
You will probably wake up one morning or return from work
only to find you have a brand new litter of offspring
Contentedly nursing on their mum. If your nursery room is
not warm enough, you can warm it by wrapping a heating
pad in a towel, setting it on "low," and placing it under one
half of the nursery bed. This allows the mother and kittens to
move away from the heat source if they choose to.
The Unexpected Litter
If you discover or suspect that your cat is pregnant and
having kittens, you should seek the advice of your vet as a
matter of urgency.
An unwanted pregnancy can be terminated and the cat
safely desexed quite inexpensively. It is best to act within
a month of mating.
If your cat is pregnant and you are determined to have the
kittens, again seek advice from your local vet, and
consider the following:
“Breeding kittens is a labour of love… your ideals for
wanting to breed should be high and justifiable”.
Provide an expecting cat with more food ensuring
she receives adequate nutrition.
When she is ready to give birth she will become very
restless and pace as if she is looking for something
and she will become very vocal. She also might
make many unproductive trips to the litter box but
eventually will settle into her maternity bed.
Once she settles into her spot she will go into
labour which can last up to 12 hours. During this time
you should prepare for the birth by getting a bowl of
disinfectant solution, clean towels/cloths, scissors,
dental floss, and petroleum jelly together.
In the meantime mum will prepare herself for birth by
finding a comfortable position (some cats stand up
while others lay down, never try to move the mother
at this point).
The female may scream as the first kitten is born,
don't be alarmed this is normal especially for a first
time mum. Unlike humans, some kittens are born
head first and some are born feet first. Each birth will
take about 15 minutes.
The entire delivery generally takes between 2-5
hours but can last up to 12 hours. Litters are usually
of between 4 and 6 kittens, although litters of just one
or two kittens can be common.
After all kittens are born, mum will take care of her
kittens and rest! If the mum does not seem to be
taking care of her kittens you may need to take over.
If this is the case consult your vet immediately for
specifics.
Make sure to watch over the mum after birth for any
bleeding or discharge. Also watch her to make sure
she is nursing properly. As for the kittens you may
want to keep a weight chart for them. When born
they are deaf, blind and should weigh about 3-4 oz.