If you don’t have your new young female kitten spayed, sure enough she’ll be in the family way by the time she’s six months old. Some hansom young Tom-cat will sniff her out and have his way with her. You’ll notice her belly swelling after a couple of weeks, and after a total of 65 days, or thereabouts, she’ll present you with her new family.
This will present you with a few challenges.
Hopefully, you will have provided her with a safe place to have her kittens. A nice soft basket placed out of the way so she won’t be disturbed is essential. Preferably one with a cover so she has a nice den all to herself.
She will want plenty to eat and drink as she nurses her kittens, so make sure there’s plenty of food and water close by. She might even appreciate some milk or cream, as it’s rich in calcium and she’ll need it while she’s feeding.
After a couple of days, your new ‘mum’ will move her kittens to an alternative den, such a under your bed or in a wardrobe. This can be a bit disconcerting as you’ll return home from work and the kittens will be gone! It’s an instinctive reaction to protect from predators if the kittens had been born outside in the wild. In my experience, once you’ve found them, you can either move the basket to the new location, if that’s convenient, or simply put the kittens back and reassure mum that everything will be ok.
Beware if you have other cats in the house. Naturally, your they will know what’s going on and will be interested. They may feel a bit put-out having new rivals entering their territory. Check their reaction by introducing them to the new family while you stay close by, but don’t leave other cats near mum and her babies overnight, and try and keep them apart for a few days.
You might find they’ll be happy to cuddle up to the kittens while mum takes a break.
The next challenge you’ll have is finding the kittens new homes, once you’ve decided you don’t want to keep them. If you have kids in the house, you’ll be under pressure to keep all of them! Sure, we can handle ten cats in the house! You’ll have to present the argument as to who is going to feed them each day, who will change the litter basket, who will brush them each day? Ok, we’ll keep one, only one!
Once you put the word out, either to neighbours, family, or on social media, you’ll have no shortage of takers. You might need the help of the Cats Protection League who will advertise you have kittens needing a new home. But you’ll have six to eight weeks fun while they leave the basket and explore their new world!
Watch out! CatZ Kittens about!
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