Cat Age & Pregnancy
Every year, animal shelters receive millions of relinquished cats. Some of them are lucky enough to find a loving home, but many receive a death sentence. Cat overpopulation occurs, in part, because cats are precocious breeders that reach puberty at a very young age. They breed frequently and have multiple births with each litter.
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Age of First Heat Cycle
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Most female cats first go into heat around 5 to 9 months of age, or when they reach approximately 80 percent of their adult size. Domestic shorthaired cats tend to reach puberty before purebred or longhaired cats. A cat can get pregnant during her first heat cycle.
Gestation Length
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Regardless of age, cats are pregnant for 58 to 71 days, with the average length being 68 days. The female cat ovulates more than once, even after pregnant, so the kittens could have different fathers. Each litter can produce from three to six kittens, and a cat can have up to five litters a year. Smaller litters are common in the cats not at their peak breeding age.
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Kitten Pregnancy Issues
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If a kitten breeds, whether by design or accident, before she reaches a year, she can have health issues related to the pregnancy. A younger, smaller cat does not have the nutritional stores needed to healthily support a pregnancy. She may have difficulty giving birth with her underdeveloped reproduction tract.
Elder Cat Pregnancy
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Although a cat is technically able to breed her entire lifetime, heat cycles become irregular after she reaches seven or eight years of age. Pregnancy at this age can result in complications with birthing the kittens.
Prevention
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To prevent an accidental pregnancy, the ASPCA recommends owners having a cat spayed before she reaches puberty, around six months of age. Spaying a cat, regardless of the age, eliminates the possibility of pregnancy and helps control the unwanted pet population.
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References
- Photo Credit kitten image by Igors Leonovs from Fotolia.com
