Confirming Your Cat Is Pregnant
Cats are seasonally polyoestrous, meaning they cycle repeatedly through the warmer months. If your unspayed cat has had access to a tom, pregnancy is a genuine possibility from as early as four months of age. Confirming pregnancy early gives you time to prepare properly and ensures your cat receives appropriate veterinary care.
A vet can confirm pregnancy by abdominal palpation from around 17–25 days after mating, though this requires a skilled and gentle hand to avoid harming the developing embryos. Ultrasound is reliable from approximately 21 days and allows foetal heartbeats to be confirmed. Most general practice vets across Europe offer ultrasound confirmation as a routine service.
Gestation Period
The average feline gestation period is 63–65 days from mating, though anywhere between 60 and 67 days is considered within normal range. Because cats can mate with multiple toms during a single oestrus cycle, a litter can contain kittens of different parentage — a phenomenon known as superfecundation.
Signs of Pregnancy in Cats
Even before a vet confirms pregnancy, several physical and behavioural signs may indicate your cat is expecting:
- Pinking up: One of the earliest reliable signs — the nipples become noticeably pink and slightly enlarged from around 15–18 days after mating.
- Morning sickness: Some queens experience brief nausea and vomiting in the early weeks. This is usually mild and short-lived.
- Increased appetite: Around weeks 3–4, most pregnant cats begin eating more enthusiastically.
- Enlarged abdomen: The belly grows visibly from around week 5, becoming noticeably rounded by week 6.
- Nesting behaviour: In the final week or two, your cat will begin seeking out quiet, enclosed spaces to give birth.
A Note on Neutering in the EU
Across Europe, uncontrolled cat reproduction is a significant welfare concern. Many EU countries — including Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy — face large stray cat populations, and animal welfare organisations strongly advocate early neutering. Most European veterinary associations now recommend neutering at 5–6 months of age, before a cat's first season. If your cat's pregnancy was unplanned, discuss post-queening spaying with your vet. Many EU municipalities run subsidised neutering programmes to help reduce stray populations responsibly.
Nutritional Needs During Pregnancy
A pregnant queen's nutritional requirements increase gradually throughout gestation and dramatically during lactation. From approximately week 5 of pregnancy, transition your cat from her regular adult food to a high-quality kitten food or a diet specifically formulated for reproduction. Kitten foods are calorie-dense and rich in the protein, calcium, and DHA needed to support foetal development.
Feed her ad libitum — that is, allow her to eat as much as she wants — during the second half of pregnancy and throughout the nursing period. Fresh water must always be available. European retailers such as Zooplus stock a wide range of quality reproduction and kitten diets from brands well-regarded by European vets, making it straightforward to order online and have food delivered to your door.
Preparing the Nesting Area
Set up a quiet, warm nesting area at least two weeks before your cat's due date. A cardboard box or a purpose-made birthing box lined with clean towels or washable fleece works well. Place it in a low-traffic area of the home where your cat feels safe. Introduce her to it early — leave treats nearby and allow her to sleep there so she associates it with comfort and security.
Keep the room temperature around 22–25°C. Newborn kittens cannot thermoregulate and are entirely dependent on ambient warmth and their mother. A low-wattage heat pad placed under one half of the nesting area — so kittens can move off it if too warm — provides useful backup heating.
What to Expect During Queening
In the 12–24 hours before active labour, your cat will become restless, may refuse food, and will return repeatedly to her nesting spot. She may also vocalise more than usual. Her body temperature will drop slightly — a sign that birth is approaching.
Active labour begins with visible straining. Kittens are born inside an amniotic sac, which the mother will tear open and lick away — this stimulates the kitten to breathe and removes fluid from the airway. She will also sever the umbilical cord by chewing through it and eat the placenta, which is normal behaviour. Count the placentas — there should be one per kitten.
Kittens are typically born 10–60 minutes apart. A brief rest between births is normal, and queens may pause labour for several hours mid-way through a large litter. However, if strong straining continues for more than 30–60 minutes without a kitten being produced, contact your vet immediately.
Normal vs Emergency Signs During Queening
The following are normal during queening:
- Green or dark discharge after a kitten has been delivered (this is normal; it means a placenta has separated)
- Resting periods between kittens
- Vigorous licking of each kitten by the mother
The following require immediate veterinary attention:
- Green discharge before any kitten has been born
- More than 30 minutes of strong, continuous straining with no kitten produced
- A kitten visible at the vulva but not progressing
- Your cat becoming unresponsive, very pale, or collapsing
- Fewer placentas than kittens (retained placenta causes serious infection)
Kitten Care in the First Weeks
Healthy newborn kittens are vocal, wriggling, and seek the nipple instinctively within minutes of birth. Ensure all kittens nurse within the first two hours to receive colostrum — the antibody-rich first milk that provides passive immunity for the first weeks of life.
Kittens double their birth weight in the first week. Weigh them daily using kitchen scales to confirm steady gain. A kitten that loses weight or fails to gain after day two needs urgent veterinary attention.
Eyes open at around 10–14 days. Kittens begin venturing out of the nest from around 3 weeks and can begin weaning onto wet kitten food from 4 weeks. Full weaning is typically complete by 8 weeks.
When to Spay After Queening
Most European vets recommend waiting until kittens are fully weaned — at around 8 weeks — before scheduling the queen's spay. However, a cat can come into season and become pregnant again while still nursing, so keep her away from entire toms. Discuss timing with your vet; many will perform the procedure from 8–10 weeks post-queening once the reproductive tract has returned to its normal size. Early spaying after this period is consistent with EU guidelines on responsible cat ownership and population management.