My daughter’s calico cat, Buttercup, recently gave birth to five darling little kittens. My daughter studied everything she could about the pregnancy and birthing process of cats. We found out that cats are only pregnant for nine weeks! Cats usually don’t give any clue to their pregnancy until the second half of gestation.

We first suspected Buttercup of being pregnant when she quit frolicking around the house and started to rest more. My daughter checked the cat’s nipples to see if they were pink and more pronounced, which happens at about the third week of pregnancy. After deciding that Buttercup was most definitely pregnant, we began to make preparations.

We made sure that she had a high-quality food to provide the proper nutrition. Experts recommend adding a little bit of premium kitten food to a “queen’s” (pregnant cat’s) diet, and gradually increasing the amount each week until she is completely on the kitten food by delivery. By the fourth or fifth week of gestation, a queen’s belly starts to show, and it is quite entertaining to watch her belly bounce around from the movement of the babies inside.

About two weeks before our cat was due, my daughter tried out various nesting spots for the cat to delivery her babies into. She was afraid Buttercup would give birth on her bed–the cat’s favorite resting spot! My daughter made up a nice little box filled with newspapers and old towels in the corner of her room. She tried unsuccessfully to acclimate the cat to its new nesting place. Luckily, she was in the room when Buttercup went into labor—on her bed! She quickly moved the cat into the box before she delivered her first kitten. The cat was not too thrilled about being moved, but we finally found an arrangement she was happy with. It has been fun to watch the development of the new kittens, and it has been a great learning experience for my daughter.