Cat pregnancy is a condition that may be signaled by the cat but may also be determined through a few test procedures. The fertilization may occur while a female cat is in heat and the pregnancy lasts for 9 weeks.
Cat Pregnancy Test Procedures
A cat pregnancy can be determined using several types of tests. The cat may start to show subtle symptoms of pregnancy 3 weeks after she has been fertilized. Some common pregnancy symptoms include pink nipples, hiding behavior, more hours of sleep, less activity than during the mating season and the cat will be less vocal. However, your cat may hide these symptoms and it may be difficult to tell if she is pregnant.
If you suspect that your cat is pregnant, you may consult the vet. The vet will determine is your cat is pregnant by running a few tests.
The vet will perform a complete physical examination to rule out other possible diseases that may manifest similar symptoms as pregnancy.
By palpating the cat’s abdomen, the kittens may be felt by the vet as early as 3 weeks after the fertilization. You may also detect the presence of kittens by week 5 of pregnancy, as the kittens can be felt as lumps.
3 weeks after breeding, ultrasounds may show the presence of kittens. The ultrasounds will also indicate the state of health of the fetuses.
After 45 days of pregnancy, the vet may perform abdominal x-rays to detect the presence of kittens. The skeleton of the kittens will be visible and the vet may also tell you the numbers of kittens your cat is expecting.
The vet may also perform additional tests to determine if the cat is in good health. The vet may recommend an abortion for cats with FeLV (the feline leukemia virus) or feline HIV (FIV), as the kittens will inherit the diseases and they will be difficult to treat.
The vet may also establish if the levels of calcium of the cat are normal, so that she won’t develop pregnancy or post pregnancy complications such as eclampsia, which is due to the lack of calcium.
The vet may prescribe some vitamins which will be needed for the well being of the kittens; however, don’t give your cat vitamins without having recommendations from the vet; some vitamins may be harmful for the kittens and result in an abnormal development of the kittens.
Home Pregnancy Test for Cats?
There have been studies performed on developing a home pregnancy test for cats. These tests were based on identifying a hormone that is present in pregnant cats only. Relaxin is the hormone that can indicate that the cat is pregnant by using a urine sample from the cat.
The pregnancy tests for home use should be able to indicate pregnancy as early as 3 or 4 weeks after the sterilization. However, this type of testing still necessitates further testing; after this is done, the product may be launched on the market.