If you are wondering how soon can a domestic cat start breeding and other useful information about this topic, you have come to the right place. It is really important that you don’t breed your cat until she has reached maturity and is ready for it. Your cat might be ready to have kittens much sooner than you think so if you don’t want this to happen, you should get her neutered. If you are interested in breeding your cat, however, below is everything that you need to know to make that happen at the time that is right for her.
How Early Is Too Early for a Cat to Get Pregnant?
If your cat is younger than 4 months old, she has not reached sexual maturity yet and cannot get pregnant. It is not appropriate for a cat to get pregnant before the age of four months especially because her skeleton has not had much time to grow and it can be dangerous. You should also let your young kitten (1-4 months) enjoy being a kitten without the possible stress involved in being pregnant. Four months is still very young of course, but that is the age that a female cat sexually matures, so technically, your kitten can have kittens by then! If you are looking to breed your female cat, make sure that they are at the correct age for it.
When a cat is ready for mating and goes into heat, she starts to show some distinct signs and we will be talking about those later. Keep in mind that if your cat comes into heat, that is a sign that she is ready to mate all by herself. When your cat goes into heat, that is a sign that she is ready to mate and get pregnant. Vets usually urge owners to get their cats neutered by four months if they do not want them to become pregnant, because that is the age of sexual maturity, and they will start prowling the streets to find male cats at that point.
How Old Should My Cat Be Before I Breed Her?
The youngest age that a cat should be before having kittens is 4 months old, so that is the youngest that you should breed her. Some cats do go into heat before they are 4 months, but it is not recommended to breed them until they are this age, simply because they are not ready. Reproduction in cats works quite differently to humans, so it is important that you keep that in mind, because it could make the process a little more complicated in getting the timing right, and knowing how often to mate your cat. Cats do not ovulate until they have mated. which is different from a lot of animals who already have the egg in place before mating occurs.
It can also take a few attempts of breeding until your cat actually ovulates, which means it will take longer to get pregnant. Just like humans though, all cats are different and there is no saying that your cat won’t get pregnant straight away after the first time, but for others, it could take much longer. If you are keen to breed your cat, keeping an eye on their heat cycles and acting appropriately is what is recommended.
How Do You Tell if a Cat is in Heat for The First Time?
Cats have different heat cycles from the time that they meet sexual maturity, so it’s important that you try to breed her at the right time. Cats will usually go into heat when the weather is better, and cat pregnancies are more likely to occur in March, April, and May. You should keep in mind however that ‘heat’ for your cat will not be one long period of time but rather many short periods, with each cycle being around 14 days long. The following signs that your cat is on heat will be very present during that two-week time period, and that is the time that they should be mating, if pregnancy is what you are trying to achieve. There are specific signs a cat exhibits, and that is how you will know that she is on heat, and looking for male cats to breed with. These signs are as follows:
Cat will exhibit flirty behavior such as rubbing, marking, and rolling on the floor, she is doing this to try and attract a male cat.
Making a high-pitched and demanding call that some people mistake for thinking the cat is in pain.
If your female cat is 4 months and over and has started exhibiting these signs, it means that she is looking for a mate and is ready to start breeding.
See Also: Why Do Domestic Cats Sleep So Much?
And: How Do I Get My Cat to Stop Attacking My Dog?
How Many Kittens Can a One-Year-Old Cat Have?
The healthier a cat is, the more kittens it can have from a young age. Most one-year-old cats are able to have three litters of kittens every year and each litter can contain up to 12 kittens. Most cats will average around 4 to 8 kittens per litter, though and it can be quite common for 1 or 2 of them to die. A female cat will be pregnant for around 2 months, and it can get pregnant straight away again afterward, as soon as she is showing signs of being back in heat. While technically, a cat could have up to 180 kittens during her lifetime, it is not recommended that you let this happen. Continuously being pregnant and giving birth can put a strain on the cat, and is actually known to shorten her life expectancy. After one or two litters, the kind thing to do would be to have your cat neutered so that it can enjoy the rest of its life without any stress.
Hopefully, this article has answered the question for you, how soon can a domestic cat start breeding? And also informed you of some other required knowledge of the subject.
Featured image: Mother and Kittens, it’s tiring being a new mom!
