Feeding kittens and the mother cat proper

Feeding a kitten a proper, balanced diet begins with the mother's nutritional health while she is pregnant. Professional cat breeders want to do everything possible to optimize their cats' reproductive processes and are excellent role for all of us.

There are many factors involved in the "art" of producing strong and healthy kittens. You need to make sure the female cat is healthy before breeding and you must manage the female's lifestyle and diet throughout her pregnancy.

Fetal kittens grow at a relatively constant rate: unlike dogs, in which most of the intrauterine growth of puppies occurs during the second half of the pregnancy. The average gestation period for a cat is 53 to 65 days.

At the time of breeding, the female cat should be in good physical condition, which helps ensure the birth of a healthy litter. If she is not overweight, having her in a weight-gain phase is acceptable. But obese females are prone to breeding failure, like delivery complications.

An average 4-kilogram female cat should be eating around 90 grams of a maintenance-type diet per day at breeding. While your cat is pregnant, change its diet to one guaranteed to meet her reproductive needs. An all-life-stages commercial product will suffice.

You should make this diet change gradually over the course of the mother's first week of pregnancy. Thereafter, slowly increase her intake to about 130 to 140 grams of food per day, an approximate 50 percent increase, by the time the female gives birth. Free-choice feeding throughout her preganancy is fine as long as she does not tend to overeat and gain weight.

Protein, energy and major minerals such as calcium and phosphorous, are particularly important for pregnant cats. The table her gives the recommended specific nutrients for an average cat and my suggestions for pregnant females. These amounts are based on dry food only.

Also recommended is a concentration of 9 percent fat in foods for both adult maintenance and reproduction. I suggest looking for a cat food containing at least 12 percent fat for your pregnant cat. These increased concentrations are needed for fetal kitten growth.

Many of you may consider nutritional supplementation for your pregnant cats. Although numerous supplements are available, they are unnecessary if a complete and balanced diet is provided. Taurine, an essential amino acid, for example, is important because its deficiency has been associated with reproductive failure. Virtually all commercial cat foods, however, contain adequate taurine.

Once your cat's kittens are born, they will grow rapidly, doubling their weight in about 10 to 12 days. Provide a healthy environment for newborn kittens and make sure the mother is eating the right food during nursing.

Throughout nursing, the mother's food intake will increase as well, reaching 200 to 250 grams of food per day by approximately five weeks after birth, depending, of course, on litter size. Most commercial diets guaranteed to support reproduction also support the mother's dietary needs throughout lactation.

When weaning time arrives, generally at about 7 weeks of age, gradually restrict the mother's food intake to reduce milk production and introduce solid food to the kittens. This should be formulated to support kitten growth.

Whether you are a breeder or a conscientious, caring cat owner, properly feeding your female cat throughout her pregnancy, including before and after, is an important step in ensuring her nutritional well-being and that of her kittens.