Cat Breeding

cat lover12

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Will cats breed the first time they meet? I gave someone 2 cats one of which was mine and the other was someone elses, so they've never seen eachother before and we want them to have kittens.. Will they breed even though they dont know eachother? If so how long will it take for her to get pregnant?

 Thanks!
 

Willowy

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Yes, if the female is in heat and the male is mature they probably will. I hope they're breeding-quality purebreds, with breeding rights. If they're not, they're just adding to the cat overpopulation :(.
 
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cat lover12

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Thank you... Can a cat be in heat any time of the year?
 

Willowy

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A cat doesn't need to be in heat to get pregnant. . .the act of mating triggers an egg drop so she could get pregnant any time a tomcat gets to her. And living with a tom will sometimes bring her into heat. It's complicated.

But really, the best thing to do would be to get them both fixed. There are too many cats and not enough homes for them :(.
 
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cat lover12

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thanks so much
 

StefanZ

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Agreeing and seconding Willowy.

And it can go quickly, esp if the tom is experienced.

ps to be complete, it CAN take time.

Say a experienced but gentle stud, and a not unwilling female in heat, and the stud courting after all rules of the art, it can take two days.  While the son of said stud, him gentle although perhaps not so friendly to females as pa, and thus a little more businesslike, need perhaps only 4 hours.

If the stud inexperienced, it usually takes longer than with an experienced.

Experienced female is also usually shorter.

But ther are many examples of a female in heat, sneaking out, coming back half an hour later, and voilá! 65 days later there is a litter of 5 beautiful small helpless kittens!

So apparently, many times it can go very quickly, without the tom even needing to rape.
 
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orientalslave

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I hope they're breeding-quality purebreds, with breeding rights. If they're not, they're just adding to the cat overpopulation
.
Agree.  Plus nearly all sexually mature male cats have some nasty habits, at least in hour eyes.  They reckon their pee smells fantastic and love spreading it around.
 
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cat lover12

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how long can it take for a cat to SHow that she's pregnant?
 

StefanZ

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how long can it take for a cat to SHow that she's pregnant?

The teats do get rosy after about 3 weeks after mating / conception.

This is the first  somewhat reliable sign.

Experienced breeders can often guess earlier, as most females gets somewhat changed behavior. More loving, eats more / differently, sleeps more...

But to be entirely sure perhaps another 3 weeks.   :)
 
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cat lover12

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Do the teats Always enlarge and get rosy? And does the cat Always get milk? Or can some less mature pregnant kitties just, not get milk and have to bottle feed the kittens yourself?
 

orientalslave

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Some cats don't 'pink up' obviously, and some don't get milk until the kittens arrive.  Bottle-feeding newborns is difficult as they don't have a cough reflex so milk can get into their lungs if you feed too fast or in the wrong position, plus they don't get the antibodies from mum, plus mum's milk adjusts as they grow to the right composition.  Having to bottle feed is very rare with cats but it happens and it's not at all uncommon to lose a lot of the kittens.

I still suggest getting both cats neutered asap.
 
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