Special Needs II

in #cats6 years ago

584F1743-18D6-4E0B-B6F5-EC5D36C3CB85.jpeg

Motherhood and Nursing

For many cat owners keeping a female feline in the household, there may be a time when one may notice a significant bulge in the abdomen. The first reaction may be a little shocking but this may be the first sign of the young adult cat moving to motherhood. In fact, the ballooning of the abdomen is not often the first indication of cat pregnancy. Pregnant cats are well aware of their bodies and increased diet requirements. This results in behavioural changes that will see the mother to be demand more food if they feel the need.

The increased nutritional demand cannot be supplemented through normal meal schedules. Pregnant felines will understandably have less space for storing digested food and may feel bloat or discomfort if fed large meals. An efficient method of feeding a pregnant cat is to split their daily allowance into smaller meals throughout the day. This may be a little intensive but a division of three or four feeds should suffice for a day. To compensate for the increased nutritional demand, a change up in diet should be considered. Typically this will be about 30% extra spread out between feedings. Keeping portion sizes small and quality high is important during this period.

Once birth has been given, the nursing stage of motherhood begins. This is an intensive part of a cat’s life and depending on the litter size, the food demand will typically double in volume to compensate. Providing milk is crucial for a mother and owners should appropriately adjust the diet to assist this. It may be advisable to switch to a formula meant for nursing cats that are designed for this occasion, containing high energy and nutritional content in smaller servings. This is exactly what a nursing mother needs to cater for her new born children.

Nursing cats provide all for their kittens and will seek nutritional sources to supplement this. This intensive period can last around four weeks. If not supplemented with enough energy, nutrients and water, both the mother and her litter will suffer from deficiencies. A significant weight loss around this time indicates a poor diet that is not providing enough nutritional support for weaning. Dehydration can also be a cause for concern around this period, regular water changes in tandem with multiple feeding times will assist greatly with keeping on top of feeding stages.

Nursing doesn’t just have to come from a single mother either. If another experienced female cat is within the household, it’s been observed that other queens have no issue fostering kittens. A communal relationship may even occur as both cats will wean and nurse the kittens as they grow. This is an amazing feat and of course both nursing cats should be fed an appropriate diet to support this.

63E41FDC-4E4A-4874-991A-6CB566C1D900.jpeg

Sort:  

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.37
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70162.45
ETH 3540.43
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.79