List of gestation periods for the small wild cat species

The number of days a female cat is pregnant is called the gestation period. For domestic cats it ranges from 60 to 70 days. The period varies for the small wild cat species. Here is a list. It is nearly complete. The problem is that even today we are uncertain about the behavior and physiology of some small cat species. The gestation periods range from around 59 days to 92 days. The average is about 75 days. Gestation period is proportional to body weight. The smallest cats have the shortest pregnancies. The average number of cubs/kittens in a litter is half the number of the mother’s nipples. Some of this information is from observing captive cats.

A couple of notes about the the list above. You will notice that there are some blank spaces, in effect, which is because we still don’t know all there is to know about the small wild cat species. That might sound remarkable because there have been great advances in science and understanding flora and fauna. But there are gaps despite the fact that our knowledge of the cats has advanced significantly over the past 50 years when nothing was known about the bay cat, the kodkod and the Andean mountain cat except from skins in museums! Or the occasional stuffed specimen. Big advances but still some gaps.

Also, you will note that there are 30 small wild cat species including the domestic cat but you will also see some websites stating that there are 33 small wild cat species. That’s because the science of taxonomy in relation to felids is still in dispute after a hundred or more years.