A Michael Broad Blog
How long are cats pregnant? The answer depends on the type of cat. Here is a graph showing the domestic cat and some wild cats, medium and large and the differences in length of pregnancy: And here is the same information presented in the form of a table: Cat Ave. Length of Pregnancy (days) …
There is an official world record for the largest number of kittens in a single litter. The source of the information is, of course, the Guinness World Records website. They state very succinctly that the world’s largest litter of domestic cats were born on 7 August 1970 when a Burmese/Siamese cat belonging to V. …
Dr. John Bradshaw in his book Cat Sense writes that if a mother is highly stressed during her pregnancy her stress hormones may cross the placenta and impair the development of her kittens’ brains and endocrine systems. The endocrine system refers to the kitten’s hormones. I wanted to check this and expand on it. …
This is a chart showing the key stages in development of a kitten before they are born and up to around 10 weeks of age. I think it’s quite interesting and I hope you agree. This is a good opportunity to remind ourselves that the personalities of cats are affected strongly by what they …
There are two hormonal issues which help to ensure that the bond between mother cat and her kittens is strong and that the kittens are trusting during their first few weeks after birth. Mother Firstly, the nursing mother receives a wave of the hormone oxytocin which is produced in the hypothalamus and is secreted …
This is a cool photograph because when you first see it you are unsure if you are looking at an adult domestic cat killing or eating a newborn kitten (!) or a mother cat grabbing her newborn by the scruff of the neck to carry her to the den. The thing is that mothers …
Mother cats might eat their kittens’ poop for the first three weeks of their kittens’ lives during anogenital stimulation which is a form of tactile stimulation by the mother to encourage her kittens to urinate and defecate. When she does this she might eat their poop. In other words she might cleanup. It’s important, …
This is a really nice picture of a calico foster kitten at Central Florida Fosters, Central Park, Florida. It was taken by Danielle with her right hand while she held the kitten with her left. She no doubt used a smartphone as they are so competent nowadays when it comes to photography. Straightforward and …
