Care of a Pregnant Cat: Lesson 7: Rehoming Kittens

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Care of a Pregnant Cat Lesson 7: Rehoming Kittens From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats If you haven't already planned to keep all the kittens from the litter, you'll need to start thinking about placing them in permanent loving homes when they are eight to twelve weeks old. The feature article offers ways to ensure safe placement of these precious kittens. Find The Kittens Safe, Loving Homes for Life Have Kittens, Will Travel You will want to find potential adopters for your kittens who will love and appreciate them as much as you do. The very first rule is NO "Free to Good Homes" ads. It's a sad fact of life that most people appreciate "value" in terms of money, so don't feel at all guilty for requiring an adoption fee for these precious babies. After all, you have a large investment of time, emotion, and cash in them. Free Kittuns This essay by animal activist and author Jim Willis gives a fictional account of an all-too-real tragedy that repeats itself many times a year all over the world. Your Last, Most Important Assignment Beloved of Bast This last link tells the poignant story of an old barn cat who spent her life birthing one litter of kittens after another. Your resident or foster mother cat has also done her job; her kittens are weaned, and almost ready for placement in new homes. She has earned her rest. Now you can do the final, most loving act in caring for her: spaying her. She deserves to spend the rest of her life without the spectre of repeated heat cycles, potential disease, and the burden of bearing litter after litter of kittens. Thank you for caring enough to help her earn her rest. You've done an excellent job! Coda: Feedback on the Course How Did You Like this Course? Your feedback is important to me in helping to make this class as complete and understandable as it can be. I'd like to know your opinions. Did you like it? Was it too long or too short? Were there any important basics that you felt were missing? Please complete the form linked here, and I'll be in your debt. Although the form asks for a name and email address, you can choose to remain anonymous. In any case, I'll respect your privacy, and you won't be added to any mailing lists by virtue of completing the form. This email is written by: Franny Syufy Cats Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Care of a Pregnant Cat' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   Advertisement

Care of a Pregnant Cat: Lesson 6: Postnatal Care

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Care of a Pregnant Cat Lesson 6: Postnatal Care From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats The first two to three weeks are the most crucial for your mother cat and her newborn kittens. At the same time, watching healthy kittens develop during this period is exciting and rewarding. Postnatal Care Postnatal Care of your Queen and her Newborns The first two to three weeks are the most crucial for your mother cat and her newborn kittens. The kittens are developing rapidly, and the queen will usually show symptoms of any post-partum problems by this time. Tracking Kittens' Development The First Week Kittens are truly helpless during the first week of life. They come into the world blind, deaf, and with underdeveloped nervous systems. They depend totally on their mother cat or you for sustenance. The First Six Weeks Kittens will probably never grow again at the remarkable rate they accomplish during this period, and seeing the changes in their development from week to week is an incredible experience. We'll start off by recapping the first week, and move on from there. Another Helpful Email Course Kitten Care The Kitten Care Course is a weekly email tutorial consisting of eight lessons. Since you will have "ready-made" kittens, you can probably skip some of the first lessons. Just use the "missing lessons" link and start with the first one you think you'd like to read, and move on from there. FAQs How long should a kitten stay with its mother? This reader is anxious to adopt a kitten from a friend's litter, but is wise enough to ask how long the kitten should remain with its mother. This email is written by: Franny Syufy Cats Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Care of a Pregnant Cat' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com Advertisement

Care of a Pregnant Cat: Lesson 5: Delivery Day

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Care of a Pregnant Cat Lesson 5: Delivery Day From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats The big day has arrived when your pregnant cat is ready to give birth to her kittens. This process is technically called "queening." Kitten Time! Helping with the Birth Process Chances are that you will not need to do anything to help with the birth process except to be with your cat to encourage her. You may even wake one morning to discover that your pregnant cat has given birth during the night, and is comfortably nursing her kittens. However, you should know how to spot potential problems and what action to take, should she need assistance with the birth process. This email is written by: Franny Syufy Cats Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Care of a Pregnant Cat' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   Advertisement

Care of a Pregnant Cat: Lesson 4: Care and Feeding of a Pregnant Cat

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Care of a Pregnant Cat Lesson 4: Care and Feeding of a Pregnant Cat From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats The care and feeding of a pregnant cat will differ slightly, depending on whether the cat in question is an established household member or an adopted or fostered stray. Stray and feral cats often give their last ounces of energy to the developing kittens they bear, because of the lack of proper food, care, and veterinary attention. Care and Feeding of a Pregnant Cat Whether you've adopted a pregnant stray, or your own cat has become pregnant, you'll want to provide all the things your pregnant cat needs, both for her health and for the health of the unborn kittens. Potential Problems During Pregnancy Depending on the age, physical condition, and numbers of previous litters borne, certain problems may crop up with a pregnant cat. Learn the symptoms and appropriate actions to take. FAQs What should I feed my pregnant cat? This caregiver is concerned because her pregnant cat seems awfully thin. This email is written by: Franny Syufy Cats Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Care of a Pregnant Cat' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   Advertisement

Care of a Pregnant Cat: Lesson 3: Is She Pregnant?

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Care of a Pregnant Cat Lesson 3: Is She Pregnant? From Franny Syufy, your Guide to Cats If your cat was in heat and had access to a tom (unneutered male) cat, the likelihood that she is pregnant is very strong. Signs Your Cat is Pregnant A pregnant queen will show both physical and personality changes which will first become more evident around three weeks after breeding. The gestation period for cats runs from 60 to 67 days. I like to use 63 days as an average, because it is easier to equate with human gestation (nine weeks vs nine months). Decision Time So Your Cat is Pregnant Where do you go from here? Your first major decision is whether or not to allow the condition to continue. If the answer is "yes," here's help in knowing what to expect in the next two months. This reading material will be expanded on in later lessons, but this is a broad overview. Should a Rescued Pregnant Cat be Spayed ? One of the most controversial issues is whether or not to spay a rescued pregnant cat. While some people are repulsed at the thought of killing kittens, others believe the question begs a larger issue, that of the overpopulation problem. Stop the Pregnant Cat Syndrome in Your Home Spay & Neuter Your Other Cats A critical part of caring for a pregnant cat is ensuring that neither she nor any other female cats in residence, never become pregnant again. Once you have verified your cat's pregnancy and made the decision either of spaying her and terminating the pregnancy or allowing the pregnancy to continue, the very next thing you should do is take positive steps to ensure this will be the last feline pregnancy in your household. FAQs When Will the Kittens be Born? My cat got out a few weeks ago and was gone overnight, and she's looking awfully fat now. Is it possible that she is pregnant? If so, when will the kittens be born? Is my Cat Pregnant? The age-old story: Female cat meows loudly for several days, escapes one day, and now no longer meows. One does not need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure this mystery out. This email is written by: Franny Syufy Cats Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Missing a lesson? Click here. About U. is our collection of free online courses designed to help you learn a new skill, solve a problem, get something done, or just learn more about your world. Sign up now, and we will email you lessons on a daily or weekly basis. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the About.com 'Care of a Pregnant Cat' email. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   Advertisement