When you have decided that you want to be a breeder and have gotten your first female, there are quite a lot of preparations for both you and the female before she can have her first litter of kittens. For example it's a very good idea to start looking for the right male too mate her with, almost as soon as possible. You might think that you have plenty of time to find the right mate but it's not all owners that will lend out their males for stud service and those that are available might not be so for long. If you don't plan to buy your own male you should start looking for the right match e. i. a male that can outweigh the faults that your female has.
Once you have found a male that you think has the qualities that can outweigh your female's faults, you need to make a breeding contract with his owner, because although you can make an oral agreement it's always best to put it into writing. The contract will have the usual agreements, such as the price of the mating (do you pay one total price or do you pay a certain amount for the breeding itself and then the rest once the kittens are born, maybe even with a clause that states how old the babies will be before you pay for them?), which test if any needs to be done on the female and male before the mating?, what if your female doesn't become pregnant can you take her back for a repeat mating?, are there any restrictions on the mating for example the number of kittens you can sell for breeding/to a foreign country? Etc. Once you have written down the agreement you both can sign, make 2 copies, each of you sign both of them and then you both have a copy of what the agreement covers.
Once the agreement has been made and signed all you can do is wait for your female to go into heat. When she goes into heat you take her to the stud owner's house and then you just have to wait for him to mate with her. It's usually a good idea to bring an unproven female to a proven male and vice versa. Of course you can put two unproven cats together but then you risk that they will not produce kittens the first time they are together. This is not a certainty so if you prefer an unproven male for your female you can of course choose him. A female is usually in heat for about a week, some a little shorter some a little longer. We prefer to keep the male and female together during the whole period she's in heat, but we usually take the male away for some hours every day because he won't breed her all the time after a day or two, but if we take him away for some hours, he will have regained interest in her once he's put back with her.
When the female is pregnant it's important to cover her and her kittens’ nutrition needs, and we give the female dry kitten food the last trimester of her pregnancy. Most females will choose to eat this rather than the adult food which is also available to her. We also offer her canned kitten food a couple of times during the day, supplemented with tuna, mackerel in tomato or creme fraiche.
The period a cat is pregnant is approx. 9 weeks, but the term can go from 58 - 76 days. In the mean time you can start the preparations and make sure that everything is in place when the day for her delivery comes. You need to find a good vet you can call if something doesn't seem right during the birthing and you need to be sure that you CAN call him/her and also when to contact the vet, because there is no need to contact the vet several times and you should both have a clear understanding as to WHEN it is time for you to make contact. You need to find out which vet will be on call if your usual vet is off duty, if it becomes necessary to contact a vet of course.
After your female has been mated you have to keep a close eye on her; especially be aware if she has a discharge from her vagina, because this could be a sign of an infection and you will have to contact your vet and he/she will determine if she needs to be put on antibiotics or not. Remember to tell him that she has been mated because a pregnant female will be given a different type of antibiotics as opposed to a female who is not pregnant!
You could read some cat books about how the delivery goes but you shouldn't only read the books that focus on the things that MAY go wrong during the delivery, but also read the books where things go smoothly. Since a birthing is a completely natural thing it usually occurs without any problems whatsoever and it's not a disease or something that is meant to go wrong, although one can get that impression when one reads about cat births. Here are some real life statistics for you. In our cattery we have had 62 births in 15 years and we have had:
C - Section = 1 (for a cat that wasn't even ours but was dumped by another breeder, but that's a whole other story)
Visit at the vets = 1
Besides having an agreement with your vet there are a few other things you need to make ready before the birth.
1 birthing box, either made out of wood or a cardboard box. It's not important what it's made of, it's important what you feel comfortable with. Some want the cardboard box because they can throw it out once the kittens are old enough to leave it. Others prefer the birthing box to be made out of wood that needs to be thoroughly cleaned after it has done its job. We have built 3 similar birthing boxes and have bought a couple of others from breeders who stopped breeding; all are made in wood. No matter what type you choose for your female you have to place it in a secluded calm area in your home because if there's too much commotion your female will probably leave it and find some other more safe place, for instance under your bed or in one of your closets. Having said that there can be huge variations in where a female will give birth. Some females needs to feel safer when they give birth than others who are either more experienced or simply doesn't care what goes on around them, they will give birth almost "anywhere" including at the area the owner has chosen for them to give birth. The birthing should take place in a birthing box because that will give you the best view of what's going on once it has started.
The birthing pad: here you can use different items such as towels, tea towel, pieces of sheet or 60 x 60 cm diaper absorbing material. The diaper absorbing material can be bought at the pharmacy and is used in hospitals or nursing homes, as a barrier in the bed against wetting. They are fluid reabsorbing and that makes them excellent when a cat is giving birth, because there is quit a lot of fluid involved. Alternatively you can use puppy training pads. Again it's up to the breeder to decide what he/she prefers. We have chosen to use the diaper absorbing material a long time ago and we’ll change them when ever they need to be changed the first 1 – 2 days after the birth, because the mother can bleed as long as 48 hours after the birth. Once the mother has stopped bleeding we change the foundation and use an artificial sheepskin which has proven to be very nice for the kittens to lie on.
Digital kitchen scale with a max. 2 grams interval. The scale has to be sensitive enough when weighing the kittens and with a 5 gram interval it's too big an interval when weighing small kittens.
Paper/notebook and pencil. It’s a good idea to take notes during the delivery because this will help you in the future when the female gives birth. You can make a note of the time the water broke, the first labours, the time each took, time of birth for the first kitten, second kitten, etc. Maybe you have time and energy enough to put down your first impression of each kitten, for instance the head shape; is it triangular, is the profile straight etc. When the birthing is over we put these observations into a word document and store it on our pc. Some times we even have time to do it while the female is giving birth.
1 pair of scissors. Some times you have to help the female to cut/tear the umbilical cord and it can be rather difficult to tear. I myself use my fingers and nails but not everybody likes this procedure and if the kittens is placed close to the mother and it is vital to cut the umbilical cord scissors are easier to use than your fingers. You have to remember to rub the umbilical cord at the place you will cut it.
Towels or other material to wipe the kittens clean and dry with. A first time mother can’t always keep up when the kittens are coming fast one after the other so some one needs to get them dried. This is why it’s wise to have a towel or some thing else that is good to wipe the kittens dry with.
1 waste bag. Some times a first time mother won’t eat the placentas which means that you will have to dispose of them. The bag can also be used for the used diaper absorbing material.
A mixture of cream, egg yolk and sugar or as it is called the birthing perk up drink. It’s a very good and strong mixture that a lot of the females like while giving birth, while others couldn’t care less.
1 heating pad. Once the birthing is finished I usually put a heating pad in the box, below the diaper absorbing material and set it on 1. I usually let the kittens and mothers lie on it for ½ - 1 hour. This is to prevent the kittens from developing pneumonia, which can happen if they have swallowed some of the amniotic fluid. Pneumonia in such young kittens is fatal. If I think that it is a bit cold around or in the birthing box, I will leave the heating pad in one end of the birthing box the first couple of days. If the mother or kitten thinks it’s too hot they will move away from it for sure. As an alternative to the heating pad, which not all have in their house, you can fill some bottles with hot water and place them at the edge of the birthing box, because that will keep the kittens nicely warm. Remember that newborn kittens are unable to regulate their body temperature, so ensure that not only are they kept warm but also that there isn’t too much heat.