THE FAMILY LIFE OF THE DOMESTIC CAT
THE FEMALE KITTEN:
Cats breed fast and they start at an early age. When your female kitten is only 5 to 6 months old, before she is even fully grown, she will be ready and able to breed.
As soon as she comes into season she will be visited by all the un-neutered male cats in the neighborhood, there may be much caterwauling and possibly some fights between competing males.
Approximately 63 days later she will give birth to her kittens. There are usually between 4 and 6 in each litter.
The kittens are born covered with fur, but are quite helpless. Their eyes are closed, but open when they are about 10 days old. During the first three weeks the kittens do little but suckle and sleep. They then begin to play gentle with each other, rolling around their bed. They may try climbing out of their basket. By 5 weeks of age they are running around.
Some kittens begin to take an interest in food when they are about 3 weeks old, but others show no interest at all until about 5 weeks. They should be fully weaned by 7 or 8 weeks of age.
By this time. unless the mother cat has been confined to the house, there is every chance that she will already be carrying her second litter!
A few months later these kittens too will be breeding, so your cat family, and your food bills, will be expanding at an alarming rate. Do not let this happen. Please be a responsible owner and spay your cat before she has her first litter.
THE KITTEN SEASON
Many people do not realise that there is a 'kitten season'. They discover this fact when they try to find a kitten during the winter months, when they are few and far between.
At the first signs of spring all unspayed female cats from 5 to 6 months of age will come into season and will mate. This means that there are thousands of pregnant cats during the spring and early summer months. The kittens are born mainly between October - March which means there are thousands of them all looking for homes during a short space of time.
This is why beautiful kittens die in their thousands each year. There are too many needing homes during the same limited period of time.
Because there are few kittens available in the winter, the early kittens are snapped up because people have been waiting several months for them, but as the season progresses the demand dries up. The kittens awaiting adoption get bigger and fewer people want them because they are 'too old' at 3 months!
There is no truth in the 'old wives' tale that every female cat must have a litter. Breeding benefits no one. Ask any homeless cat!
Another myth which should be dispelled concerns the drowning of kittens. Some people believe that drowning is humane, but it is not. It is cruel and punishable by law. The only humane way to put down a kitten is to take it to a veterinarian. If you know of people who drown unwanted kittens please report them to your local RSPCA.
THE MALE CAT
The life of an un-neutered male (or tom) cat is anything but a happy one. On reaching maturity, tom cats define a territory with their odour and fight any cat which enters this territory. It is this fighting which is responsible for the shocking injuries and abcess which cats so frequently suffer and the reason people are awakened at night by fighting cats. Castration will end all this.
Neutered male cats are more contented and home loving. They do not develop the potent tomcat odour and thick bull-neck look.
THE WILD (OR FERAL) CAT
There are no truly 'wild' cats in New Zealand, but thousands of domestic cats and kittens are abandoned each year and left to fend for themselves. Unless they were desexed prior to abandonment they will breed. It is an offence to abandon an animal.
Most female cats are determined and devoted mother. Unlike dogs, who rarely raise a litter without human aid, the average female cat will succeed in raising her kittens despite being homeless and under-nourished. Her kittens grow up without knowing the touch of a human hand and because their mother was inadequately fed they will be under-nourished with little resistance to infection and disease.
Whilst many young kittens die in these situations, some survive and breed more homeless kittens.
If caught and taken in hand at an early age, these feral kittens can be tamed and ultimately become loving house pets, but it takes work and much patience, and the chances are they will always be somewhat nervous of strange people and situations.
Caring people often go to great lengths to tame and socialise these stray, feral kittens with the idea of placing them into homes, only to find that after all their efforts there is no-one willing to adopt them - so they must either keep them themselves or have them painlessly euthanised.
WHATEVER THE SEX OF YOUR KITTEN - FOR THE SAKE OF SO MANY OTHERS - PLEASE DO NOT LET IT BRED - AND NEVER LEAVE IT TO FEND FOR ITSELF.
Remember it is an offence, punishable by LAW. to abandon a domestic animal. To abandon or 'dump' a domestic animal is a cruel and cowardly thing to do and prosecution can swiftly follow. For help or advice contact your district RSPCA or veterinarian.