For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. Cat gestation periods are typically defined as “the number of days between a successful mating and the birth of the fully developed kittens”. A cat’s gestation period is somewhere between 61 and 69 days, with an average of 63 to 66 days. It should be noted however, that this number can vary. Sometimes it might be much shorter, and other times much longer. It just depends on the cat.
The reason for the huge variation in these figures is due to the nature of the feline reproductive cycle. Female cats are “induced ovulators”, meaning that they require the mating stimulus of a male cat if they are to ovulate their ova (eggs) into their uterine tract for fertilization. Usually several matings are required in order for this to happen (8-12 copulations is common).
Cats can found mating often over a period of days before the female becomes stimulated enough to ovulate her eggs. It is very uncommon for a single mating between male and female cats to result in successful ovulation. Technically speaking, less than half of female cats ovulate after a single copulation. Once enough mating stimulus has been provided, it usually takes a female cat 24-52 hours after the successful mating to release the eggs into the uterus tract.
Since a cat’s gestation period is defined using the starting point of a successful mating, and it often requires several matings over several days in order to ovulate and become pregnant, confusion on how long a cat’s gestation period is often comes into play. Cat breeders or pet owners are unsure as to which of the witnessed matings is the successful one, and therefore are unsure where to start the count from.
Leave a Reply