VMD 513: Pet animal Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care (1+1)

FEEDING AND PREGNANCY

• The weight gain pattern that occurs in pregnant queens is slightly different from that observed in bitches.  
• Although most of the bitch’s weight increase occurs during the last third of gestation, pregnant queens exhibit a linear increase in weight beginning around the second week of gestation. 
• A second difference between bitches and queens involves the type of weight that is gained during pregnancy. In dogs, almost all of the pre-parturition gain is lost at whelping. 
• In contrast, weight loss immediately following parturition in the cat accounts for only 40% of the weight that was gained during pregnancy. The remaining 60% of the queen’s weight gain is body fat and is gradually lost during lactation. 
• Thus it appears that the queen is able to prepare for the excessive demands of lactation by accumulating surplus body energy stores during gestation. 

     

• Similar to dogs, female cats should be fed a diet, that is intended for reproduction throughout gestation and lactation. Litter size is positively influenced by the provision of adequate fat in the queen’s diet, and fat in the diet should provide optimal levels of EFAs, particularly arachidonic acid. Taurine is also an important nutrient to consider because both conception rate and kitten birth weight are reduced in queens when dietary taurine is limiting.
• The amount of food that the queen receives should be gradually increased beginning the second week of gestation and continuing until parturition. At the end of gestation, the queen should be receiving approximately 25% to 50% more food than her normal maintenance needs. 
• Because most cats adapt well to free-choice feeding, this is often the best way to provide the pregnant queen with adequate nutrition during pregnancy. The queen’s weight gain should be monitored closely to prevent excessive weight gain during this time. Queens typically gain between 12% and 38% of their pre-pregnancy body weight by the end of gestation.