My Love And Sweet Love: Aug 7, 2011

Cat Body Language - 100 Ways To Read Their Signals..

9:07 AM | Labels: okay?

Assalamualaikum..

Okay.. da lama aku tak update sal cat body language ni kan? haha very the malas.. haha okay ari ni kita sambung okay..

4.1 "No Suckling Till You're clean"

The mommy welcome he 5th kitten (of 6th) into the world by giving it a once-over lick.

Kittens are born at intervals of anything from a couple of minutes to an hour apart. A typical litter for a cat would be 5 or 6 kittens, so the process can be over quickly or last for several hours, by which time the mother will be exhausted. On average, kittens will arrive at 20-30mins intervals, allowing the mother time to clean up each kitten and most importantly, clear out the airways. Kittens are born inside an amniotic sac, which the mother will bite away before starting the clean up phase.

P/S : Looking For Clues

One big clue that a cat is about to give birth a seen when after being extremely hungry, she

will suddenly go off her food. This is followed by several hours of restlessness and nesting

behaviour, along with pacing around, painting and crying Labor has begun.

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4.2 "You're The Last, But Not The Least"

The mommy has just given birth to her 6th and final kitten. After a clean up she will join the rest of brothers and sisters and find her own specially reserved nipple.

Once each kitten is clean, the mother will bite through the umbilical cord, leaving about an inch attached to the kitten's belly. She will eat the placenta of the first born kittens, as this will be rich and readily available source of food at a time when moving away from the nest is unthinkable. She will lick the kittens all over to remove the afterbirth, thus forming the smell bond between kitten and mother ( a bond that is often missed when cats give birth through caesarean section at the vet). Then she will rest and wait for the next kitten to emerge.

P/S : Need Some Help, Mom?

Apart from sharing overlapping territories and grooming each other, cats can show great

interaction at certain times. When a cat gives birth in a multi cat household, other female cat

have been known to help out by nipping the umbilical cord, bringing food for the cat,or helping

clean the kitten.

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4.3 "Where Is Mine?"

Once a litter is born, the kittens are ready to feed. As with most mammals, the first milk is thin but is rich in antibodies to help the kittens stave off diseases in the air they are now breathing. This colostrum will last for several days, after which their normal supply will begin to flow for up to 2 months. Unlike puppies who will barge in and feed off day any nipple at feeding time. The blind kittens will locate their nipple by smell. If this smell is masked by the mother's contact with some powerful scent, they will struggle to find their rightful place.

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4.4 "Keep on Flowing Milk. I Want More."

Kitten are pretty helpless when they are born. They weigh about 3 ounces and are blind and deaf. All they have to go on is their smell, which binds them solidly to their mother and their correct nipple. After 3 o 4 days, they will have developed the milk kneading or 'treading' technique on their mother's belly, which they use to stimulate milk flow. In later life, cats will re-create this action when they are safe and relaxed in a human lap or sometimes when just being stroked. At the end of the kitten's first week. their eyes begin to open. revealing vivid blue eyes. Whatever the breed, all cats eyes are blue at first, changing colour after about 12 weeks.

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4.5 "Don't You Move A Muscle"

Though seen less often with domestic cats, after three weeks, when the kittens have developed a degree of moment skills, the mother will change the location of her nest. She will find a new place and take the kittens there one by one. This she will grabbing each kittens by the scruff of its neck in the mouth and dropping it down unceremoniously in its new home. With domestic cats, there is never any real need to do this. It is the maternal instinct borne out of a wild cat's need to give birth in a totally secure, hidden environment and then, when they need to start hunting, take the kittens to a more accessible location. However, domestic cats will still do it, especially if they are being disturbed a lot by overeager children, flash photography and noise.