How quick is a successful mating?

Is there an average time that is believed for mating cats to be successful. My cat was in heat for 3 weeks and I caught her mating a couple times. The dates were around jan29th-feb17th. Do females know right when they get pregnant and stop mating or does the heat cycle finish its course. My cat has been showing signs of soon-to-be labor and was hoping to have a better guess on due date. Also is it common that prelabor signs mimic signs of in heat. She def is pregnant so I'm not questioning that.

Most cats become pregnant on first mating. The fact that she had multiple suitors at different times means she could be pregnant by multiple males with differing due dates (it doesn't happen often but it does happen). It sounds like you are not a registered breeder and so I am very curious the reasons that you have put your cat in this situation. The dangers of labor and delivery only increase when there is a possibility of different due dates, and there is no way to know if that has happened here or not. Symptoms similar to a heat cycle can occur prior to labor. 

Please look through old threads and the stickies listed here for more information on labor and delivery: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/249018/...regnant-cats-kitten-care-articles-and-threads . Make sure you have your vet and after hours vet numbers handy just in case there are complications. Because you don't know when conception occurred you are stuck playing the waiting game. 

After this litter is born please, keep her indoors and away from any intact males until after she is spayed. There is no reason for her to continue to have litters and you are putting her at risk of life threatening complications such as pyometra. Breeding a female should only be done by those trained to do so. 

Don't be giving me a guilt-trip. I'm getting her spayed ASAP.

I was simply responding to your post, which was phrased that it was an intended pregnancy and not accidental. I'm happy to know that you plan on this being her only litter, and nothing can be done about that fact that she is pregnant. Now, it's all about making sure you have the tools and knowledge necessary to help her through labor and kitten rearing. Since it sounds like she is close now is the time to prepare your birthing box and get your birthing kit ready. The stickies previously referred outline the best ways to go about this. 

Can you see or feel the babies moving yet? If so you are probably about 2 weeks away from delivery. If not it may be a little longer (though this is just a general estimate which is why it's important to prepare the kit and the box now). Look though those links and ask more questions if you have them. 

Oh no, this wasn't intentional. I took her in last summer and days after a serious life issue happened (family friend murdered and killer on run) so needless to say my time was occupied with that and I never got her into vet as planned.
Yes I can def feel kittens. Have for over a week or 2. The movement has slowed and nearly stopped. Can feel kitten low between leg like its ready. She is due anytime. She got pregnant first 2 weeks of feb.. I know this after a lot of back tracking to figure out when I recall her being in heat and when I caught he mating with random male outside.
One problem is I have tried to set up her nesting spots (6) and she doesn't seem to fully accept any of them. She will check them out, scratch at the walls and ruffle the towels but not ever sleep in any of them. I keep taking her temp and its been anywhere from 98.4-99.7 since Thursday afternoon. So this has been such a long weekend anticipating labor and still nothing. No discharge, no howling. A lot of discomfort is obvious. Sleeps all day.
Also, I noticed last night an odd smell... Like a fishy smell that I think is coming from her vagina. Is that okay? Is it possible that the odor is coming from discharge that I'm just not seeing?

Also... Would she have stopped mating once her body knew she was pregnant? Cuz I do know (from a joking post I put on fb) on feb 10th I was still hearing the male cat howling outside my bedroom window and think she was still mating with him then. So I'm trying to figure out if conception was after that date or is still possibly before

Cats are induced ovulators - they don't release an egg until the first time they are mated in a call.  If they are not mated the call subsides (that can take a week) and they call again any time from 2 to 8 weeks later.  If they are mated eggs are released and usually fertilized, and the hormonal changes associated with that take her out of call. She has absolutely no idea she's pregnant at that point in time. 

You are in the unfortunate position that you don't know if she got pregnant at first or not.  All you can do is watch and wait.  I do hope you are not taking her temperature rectally - it's so easy to accidentally hurt her.

From your dates, her earliest due date is April 3rd e.g. 5 days ago, her latest is April 22nd.  Suspect she has been in call twice and didn't get pregnant the first time. 

Ideally she would have been neutered as soon as possible after seeing her being mated reminded you it still needed doing... Check with your vet how soon after delivery he/she will spay her, and remember she can get pregnant again while nursing tiny kittens so make absolutely sure she doesn't get out again.  She should be confined to a quiet room while she has tiny kittens which will help.

To answer your specific question - you have seen her mating so you know it takes seconds.  One mating is often enough to get a cat pregnant, but they will mate with as many males as they can find for several days.  This is a great reproductive strategy as having kittens by different fathers helps create variety in them and so increases their chances of survival, though the vast majority kittens living wild do not reach adulthood.

How long does the first call last? It would have been the first time period of her in heat cuz she didn't go back to acting like that afterwards??

Also, do male cats sense onset of labor since hormones are high? I've had her inside for several weeks to avoid the male and this weekend the male showed up again and sounded like he was doing a mating call. My cat was out the first time I saw him and she wanted nothing to do with him and since then I've kept her inside so he won't bother her.

Also... I've been sitting here doing more digging into dates, back tracking through things. I realized she was in heat on jan 28th... Could have started a couple days prior but I didn't realize the signs.

My cat isn't a year old til may 11th. Are younger cats typical to go early or late or still the average of 65 days?

I find it's best to limit the amount of area she has access to and limit the number of nesting spots. With so many choices she's unlikely to settle down. Block off any areas where you don't want her to have the kittens (such as under a bed) and make one or two nests really comfy (in a dark, quiet place with a blanket placed over the top). Confining her to just one room or even a bathroom is optimal. And, remember that many Queens won't start to actively use their box until right before labor begins. So, just because she doesn't seem interested now doesn't mean she won't later. If you set up a quiet area with her food, water, and litter nearby she will be more tempted to set up camp there. 

You know her best and if you think she is this close and has a funny smell/discharge she probably needs a visit to the vet. No, you don't want to cause her unnecessary stress this close to labor but you also want to be sure that nothing is wrong. And, a fishy smell could indicate that. There is likely discharge with it but she is licking it before you can see. Only a vet will be able to know for sure. If she doesn't have them in the next day or two I would err on the side of caution and have her checked over. 

Males outside your home are going to be a common occurrence until she is spayed so use extra precautions in making sure she can't get out and that they can't get in. Both will go to great efforts so keep a close eye. This is another reason confinement to one room is such a good idea- it limits her ways out of the house. 

I don't know if she is likely to go early or late because of her age but I do know cats under a year are prone to more complications. This article does a good job of explaining what can go wrong and how/when to intervene. http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/breeding_from_your_cat/felineparturition.html . During most deliveries the Queen knows exactly what to do and just needs you there for moral support. But, when things do go wrong time is of the essence. So, keep reading and researching and make sure you check on her at least every 2 hours if you can't sleep in the room with her. It's imperative that someone she trusts be there when the kittens are born. Hopefully all will go well but the only way to know for sure is to be present. 

excited4dora said:

How long does the first call last? It would have been the first time period of her in heat cuz she didn't go back to acting like that afterwards??

Also, do male cats sense onset of labor since hormones are high? I've had her inside for several weeks to avoid the male and this weekend the male showed up again and sounded like he was doing a mating call. My cat was out the first time I saw him and she wanted nothing to do with him and since then I've kept her inside so he won't bother her.

Click to expand...

First calls are often shorter - my breeding girl was 5 days for her first call and 8 for her second.  I included the last day when she probably wouldn't have stood for a male.  If she can get out and get mated you may well not see any signs of her calling.

The male will keep searching for a female he can mate, and personally I would do my best to trap him and get him neutered.  It's in his own best interests in so many ways.