If your female kitty has access to tomcats and hasn’t been spayed, the chances are she will become pregnant before long. I didn’t realize this, but cats mate much more than you’d think. In fact, it is typical for a female cat to mate up to 20 times a day when in heat!
This gives your feline a good chance of becoming pregnant but also gets you wondering: How many times does a cat have to mate to get pregnant? Cats usually need to mate 3 to 4 times in 24 hours to become pregnant. And as I’ve covered, they often breed a lot more often than this!
The reason female cats need to mate this many times is that they are “induced ovulators.” This means your kitty must have sexual intercourse at least once for her egg to be released. In this article, I fully explain this reproduction process. I also cover how you can tell if your cat’s mating was successful and how you can stop it from falling pregnant in the future.
How Many Times Does a Cat Need to Mate to Get Pregnant?
For your kitty to become pregnant, she must usually mate at least 3 or 4 times within 24 hours. This may seem like a lot, but it only takes cats a minute or two to breed successfully, and many felines have sexual intercourse the required 3 or 4 times within a very short period.
In fact, the mating process is so quick that many felines mate up to 20 times with several tomcats on the same day. This can result in one litter of kittens having multiple fathers, which explains why some siblings look so different from one another.
The reason cats need to mate so often can be explained in two parts: (1) cats have a barbed penis, and (2) cats are induced ovulators. Below I’ve gone into each of these in detail:
Cats Have a Barbed Penis
You may be shocked to know this, but cats have barbed penises. These small spikes are similar to the texture of a feline’s tongue and are only visible while a cat is mating with a female. The rest of the time, this part of the penis is retracted under the skin.
If the idea of this confuses you, you’re not alone. When I first heard about these barbs, I couldn’t think of any reason why they would be useful for mating. However, there are a few different uses. Primarily, the barbs are necessary for a female cat to ovulate, which I will discuss more in a second!
Aside from this, the purpose of these little spikes is to prevent a female kitty from escaping before the mating process has finished. Brutal, I know. It’s also typical for a tom to bite a female’s neck during sexual intercourse, so all in all, this is quite a painful experience for female cats.
Cats Are Induced Ovulators
Like us, a female cat must release an egg from her ovaries to become pregnant. Without an egg there to fuse with the sperm of her partner, conception and pregnancy are impossible! The process of releasing an egg from the ovaries is known as ovulation.
While female humans automatically ovulate every month, female cats are what we call “induced ovulators.” As I mentioned above, the main reason a tomcat’s penis is barbed is to induce ovulation in a female. When she has sexual intercourse, the spikes on the male’s penis stimulate the vulva. This tells the feline’s body that an egg needs to be released.
Sometimes, a female will release an egg immediately and fall pregnant the first time she has sex. However, this induction process more typically needs to be repeated a few times for an egg to be successfully released. When this finally happens, the egg will be there, ready for the sperm that comes when the feline next has sexual intercourse.
How To Tell If Cat Mating Was Successful
As I’ve already established, your cat may fall pregnant after having sexual intercourse only once. As induced ovulators, there is a chance that the sperm and egg will be released simultaneously, fusing together and forming new like. However, it is only when a feline has mated at least twice that pregnancy becomes likely.
If you are trying to breed your cat, it is essential that you know how to tell if your cat’s mating was successful. Below, I have bullet-pointed each sign that suggests your feline is pregnant. Any one of these signs should warrant a trip to the vet so that they can provide your cat with an official diagnosis:
- End of Heat Cycle: Female cats go into heat every few weeks during the mating season. Some obvious signs of heat to look out for include excessive grooming and vocalizations. If your cat is quiet all of a sudden and doesn’t show any other signs of heat within a few weeks of mating, it is highly likely that it is pregnant.
- Increased Affection: While increased affection is a sign of heat, it can also indicate that your kitty is carrying a litter. This happens for two reasons: (1) your feline’s motherly instincts are starting to kick in, and (2) she wants your protection while looking after her growing kittens.
- Increased Appetite: Once a cat falls pregnant, her appetite starts to increase because she is now trying to eat enough food for herself and all her unborn kittens. The later into the pregnancy your kitty is, the more food she’ll need.
- Weight Gain: Because your feline is eating more food, it makes sense that she will also gain weight during her pregnancy. This weight is further increased by the added weight of the kittens and the fact that pregnant cats tend to move around less.
- Nesting Behaviors: Much later in the pregnancy, your kitty may start to display nesting behaviors. This is where your feline finds somewhere safe to have her kittens, such as a dark cupboard safely tucked away from harm.
- Morning Sickness: Like humans, cats also suffer from morning sickness, so don’t be surprised if your cat starts vomiting in the mornings. This can be an early indicator of pregnancy in your feline and may also cause her to lose her appetite.
- Enlarged Pink Nipples: As quickly as two weeks after a successful mating, your kitty’s nipples may start to become noticeably pink and enlarged. This is known as “pinking” and happens as your feline’s body is getting ready to produce milk for the kittens.
- Enlarged Abdomen: In most cats, you can clearly see the stomach becoming enlarged as the pregnancy progresses and the unborn kittens need more space. The bigger your kitty’s litter, the larger her abdomen will get.
- Behavioral Changes: Mood swings are very common when a feline is pregnant, so don’t be shocked if your cat goes from affectionate to withdrawn for seemingly no reason. The changes in your cat’s hormone levels cause this unusual behavior.
Even if you are 100% sure that your feline is pregnant, I would still go to the vet for an official diagnosis. While at the scan, your vet can give you added information about your cat’s pregnancy and talk to you about any potential issues. This is especially true for a young feline, as it can be dangerous for a kitten to get pregnant.
If your kitty is pregnant, keep an eye out for pre-labor signs in cats toward the end of the pregnancy. This way, you can have everything prepared for the new kittens in plenty of time.
How To Stop a Cat From Falling Pregnant?
Having to deal with a pregnant kitty definitely has its drawbacks. Not only is there a chance of complications and the matter of finding homes for the kittens, but the vet bills can also quickly stack up. If you want to avoid this and prevent your cat from falling pregnant, this section is for you!
One of the good things about cats is that they can only become pregnant when in heat, so isolating your feline from any toms at this time can be effective in stopping unplanned pregnancies. These heat cycles last a few days every few weeks throughout the mating season (usually February to August).
It’s worth noting here that male cats go into heat at 6 to 12 months of age and never go out of it, so they won’t show any signs of a heat cycle. After reaching sexual maturity, they’re constantly looking for an active female to breed with! However, if your cat is female and shows any of the following symptoms, it is very likely that she is in heat and can become pregnant.
- Excessive yowling, meowing and crying
- Increased affection
- Frequent attempts to get outside
- Rubbing against you and the things in your home
- Spraying around the house
- Excessive grooming
- Posing with her hindquarters raised
Although keeping your feline isolated during her heat cycles can be an effective way of stopping pregnancy, I suggest you get your kitty neutered instead. Cats can have sexual intercourse often within a short period, so even a quick escape could result in an unplanned litter with multiple dads.
If your kitty is already pregnant and you want to prevent it from happening again, I would get her spayed as soon as possible after the kittens are born; cats can get pregnant while nursing, so if you don’t keep a close eye on your pet, you could end up with another litter to care for as well!
Thankfully, it’s never too late to neuter a cat. However, if you neuter a cat too early, it does come with added risk, so I recommend you speak to your vet before making your final decision. The ideal age for neutering is usually 4 to 5 months old.
My Final Thoughts
So, how many times does a cat have to mate to get pregnant? Believe it or not, a feline can fall pregnant after just mating once! This is because cats are induced ovulators: they only release an egg from their ovaries after their vulva has been stimulated by a male’s penis. However, she typically must mate 3 to 4 times before mating is successful.
If you’re trying to breed your kitty and want to know if her mating was successful, there are several signs you can look out for. These include increased affection and appetite, morning sickness, and an early end to your cat’s heat cycles.
On the other hand, keeping your feline isolated from males during her heat cycles is a good way to prevent pregnancies. However, this method isn’t foolproof, as a cat can mate multiple times within a short period if she manages to escape. As an alternative, I suggest you get your kitty neutered.
Leave a Reply