Phase of pregnancy in the Savannah cat
A Savannah cat’s pregnancy lasts 9 to 10 weeks from 60 to 70 days. They usually give birth around day 63, 64 or 65. Here are the stages of how a seed develops into a Savannah kitten.
Week 1. The entire first week is about seeds finding their way to the eggs, fertilizing them and then traveling to the uterus.
Week 2. The fertilized eggs implant in the uterus and become tiny embryos. It can sometimes happen that we notice that there are already behavioral changes in the mother Savannah cat.
Week 3. At the end of week three (around day 21), the nipples often start to turn pink. The lower nipples start to discolour first. This shows that the cat is pregnant.
Week 4. You often notice that the mother cat is a bit more tired and sleeps a lot more. There are cats who may feel less well and may vomit because they suffer from (morning) nausea.
Week 5. The babies are now the size of a walnut. All the food that the mother cat now eats goes directly to the kitten. An experienced person, such as an experienced breeder/veterinarian, can now feel the kitten to see how many there are, although this always remains a guess. The mother cat’s belly is now also starting to grow.
Week 6. Mother cat will start eating significantly more. She can now be switched to higher protein food, such as kitten food. The kittens now look like little… kittens. Mother cat starts washing (brushing) more often. The nipples start to swell more and they often sleep extra. But she will also look around for safe places where she can give birth quietly and raise her kittens.
Week 7. You can now clearly see that she is pregnant. It is now possible that you can feel the kitten moving. You will notice that the mother cat often becomes more affectionate.
Week 8. The shape of the kitten can now be clearly felt if you touch the belly very carefully. You can now clearly see them moving. During this period it is possible that the cat is less hungry and eats less because there is less space in the stomach. She will also look in the house for safe birthing places. The maternity room has now been prepared so that the mother cat can see whether she also thinks it is a suitable place to take care of her little ones.
In this phase it is also possible to take a pregnancy photo, but we never do this, as we find the burden on the mother cat to be too great.
The sleepless nights are about to begin for us. From now on we will keep an eye on mother cat day and night. This means that the expectant mother is regularly checked during the night to see whether everything is in order.
Week 9. Some milk may already come out of the nipples when you squeeze them slowly. Some cats lose a dark brown discharge from the vulva 2 to 3 days before giving birth. If they continue to act normally, there is no reason to panic.
The birth can approach at any moment, we keep the mother cat is now being monitored extra closely, even during the night hours. Purely because experience has shown that most births occur at night. Everything is ready for the birth, including the delivery box and the most important telephone numbers of the veterinary practices on duty in case of an emergency.
Week 10. Maybe you are still waiting for the birth. If no kittens have been born by the end of week 10, it is important to contact the vet.
Do you want to know when a Savannah cat could give birth? We have had the pregnancy calculator developed for this purpose.
