How many cats can a cat have?

The cats have a reputation for being able to reproduce at a dizzying speed, so in this article, we will explain what is true in this belief, for which it is necessary to take into account How many cats can a cat have?.

And, as always when we talk about reproduction, we must bear in mind that, at present, we are witnessing an overpopulation of cats, with more animals than available homes, which leads to situations of neglect and abuse that we can avoid with sterilization.

The reproduction of the cats

In the heat of the cats the amount of light influences, with what, since the cold ends until it starts again, it is possible that our cat is fertile, considering that they can reach sexual maturity at the early age of 5-6 months. When a cat comes into heat, it is common to experience symptoms such as insistent meowing, rubbing or nervousness. This situation can last several weeks and, if fertilization does not occur, the cat will repeat the zeal until the arrival of the cold.

As the gestation of the cats lasts about 60 days, it is possible that each cat stops 2-3 litters per year. How many cats can the cat have in each of them? There is no fixed number, but the average would be about 4-5.

Find out everything about the zeal in cats in this article.

How many cats can a cat have a year?

More than how many cats a cat can have in each litter, we should look at the number of litters that she could give birth each year, which we have already said can vary between 2-3. With this data, if we want to know how many cats a cat can have per year, we must multiply at least four kittens for two litters, that is, our cat could have 8 annual hatchlings but, if we look at the highest figures, this number could become 15, if we multiply 5 kittens by 3 litters that are possible each year.

Therefore, any cat could be giving birth between 8-15 kittens every season of heat from the beginning of his reproductive cycle to practically the end of his life. If we have the doubt of How many cats can a new cat have? we should know that the same as a cat in second or successive pregnancies.

Thus, we can make an approximate calculation of how many cats a cat can have in all its life, for what we will multiply the number of kittens that we have established annually for each cat for the years of life, that we could establish between 12-14, since the cats are usually fertile practically until the end of their life. Thus, a single cat could calve between 96-210 cats and, if these are not sterilized, this figure will increase exponentially with each new generation.

The importance of sterilization

As we see, it is true that the reproductive capacity of the cats is considerable. Due to this, at present we find a large number of cats that lack a home and, although they are animals capable of surviving without human help, cats in the street live surrounded by dangers such as abuses, poisonings, fights but also diseases that can cause death such as rhinotracheitis, immunodeficiency or feline leukemia. In addition, they must endure inclement weather and it is common for them to go hungry. For all these reasons, their quality and life expectancy is reduced.

Given this situation, as cat lovers, we must become aware of this problem and opt for the sterilization of our cat, either male or female. It is a simple operation that prevents the birth of new litters. We may be able to find responsible homes for 4-8 kittens, but it is impossible to do so for 200. In addition, sterilization often ends undesirable behavior such as marking and provides health benefits such as the inability to develop a pyometra (among other advantages of sterilizing a cat). It can be done before the first heat. Our veterinarian will give us all the information.

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