Pet Pregnancy - On the Verge of Giving Birth

As human beings, mammals in nature, you probably know how a mother gives birth to their babies. You have seen it acted on movies or in rare circumstances, witnessed a mother giving birth somewhere not in the hospital. Before the baby goes out, mothers suffer from great contractions giving them excruciating pains. Labor pains are a strenuous and very exhausting work of pregnant women. However, giving birth to pregnant dogs or cats is not as famous as a woman giving birth. Whether the pregnancy is planned or not, pet owners are expected to take a delicate care of their pregnant pets.

Pet Pregnancy

Pregnant pets don’t gain weight or crave for weird foods like humans do and they definitely don’t prepare themselves on giving birth. However, you can tell that they’re pregnant and although they don’t need much of your help, still you can do something to make their pregnancy more comfortable and easy. You will know when your pet is going to give birth by observing her attitude and behavior.

Pregnant pets are less active, want to be left alone and have a high appetite when her day is near. Dogs usually give birth after 58-68 days after conception while cats give birth between 60-68 days. During this time span, do not give your pets their vitamins. Although this goes beyond the norm, it is a fact.

Pet Vitamins

Giving your pregnant pets their dosage of vitamins prevents them to extract calcium from their bones after they give birth and this is fatal that can lead to hypocalcaemia which results to muscular pains and seizures. What you should do is to switch her diet to a good quality puppy food in the second month of her pregnancy. This will prepare and provide her body the extra calories she needs for the big day.

Predicting exactly the date your pet will give birth is also easy. You just have to record her temperature prior to her due date. The normal rectal temperature of a pregnant animal is 100F to 102.5F. A day before giving birth, her temperature should drop a few degrees; and that’s a sign of your long night ahead.

When you already suspect that your pet is going to blow tonight, then you should already prepare a place in which she could give birth. A child’s wading pool makes a good whelping box. You could line it with papers and towels cleaned as needed and place it in a dry and quite spot. Actual birthing usually starts at 10 o’clock in the evening and you’ll know if labor stage is commencing out if the discharge is deep, greenish black in color.

This means that there has been a placental detachment and the puppies are on its way out. Pushing usually takes out for several minutes or even hours. The puppies or kittens are nearly out when the mother starts licking her vulva. It will swell open and the youngsters, on their heads or tails goes out. Let the mother lick them and cut them loose from the amniotic sac and allow the fluid to be released. However, if they don’t, you must have to do it yourself.

Most of the time, pregnant cats or dogs do not need assistance in giving birth. Instincts will tell her what she would do and what needs to be done. However, some pets prefer to be left alone during this time of their life. One thing to be considered is that pets giving birth are a serious phenomenon and not a clown show. Children and strangers watching the pets give birth could upset them and impede the labor. After giving birth, a visit to your veterinarian will help in checking that the mother and puppies are healthy and having an ASDA pet insurance covers nursing care and even popular medicines.