If you are a cat owner, then it is a good idea to be aware of cat pregnancy signs and symptoms. Not only is it typical for a cat to become pregnant when you’re least expected, but sometimes your kitty may be showing one or two of these signs for different reasons without actually being impregnated.  For this reason, it is crucial that you know specific symptoms to look for in order to be certain when you are diagnosing your cat.

Here are signs to look for when you think your cat is pregnant:

• Nipples Change Color To Pink
  The first and most prominent sign is your cat’s nipples will have changed. A pregnant cat will have pink nipples after she has been pregnant for a few weeks. Once the pink nipples are in effect, you should see a veterinarian right away. You only have about five or six weeks before the kittens arrive.
• Ultra-Affectionate
  If your cat is usually scratchy, loud, and even mean sometimes, all that could be thrown out the window once she has become pregnant. A pregnant cat will typically become quieter and lose interest in other cats, especially any males that might be hanging around. She will no longer have heat cycles so she will not want to go outside either. Instead, she’ll want to spend more time with you and will likely be extra cuddly.
• Obvious Weight Gain
  It’s obvious that you’ll see a weight gain when your cat is pregnant, but can you tell in the earl stages? Well, in the very beginning, your cat may not look pregnant, if you are seeing a bit of extra bulge, then it is one of the surefire signs that she is going to be having kittens. It may be a small change at first but the growth will be rapid as time goes by.
• Wild Appetite
  When a woman is pregnant, she is eating for two. When your cat is pregnant she is eating for 5, six, seven, or eight, so you’re definitely going to see a change in appetite. Of course, this doesn’t mean you increase her daily feedings to eight times the amount! Mixing her regular adult food with some kitten formula should suffice.

While these cat pregnancy signs and symptoms are clear indicators that your cat may be carrying a litter, it is important to take your cat to see a vet. You may also want to prepare yourself for a cute litter of kittens that will be very hard to let go of!

Cats like to be clean and can be seen grooming themselves on a regular basis with their tongue. As a result of bathing themselves with their mouths, sometimes their fur will end up being ingested. Typically, this is pretty harmless, but occasionally, it a hairball can get stuck in the cat’s intestines and form a blockage that can lead to more complications. This is why it is important, and a natural reaction, for cats to cough up hairballs.

If you are concerned about your cat coughing up hairballs, there are a few ways that you can help prevent it from happening, or at least decrease the chances of it recurring often.

• Regular Grooming
  If you can make it a point to groom your cat daily and brush away the bulk of the loose hair, then less hair will end up in your cat’s stomach and you will drastically decrease the chances of your cat ingesting and coughing up hairballs.
• Hairball Diet
  Since coughing up hairballs is a very common issue for cats, there are cat food brands that offer special formulated cat food designed specifically to prevent hairballs. Be sure that the one you choose has ample nutrients though.
• High Fiber Treat
  You can try giving your cat a high fiber treat such as canned pumpkin to prevent him or her from coughing up hairballs.
• Gel Or Butter
  A couple other common remedies is to give your cat a little butter a couple times a week or sometimes a little petroleum-based gel.

It’s important to consult your vet before making any changes to your cat’s diet. Your vet may also have detailed specifics on how to introduce any changes that you might be making.