Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

My cat is pregnant by her brother. What are the risks? How to prepare?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | unspayed

So I am pretty sure my cat is pregnant with her brothers kittens and was wondering if this would cause any problems. He is nutured now. Also what should I do to prepare for the newborn kittens?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 3rd, 2018

The concern with breeding siblings is that it can cause genetic problems to be expressed easier due to recessive genes. Unfortunately you will not know if any problems will exist until the kittens are born. To prepare for kittens, the first thing to do is take Mango into the vet to confirm she is pregnant. The vet may be able to do an ultrasound or x-ray to tell you how many kittens she is carrying, and can help give you an approximate time as to when she may give birth. Normally, cats do not need help giving birth, but when it gets closer to the time she is to give birth, she will need a quiet and dark area to give birth to the kittens. You want her as calm and relaxed as possible. Also make sure there is food, water, and a litter box for her in this area. First off, however, take her into a vet. Best of luck!

Vote icon

9Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello dr. I m very happy to tell you that my tiger is expecting babies for the first time.Her abdomen is visibly hanging and her nipples have grown in size and turned pinkish.I m sending the photo of her nipples. But i m still not sure about the due
Please have a dark quiet area for Tiger to nest in. You can use a box with a blanket or soft towels. She may pick her own place and if it's out of the way let her have them there. Keep her inside if possible so you can monitor her. Often just before birth she will not eat much and hide. Most cats do not have problems so there is no reason for you to do much and it's best not to disturb her. As far as when she is due the gestation time is 59-63 days from when she was bred. Once the kittens are born she may not eat much for a day or so and can have some bloody discharge. Make sure the kittens stay warm and that they are all eating and growing at the same pace. If one gets cold and stops eating they can die. If you find a weak kitten I would feed it extra with kitten milk replacer. Enjoy this time and I hope Tiger has a healthy family. Thanks for using Boop by Petco to help you care for Tiger.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi , my cat that is a longhair dsh has mate with a british short hair and she got pregnant, i am so worried about her giving birth she is 2y and 3.800 kg can she give birth? What kind of tares are there for her and her child’s, what should i do?
Muchikoo should be fine, cats are pretty good at giving birth without intervention. Check out this Boop by Petco article on things to watch out for: https://www.petcoach.co/article/queening-giving-birth-in-cats/
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can sister and brother cat mate and have normal Kittens
It would not be recommended for a brother and sister to mate, since there is a higher risk of genetic problems with such close relatives mating. The kittens from such a mating may be perfectly normal, or they may suffer from birth defects - there is no way to tell until they are born.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
we think our cat is pregnant, her teets are larger and pinker and shes gaining weight around her belly area, im just wondering if we should seek help from a vet clinic due to her only being around 16 months old herself. and if there is anything we ca
Yes, I would have your cat seen by a vet if you suspect she is pregnant. At 16 months old, she is old enough to have her first litter, and cats typically do not need help giving birth. The most important thing you can do for her is set up a nesting area for her in a quiet room away from everyone. Cats prefer to give birth in quiet areas. The vet can do x-rays and/or an ultrasound to confirm she is pregnant and the vet can give you an estimate of how far along she is in her pregnancy and about how many kittens she is carrying.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Help please as I’ve heard & seen many different opinions on this topic.. I think my 6 month old sibling cats have breed.. should I be alarmed? I only just got them from a friend as rescues
A single closely bred litter of kittens is unlikely to carry major genetic defects as long as the parents of the kittens were not also closely bred (which as rescues it may be impossible to know). If you do not intend breeding in the future, I would contact your vets office as soon as possible and they me willing to do an emergency spay operation
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
If my cat is expecting, what is required of me to do? How do i ensure her safety this?
Congratulations! So normal gestation period is around 65 days before expecting kittens. Typically cats go through labor without any need for assistance or c-section: however, you should make her a whelping box (towels, bedding) to have her kittens in, which is usually a nice warm part of the house. Then let nature take its course. Once her rectal temperature drops below 99 degrees F you should expect kittens within 24-48 hrs, and it can take 1-3 days for her to complete the labor process. Monitor honey for any abnormal discharge which would be green or black. Small bloody or clear discharge is normal. Then watch her for signs of labor which includes panting, pacing, restlessness and gen stomach contractions. She should expel the kittens almost immediately after contractions start. I hope you also had imaging (radiographs) done on her so that you know how many kittens to expect. If all goes well you should have kittens any day now. Here is a website link as well with lots more helpf
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
New Pet
Hi.. Hope you are doing well.. My kitty is pregnant.. She will have babies within a few weeks.. How should I take care of her and the kittens?? Can u plz help me with this??
Hello. Make sure your Momma cat has a quiet, safe & secure area to have her kittens, away from noise, other pets, & weather. You can begin feeding her a good kitten food ( dry or canned ) and continue the kitten food up until the kittens are weaned . This will give her extra calories to maintain her pregnancy & provide plenty of rich milk for her kittens. She will probably not leave her babies for the first couple of days, so make sure her litter box, food & water are close by. Good luck & thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My jack Russell/beagle mix is about two. My brothers ex took her brother and brought him to visit. He was in their room and she was in mine but eventually they slipped out, we caught them stuck together, his Weiner was stuck inside of her. This happe
Well it certainly sounds like Jazmyne is pregnant after mating with her brother. You are correct that inbreeding can lead to the expression of recessive genes and potential defects, but you won't know for sure until the puppies are born. You do have some options in this case. First off, I'd recommend taking her into the vet to confirm that she is pregnant. If she is, your options are to spay her now and terminate the pregnancy, or have her give birth to the puppies and spay her afterwards. I do recommend spaying her so that she doesn't get pregnant again accidentally. When you take her into the vet, they can discuss these options with you. Ultimately it's your choice whether or not to continue the pregnancy. I hope this helps.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I need more information for cat pregnancy. She's due any day now. And she hasn't made her nesting place. I've given her many places and spaces, she enjoys my bed sometimes. And I am worried she may not settle to have the kittens or that she would hav
I would recommend to keep her indoors only since she is due to have the kittens any day now. Allow her to have plenty of space away from the other cats so that she can be undisturbed by them for a period of time if she chooses to be. Nesting boxes are great, but ultimately she will choose to whelp wherever she is most comfortable. Clean, quiet areas where she can be away from the other cats is best. I would also recommend to use this time to have the male neutered, so that this does not happen again. Best of luck to your momma-to-be!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My cat is 7months+ and I think she's pregnant. Her tummy is getting bigger and she's pinking up. She's also more affectionate and lazy. She's usually very active and lively and rarely wants attention. I let her out a lot so she's free, and she hangs
7 months although not ideal is not uncommon for kittens to be pregnant and complications are quite rare, I would recommend you arrange a full check up with your vet to confirm she is pregnant and the bloating is not caused by any other issue and to check she is in generally good health before the delivery. I recommend restricting her to indoors and ideally to a quiet room with no through traffic so she can settle in and become comfortable before she has the kittens as the weather is much too cold in the UK now for kittens to be born outside. It is worthwhile feeding kitten food in the last 2 weeks (once milk is developing) to increase calorie intake and energy levels
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Cat Supplies Cat Food Wet Cat Food Cat Health & Wellness Kitten Food Kitten Formula & Milk Replacer Cat Toys Heartworm Prevention for Cats Cat First Aid Cat Medicine Multiple Cats Kittens in the Kitchen KMR Kitten Food Pet Parents Cat Health & Wellness KMR Kitten Formula & Milk Replacer Baby Kitten Food DNA PET Cat Health & Wellness KMR Cat Food CAT by Dr Lisa Cat Health & Wellness Baby Cat Food
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored