Cat Mating Season: Heat Cycle, Timing, Positions, Pregnancy, Costs & Kitten Care

What Is Cat Mating and How Does It Work?

Responsible Cat Breeding

Cat breeding is the planned reproduction of an intact male and an intact female cat. Responsible cat breeding means the pairing is decided before the cats ever meet, based on health screening, genetics, temperament and the ability to fund veterinary care for the litter.

A mating that produces kittens is not automatically a successful breeding. The measure of success is a healthy queen, healthy kittens and homes prepared in advance.

How Cat Breeding Works

Breeding cats follows a predictable biological sequence: the queen cycles into heat, she becomes receptive, mating stimulates ovulation, fertilization occurs, and gestation runs roughly nine weeks. Each stage has its own decision points and its own failure modes.

Queen vs Tom

A queen is an intact adult female cat. A tom (or stud) is an intact adult male. Both terms appear throughout veterinary reproductive literature, and both cats carry equal responsibility in a breeding program — fertility, infectious disease and inherited conditions are not a female-only concern.

Feline Reproduction

Feline reproduction differs sharply from canine reproduction. Cats are seasonally polyestrous, meaning they cycle repeatedly through the longer-daylight months, and they can return to heat within one to three weeks if they do not conceive. Dogs, by contrast, cycle roughly twice a year and ovulate spontaneously.

Induced Ovulation

Queens are induced ovulators. The physical act of mating stimulates a hormonal cascade that triggers the release of eggs. A single mating may not provide enough stimulation, which is exactly why experienced breeders allow several matings across a couple of days.

This one fact explains most of the practical rules further down this page: why timing matters, why repeated matings are recommended, and why one litter can have kittens from more than one father.

Before Mating Your Cat: Health and Genetic Testing Checklist

Health Examination

Both cats should have a pre-breeding physical examination. Your veterinarian assesses body condition, dentition, heart and lung sounds, abdominal palpation and reproductive anatomy. Poor body condition alone is a reason to postpone.

FeLV Testing

Feline leukemia virus can be transmitted between cats and passed to kittens. Test both cats when status is unknown or when either cat has had outside exposure, and follow your veterinarian’s advice on confirmatory testing.

FIV Testing

Feline immunodeficiency virus screening is standard before intentional breeding, particularly for a stud cat that services multiple queens. Discuss interpretation with your vet, since vaccination history can affect some test results.

Genetic Testing

For pedigreed cats, run breed-appropriate DNA screening where a validated test exists. A home DNA panel is a screening tool with a defined test scope, not a guarantee that a cat is free of every inherited disease.

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HCM Screening

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common feline heart disease and is over-represented in several popular breeds, including Maine Coons and Ragdolls. Genetic testing exists for specific mutations, but echocardiographic screening by a cardiologist remains the clinical standard for breeding lines.

Cardiac Examination

A normal auscultation does not rule out HCM. Many affected cats have no murmur. If you are breeding a predisposed breed, budget for echocardiography on a schedule your veterinarian recommends.

Reproductive Examination

Queens should be evaluated for uterine or ovarian abnormalities before a first breeding, and again after any failed breeding cycle. Toms should be assessed for testicular symmetry, prepuce and penile spines, and any history of urinary disease.

Choosing Healthy Breeding Cats

Prioritize, in order: freedom from serious inherited disease, sound temperament, good body condition and only then appearance or pedigree points. Temperament is heritable and shows up in every kitten you place.

Avoiding Inbreeding

Track coefficient of inbreeding across at least five generations. Repeated close pairings concentrate deleterious recessives, reduce litter size and increase neonatal mortality. Outcrossing within the breed standard is safer than line-breeding for small home breeders.

Cat Heat Cycle: How to Know When Your Cat Is Ready to Mate

What Is the Cat Heat Cycle?

The feline heat cycle is the recurring hormonal cycle that makes a queen receptive to mating. It is driven by daylight length, so indoor cats under artificial light can cycle almost year-round in the USA.

When Cats Go Into Heat

Queens can first cycle somewhere between four and twelve months of age depending on breed, season and body weight. Oriental breeds tend to be earlier; large slow-maturing breeds tend to be later.

How Long Heat Lasts

An individual heat commonly lasts around a week, though several days to about two weeks is within normal range. If she is not bred, she typically returns to heat within one to three weeks.

Signs of Heat

• Loud, persistent, almost yowling vocalization, often worse at night
• Sudden extreme affection, rubbing on furniture, ankles and floors
• Rolling on the floor and restlessness
• Lordosis: crouching front-down with hindquarters raised when stroked over the back
• Treading with the hind feet and moving the tail to one side
• Increased attempts to escape outdoors

Does a Cat Bleed During Heat?

Generally no. Unlike dogs, queens do not usually have visible vaginal bleeding during estrus. Blood is not a normal heat sign in cats and warrants a veterinary examination.

Cat Heat Cycle Stages

When Is the Best Time to Mate a Cat?

Best Time to Mate

Breed when the queen is clearly in full estrus, showing lordosis and treading reliably when handled. Guessing from a calendar is far less accurate than reading behavior.

Best Day of Heat

Most breeders introduce the queen to the tom on roughly the second or third day of visible receptive behavior, then allow matings over the following two to three days.

When a Queen Is Fertile

Fertility peaks during estrus, and ovulation follows mating by roughly 24–50 hours. That delay is exactly why matings spread across multiple days improve conception odds.

How Many Times Cats Should Mate

Veterinary references commonly advise multiple breedings across about 2–3 days, with the pair separated and rested between attempts. More stimulation generally means a more reliable ovulatory response.

Can One Mating Cause Pregnancy?

Yes, one mating can produce pregnancy, but it is less reliable and can result in fewer eggs released and a smaller litter. Plan for repeated matings rather than relying on a single event.

How Cats Mate: The Cat Mating Process Step by Step

Step 1: Introducing Queen and Tom

Take the queen to the tom whenever possible. Males breed more confidently on familiar ground, and moving the male often suppresses his performance. Give her a settling-in period with her own litter box, food and hiding space.

Step 2: Courtship

The tom vocalizes, approaches, sniffs the queen’s perineal area and may chirrup at her. A receptive queen rolls, treads and presents. Courtship can take minutes or several hours.

Step 3: Receptive Behavior

Receptivity is unmistakable: forequarters down, hindquarters raised, tail deviated, hind feet treading. If she swats, hisses or flees consistently, she is not ready. Separate and retry later.

Step 4: Mounting

The tom grips the loose skin of the queen’s neck — the neck grip is normal restraint behavior, not aggression — and positions himself over her.

Step 5: Copulation

Intromission and ejaculation are brief, usually a matter of seconds. The male’s penile spines stimulate the vaginal wall, which is the trigger for the ovulation cascade.

Step 6: Post-Mating Behavior

The queen typically emits a sharp cry, twists away, may swipe at the tom, then rolls vigorously and grooms her genital area for several minutes. This “after-reaction” is expected and is not evidence of injury.

Step 7: Multiple Matings

After the roll-and-groom phase, she will often accept the tom again within 15–30 minutes. Allowing several matings per day over two to three days is standard practice.

Step 8: Rest Between Matings

Separate the pair between sessions. Continuous access exhausts both cats, increases fighting risk and does not improve conception rates.

Step 9: Pregnancy Confirmation

Book a veterinary check for roughly 21–30 days after the first mating. Do not diagnose pregnancy at home from behavior alone.

How to Mate Cats Responsibly

Breeding Cats for the First Time

Find a mentor breeder in your breed before your first pairing. Registered US breed clubs and cat associations maintain mentor programs, and an experienced eye during your first queening is worth more than any product you can buy.

Choosing a Queen

A breeding queen should be fully physically mature, in excellent body condition, screened for the diseases relevant to her breed and confident enough to raise kittens without chronic stress.

Choosing a Tom

Select for what your queen lacks. Verify current FeLV/FIV status, genetic screening and cardiac clearance, and read the stud contract before shipping your queen anywhere.

Appropriate Breeding Age

Sexual maturity arrives long before physical maturity. A queen may be capable of pregnancy at six months and still be an inappropriate candidate. Most responsible programs wait until the queen is fully grown and has passed her health screening, with the exact age decided by a veterinarian.

Breeding Frequency

Space litters so the queen fully recovers body condition and coat between pregnancies, and retire her well before she becomes a reproductive risk. Many breed clubs cap the number of litters per year and per lifetime.

Reducing Stress

Keep breeding, pregnancy and queening areas quiet, warm, low-traffic and predictable. Pheromone support and a stable routine reduce stress-driven breeding failures in multi-cat homes.

🐱 See Cat Calming Pheromone Options →

Preventing Inbreeding

Keep written pedigrees, calculate inbreeding coefficients and refuse pairings that repeat the same ancestor on both sides within recent generations.

When Not to Breed

Any cat with unresolved illness, unknown infectious status, serious inherited disease, poor body condition or a fearful, unstable temperament should not be bred. See the full section below.

Male Cat Mating: Tom Cat Health and Fertility

Stud Cat Health

A working stud needs excellent nutrition, parasite control, current vaccination and regular veterinary examinations. Stud cats also need dedicated, easy-to-clean housing because intact males spray.

Male Cat Fertility

Signs of a fertile, breeding-ready tom include obvious interest in queens in heat, symmetrical descended testicles, developed penile spines and confident, efficient mating behavior.

Fertility Testing

Where matings repeatedly fail, a veterinarian can evaluate semen quality, hormone levels and testicular ultrasound. Heat stress, fever, obesity and recent illness can all suppress fertility temporarily.

FeLV/FIV Testing

A stud that services outside queens should be retested on a schedule agreed with your vet, since he represents the biggest infectious-disease exposure point in any small breeding program.

Genetic Testing

Screen the tom to the same standard as the queen. A single unscreened stud can spread a recessive mutation through dozens of kittens.

Breeding Frequency

A healthy mature tom can breed frequently, but continuous service without rest reduces sperm quality and body condition. Monitor weight weekly during heavy seasons.

Stud Cat Retirement

Retire and neuter a stud once fertility declines, health changes or the program no longer needs his lines. Retired studs settle far better as neutered household pets.

How to Tell if Your Cat Is Pregnant

Early Pregnancy Signs

The classic early sign is “pinking up”: nipples become enlarged and rosier at roughly 15–18 days. Appetite often increases, and many queens become calmer and more affectionate.

Pregnancy Symptoms After Mating

She stops returning to heat, gains weight steadily from around week four, and the abdomen becomes visibly rounded by weeks five to six. Some queens have brief early nausea.

How Soon Pregnancy Can Be Detected

Abdominal palpation by an experienced veterinarian can detect fetal units from about day 21–30. A feline relaxin blood test can become positive from roughly day 20–25 after fertilization.

False Pregnancy

A queen that ovulates without conceiving can enter a pseudopregnancy of roughly 40 days, with mild nipple and behavior changes but no kittens. Only imaging or a relaxin test distinguishes it reliably.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound from about day 21–25 confirms pregnancy and fetal heartbeats, and is the best tool for assessing viability. It is poor at counting kittens accurately.

X-Ray

Radiographs after roughly day 42–45, once fetal skeletons mineralize, give the most reliable kitten count. Knowing the number before labor is genuinely useful for spotting a retained kitten.

Veterinary Pregnancy Confirmation

Home pregnancy kits for cats are not reliable. Confirmation should be veterinary. If your regular clinic has no appointment available, an online vet can help you triage and plan the visit.

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How Long Are Cats Pregnant?

Cat Gestation Period

Feline gestation typically runs about 60–65 days from conception, with the commonly quoted range spanning roughly 58 to 70 days.

Average Pregnancy Length

Most queens deliver around day 63–65. Delivery before day 58 raises real concerns about kitten viability; going past day 68 without labor warrants a same-day veterinary call.

Does Pregnancy Start on the Mating Date?

Not exactly. Ovulation follows mating by roughly a day or two, and matings often span several days, so the breeding date is an estimate rather than a fixed conception date.

Due Date

Take the first observed mating, add 63 days, and treat the result as the center of a window rather than a deadline. Have your queening setup complete by day 55.

Cat Pregnancy Calculator

Cat Pregnancy Week by Week

Week 1: Fertilization

Ovulation follows mating, eggs are fertilized in the oviducts and early embryos begin dividing. Nothing is visible externally.

Week 2: Embryo Development

Embryos travel toward the uterus. Continue normal adult maintenance feeding and avoid unnecessary medications.

Week 3: Implantation

Embryos implant in the uterine wall around days 12–16, and nipples may pink up toward the end of this week.

Week 4: Pregnancy Confirmation

Palpation and ultrasound become reliable. Book the confirmation visit and discuss deworming and vaccination timing with your vet.

Week 5: Rapid Development

Organs form, fetuses grow quickly, and appetite climbs. Begin the transition toward a growth or gestation diet.

Week 6: Fetal Growth

Abdominal enlargement becomes obvious and fetal movement may be felt. Feed multiple smaller meals as stomach capacity shrinks.

Week 7: Preparing for Birth

Skeletons mineralize, so radiographs can now count kittens. Introduce the queening box so she treats it as her own space.

Week 8: Final Preparation

Nesting behavior appears, appetite may fluctuate, and mammary development becomes pronounced. Assemble the birthing kit and confirm the emergency clinic’s hours.

Week 9: Labor and Kittens

Rectal temperature often drops below about 99°F in the final 24 hours, appetite may stop, and restlessness increases. Labor is imminent.

Pregnant Cat Care: Food, Nutrition and Veterinary Care

What Pregnant Cats Should Eat

Feed a complete, balanced diet formulated for growth and reproduction. Homemade diets during pregnancy are risky unless formulated by a veterinary nutritionist.

Kitten Food During Pregnancy

Yes — a quality kitten or all-life-stages food is the standard recommendation from roughly the fourth week of pregnancy through weaning, because it is denser in calories, protein and calcium.

Feeding Amounts

Intake usually rises steadily to roughly 1.5 times maintenance by late pregnancy, and can double or more during peak lactation. Feed to body condition, not to a fixed cup measurement.

Water

Pregnant and nursing queens drink substantially more. Provide multiple wide, clean water sources away from the litter box; many cats drink more from moving water.

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Supplements

Do not add supplements routinely. A complete diet already meets requirements, and unnecessary supplementation can unbalance it.

Calcium

Calcium supplementation during pregnancy is specifically discouraged without veterinary direction, because it can suppress the hormonal control of calcium and contribute to eclampsia after birth.

DHA and Omega-3

Reproduction-formulated diets typically already contain DHA for fetal neurological development. Add nothing further without asking your vet.

Exercise

Normal gentle play is fine and helps maintain condition. Restrict high jumps and rough play in the final two weeks.

Medications

Many routine products, including some flea and worming treatments, are not licensed for pregnancy. Check every product with your veterinarian first.

Vaccines

Modified-live vaccines are generally avoided in pregnancy. Vaccinate before breeding so the queen passes strong maternal antibodies in colostrum.

Deworming

Roundworm transmission through milk is common, so most vets recommend a pregnancy-safe deworming protocol in late gestation, then treating the kittens on schedule.

Veterinary Care

Plan at minimum a pre-breeding exam, a pregnancy confirmation visit around week four and a late-pregnancy check around week seven or eight. Also read our cat dental health guide, since dental pain suppresses appetite exactly when a queen needs calories most.

Preparing for Cat Birth: Queening and Whelping

What Is Queening?

Queening is the feline term for giving birth. “Whelping” is the canine equivalent and is not the correct term for cats, although many owners search for it.

Signs of Labor

• Temperature drop below roughly 99°F in the last day
• Refusing food, restlessness, pacing
• Intensive nesting and repeated trips to the queening box
• Excessive grooming of the genital area
• Increased vocalization and visible abdominal contractions

Preparing the Queening Box

Use a box roughly one and a half times her body length, with sides low enough for her to step over and high enough to keep kittens inside. Line it with washable bedding topped with disposable pads, and place it in a warm, dark, quiet room she already likes.

Cat Birthing Kit

• Digital gram scale and a weight log
• Clean towels and disposable pads
• Non-serrated blunt scissors and unwaxed dental floss for cord ties
• Bulb syringe, examination gloves, antiseptic
• Heat source such as a covered heat pad set to low, with an unheated escape area
• Kitten milk replacer and feeding bottles for emergencies only
• Emergency clinic number written on the box itself

Preparing the Home

Close off crawl spaces and furniture voids, secure other pets away from the queening room and set a room temperature around 72–75°F for the first weeks.

Labor Preparation

Twice-daily temperature checks from day 58 give you the earliest reliable warning. Keep a car ready and know the route to your emergency clinic before you need it.

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Stages of Cat Labor and Giving Birth

Stage 1

Uterine contractions begin without visible straining. The queen is restless, panting, purring loudly and nesting. This stage commonly lasts 6–12 hours and can extend to 24 hours in first-time queens.

Stage 2

Active straining and delivery. Each kitten usually arrives within 30–60 minutes of strong contractions starting for that kitten.

Stage 3

Delivery of the placenta, typically within about 15 minutes of each kitten. Stages 2 and 3 alternate through the litter.

Delivery of Kittens

The queen normally tears the sac, clears the airway, chews the cord and licks vigorously to stimulate breathing. Intervene only if she does not, and count placentas as you go.

Delivery of Placenta

A retained placenta can cause infection. If the count does not match the kitten count by the end of labor, call your veterinarian.

Time Between Kittens

Ten minutes to about an hour is typical. Some queens pause for up to two hours between kittens without active straining, which can be normal — but active straining with no kitten is not.

Cat Birth Emergencies: When to Call a Veterinarian

Difficult Labor

Dystocia is more common in brachycephalic and large-headed breeds and in very young or overweight queens. Know your breed’s risk before you breed.

Emergency C-Section

A caesarean is the most expensive unpredictable event in cat breeding, and it typically happens overnight or on a weekend. If you cannot fund one, you are not financially ready to breed.

Newborn Kitten Care: The First 8 Weeks

First 24 Hours

Confirm every kitten is breathing, nursing and warm. Weigh each one at birth and identify them individually with colored collars or a photo log.

Nursing and Colostrum

Colostrum in the first 12–24 hours delivers the maternal antibodies that protect kittens for weeks. A kitten that misses colostrum needs veterinary advice.

Kitten Weight

Kittens usually weigh about 90–110 g at birth and should gain roughly 10–15 g every day. A kitten that fails to gain for 24 hours, or loses weight, is an urgent problem.

Temperature

Neonates cannot regulate body temperature. Never feed a chilled kitten — warm it slowly first, then feed.

Development

Eyes open around days 7–14, ears unfold in the second week, wobbly walking begins around week three, and play and litter-box use follow in weeks four and five.

Weaning

Introduce a wet gruel around weeks 4–5 and complete weaning by roughly week 7–8, letting the queen taper naturally.

Deworming

Most protocols start deworming at around 2–3 weeks and repeat every two weeks under veterinary direction.

Vaccination

Core kitten vaccines typically begin at 6–8 weeks and repeat every 3–4 weeks until about 16–20 weeks of age.

Socialization

Weeks 2–7 are the critical socialization window. Gentle daily handling, varied surfaces, household sounds and calm dog exposure now shape adult confidence. If a dog shares the home, follow our cat and dog introduction plan.

Leaving the Mother

Kittens should stay with the queen and littermates until at least 12 weeks in most US breed programs. Early separation is linked to lasting behavior problems.

Cat Mating Supplies: What Do You Need?

Best Products for Pregnant and Nursing Cats

Nutrition note: feed a complete growth/reproduction diet rather than stacking supplements. Discuss any probiotic, omega or calcium product with your veterinarian before giving it to a pregnant or nursing queen.

Cat Mating Costs

There is no single US price. Fees vary by state, clinic, breed and whether anything goes wrong. Budget by category, and budget for the worst night, not the best.

Is Cat Breeding Profitable?

For most small home breeders, honestly, no. Once screening, stud fees, veterinary care, quality food, registration and a single emergency are counted, a well-run program usually breaks even at best. Breed because you want to improve a breed and place healthy kittens, not as an income strategy.

Cat Mating Checklist

Before Breeding

• Mentor identified, pedigrees reviewed, inbreeding coefficient checked
• Emergency clinic and C-section budget confirmed
• Homes and a take-back policy planned

Queen Checklist

• Physical exam passed, ideal body condition
• FeLV/FIV status known, vaccines current before pregnancy
• Breed-specific genetic and cardiac screening complete

Tom Checklist

• Exam, infectious-disease testing and genetic screening complete
• Suitable, easy-clean stud housing
• Written stud contract

Mating Checklist

• Queen in confirmed estrus, taken to the tom
• Multiple matings over 2–3 days with rest periods
• Dates logged for due-date calculation

Pregnancy Checklist

• Confirmation at week four
• Growth/reproduction diet from week four
• Radiograph kitten count after day 45

Labor Checklist

• Queening box in place by day 55
• Twice-daily temperature from day 58
• Birthing kit assembled, emergency number posted

Kitten Checklist

• Daily weights logged for the first three weeks
• Deworming from 2–3 weeks, vaccines from 6–8 weeks
• Socialization weeks 2–7; placement no earlier than 12 weeks

When Should You NOT Mate a Cat?

• Hereditary disease: known heritable conditions in the cat or close relatives
• Infectious disease: FeLV or FIV positive, or unknown status with exposure risk
• Genetic conditions: positive for a serious mutation without a safe pairing strategy
• Poor body condition: underweight, obese or recovering from illness
• Reproductive problems: prior dystocia, uterine disease or repeated failed pregnancies
• Age: not yet physically mature, or an older queen past safe reproductive years
• Temperament: fearful, chronically stressed or aggressive cats
• No budget: unable to fund an emergency caesarean or neonatal intensive care

If your cat is not part of a planned breeding program, spaying or neutering prevents unwanted litters, roaming, spraying and several reproductive cancers.

Cat Mating Problems and Common Questions

Why Won’t My Cats Mate?

The usual causes are wrong timing, an unfamiliar environment for the tom, an inexperienced male, stress, or a queen who is not truly in estrus.

Why Does the Queen Reject the Tom?

She is either not receptive yet, intimidated by the male, or unsettled by the location. Separate, give her 24 hours to settle, and retry.

Why Is My Cat Still in Heat After Mating?

Mating may not have triggered ovulation, so estrus continues. Additional matings during the same heat often resolve it.

Can Cats Mate Without Pregnancy?

Yes. Mating without ovulation, or ovulation without fertilization, both happen, and the latter can produce a false pregnancy.

Can One Litter Have Multiple Fathers?

Yes. Superfecundation is well documented in cats, so a single litter can contain kittens sired by different toms.

Can Cats Get Pregnant on First Heat?

Physically yes, which is exactly why it is not a plan. A first-heat pregnancy in an immature queen raises the risk of complications.

Why Does a Cat Cry After Mating?

The post-mating cry is a recognized reflex response linked to the male’s penile spines stimulating the vaginal wall. It is expected behavior, not proof of injury.

Why Does a Cat Roll After Mating?

Rolling and grooming form part of the normal after-reaction and typically last a few minutes before she will accept another mating.

Preventing Unwanted Pregnancy

Keep intact cats separated during heat, keep queens strictly indoors, and spay or neuter cats not in a breeding program.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cat Mating

How do cats mate?

The tom grips the queen’s neck, mounts and copulates briefly; the queen then cries out, rolls and grooms. Mating stimulates ovulation, which is why several matings are recommended.

How long does cat mating take?

Copulation itself usually lasts only seconds, although courtship beforehand can take much longer.

How many times should cats mate?

Veterinary references commonly advise multiple matings across roughly 2–3 days with rest between sessions, because queens are induced ovulators.

How soon can pregnancy be detected?

Ultrasound and palpation from about day 21–30; a relaxin blood test can be positive from roughly day 20–25 after fertilization.

How long are cats pregnant?

Typically about 60–65 days, with a normal range of roughly 58–70 days.

What should a pregnant cat eat?

A complete kitten or growth/reproduction diet from about week four through weaning, fed in several small meals, without routine calcium supplementation.

When does cat labor start?

Usually within 24 hours of a rectal temperature drop below about 99°F, alongside nesting, restlessness and loss of appetite.

How long does cat labor last?

Stage one commonly runs 6–12 hours, and active delivery of the whole litter typically completes within about 6 hours.

How long between kittens is normal?

Ten minutes to an hour is typical. Active straining for 20–30 minutes with no kitten is an emergency.

How much does cat breeding cost?

Costs vary widely by state and breed, but a realistic budget must cover screening, stud fee, pregnancy care, kitten care and a potential emergency caesarean.

When can kittens leave their mother?

Most responsible US programs place kittens no earlier than 12 weeks, after weaning, initial vaccines and full socialization.

Cat Pregnancy, Breeding and Kitten Tools

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About the Author

Written by the editorial team at Happy Cat at Home, a US cat-care publication focused on evidence-based, vet-reviewed guidance for indoor cat owners and small home breeders. Veterinary details in this guide were checked against current Merck Veterinary Manual and Cornell Feline Health Center resources available in 2026. Learn more about our editorial process.