Obstetric information for Maine Coon cats

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Maine Coon kitten whose name is Ben in Lithuania
Maine Coon kitten whose name is 'Ben' born in Lithuania. Photo: the breeder but I have forgotten her name.

A study carried out in Poland provides anyone who is interested with some useful information about Maine Coon obstetrics. The scientists collected information from 52 litters from different households using a questionnaire. Here's the information:

  • The overall length of pregnancy i.e. gestation was 65.5 days plus or minus 1.32 days;
  • The shorter the pregnancy the larger the litter size;
  • Kittens born alive had an overall mean weight of 119.6 g;
  • Kittens born alive were heavier when pregnancy was longer;
  • The weight of kittens decreased with larger litter sizes;
  • 12.5% of kittens were stillborn;
  • "The expulsion intervals varied widely". I take this to mean that the time between delivery of each kitten varied widely;
  • In 82.9% of the cats the duration of the first stage of labour was less than two hours;
  • The time between the birth of the first kitten and the last kitten was less than six hours in 99.3% of the cats;
  • In 2 cats this time frame exceeded six hours.

The study is called: "Obstetric and newborn parameters in the Maine Coon cats". The research was conducted at the following institutions:  

  • Department of Animal Reproduction with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 
  • University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 14, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland 2 
  • Department of Small Animal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 
  • Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland. 

The researchers were: P. Socha, R. Lengling, J. Bonecka and T. Janowski.


Location: Warsaw, Poland

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