Post by HawkShadow on Jun 19, 2013 18:58:28 GMT -6
Hi. So, I'm making a guide. Now, you may think you know how to be realistic when RP-ing a queen or kit. Maybe you do. However, a lot of people don't. So here's a guide for them. 
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, a long tedious process. From the first successful mating, pregnancy lasts 63-69 days. For some breeds, like a Siamese, may have a pregnancy last up to 71 days. Usually, if kits are born before day 58, they will not survive.
It is usually hard to pin-point the day of conception. Cats rarely get pregnant from the first mating. The mating triggers the ovulation, so it usually requires at least two breeding s for the she-cat to become pregnant. Once pregnant, she is know as a queen.
After a week or two she WILL know she is pregnant. Some clan cats visit the Medicine Cat to confirm there suspicions, but usually they will know by themselves.
At day twenty, the kittens heart beats can be heard. The kits can be felt in the abdomen. In clans, Medicine Cats sometimes do a check up at this point. The kits will be about the size of unshelled peanuts. However, most Medicine Cats will not do this, as excessive poking or prodding will result in a miscarriage.
Sometimes a queen will suffer from Morning Sickness. If it does happen, it will happen in week 3
-4. This is due to the hormonal changes and the stretching of the uterus. The queen may be apathetic. She also may refuse/vomit her freshkill.
By 35, it usually quite obvious the queen is pregnant. The queen's nipples become pink and obvious, and the queen's belly will be growing more and more.
By day 49, a skilled Medicine Cat may be able to estimate how many cats. The kits are are sausages shaped. The queen will gain a pear shaped abdomen, and kits may kick and move.
Day 40 is when clan cats move into the Nursery, and when the begin nesting behavior. For other cats (loners, rogues, and kittypets), nesting behavior may begin at day 15-45. They will find a suitable site (for clan cats, the warmest, driest part of the Nursery) and make a nest. They usually don't make a big deal out of it.
Kitting/Whelping
Contrary to popular belief, cats know when they are going to kit. Up to three days before hand, and at least twelve hours before. However, stressed, sick, scared, or stubborn queens may not notice the premature labour signs. Sometimes stress or fear may induce labour.
It can take up to six hours for a cat to give birth to all her kittens. In the Warrior World, however, it usually takes up to an hour. In the real world, the first kit is born within the first hour of labour. In the WW, it is usually born within the first ten minutes. In the real world, every other kit has a gap of ten minutes between them, however, in the WW it's sped up again to around 3 minutes. The reason is probably to keep the story moving, so choose either way time for your cat.
The stages of kitting, there are three, in general. The first stage is when contractions begin and get closer and closer together. Stage 2 is when the kit is actually visible. After a couple of pushes, the kit will be free. The queen will tear the membrane of the kit and lick it.Stage 3, the queen chews through the embilical cord. This repeats till every kit is born.
The birth process is not dramatic. The queen will not scream in pain unless she can not properly relax. A clan cat may ask for a Medicine cat, but often they want to be alone with only there mate or other queens.
Problems in birth are rare, but can happen. Here are the most common birth problems:
-Stillborn kittens
-A large amount of blood loss (Such as with Silverstream. Usually results in death)
-Queen is blood type A, and kit is blood type B (Most cats are blood type A), the Queen's milk will kill the kits blood cells (Kit needs to nurse off of another queen)
-Queen doesn't have time to stimulate breathing (Another cat should lick the kit and keep it warm until the queen can nurse it)
-Queen can't produce milk (Another queen can nurse thekits)
-Kits born backwards/get stuck
Kit Growth Rate
Newborn: The kitten is born, blind and deaf. It relies on sense of smell to find food. They may crawl and wobble to pile on there siblings.
Week 1: The kits may occasionally open their blue eyes, and may be able to hear. Everything is blurry and distorted, however. They will get a bit better at crawling, and may start to compete for who gets to nurse and sleep where. They have ver floppy ears, too.
Week 2: The kits vision and hearing will be better, though still a bit unclear. They will stumble around in an attempt to walk, and may even play a bit with siblings. They still tire very easily. They may also begin to talk in simple, easy to say, fragmented words.
Week 3: The floppy ears will start to get more erect, and the kit may begin to purr. They will try to walk, and will get good at it, though they will be a bit wobbly. Some daring kits may even try to run. The kits will start to play a lot more, and will try to explore the den/area they are being raised in. They will begin to talk in very simple, easy to say phrases. The kits baby teeth will also begin to grow in, so the mother may start to wean them.
Week 4: The kit's eyes will start to change into their true eye color. The may try to play with other kits,minor just there own litter. They will like to explore and ask questions, with their speaking ability more developed. The mother will offer them bits of her own freshkill.
Week 5: Now the kits are crawling, walking, running, playing all the time. They may try to sneak out of the Nursery, too. They may still nurse a bit, but they mainly eat Freshkill now. They are more outgoing and curious.
Week 6-8: The kits will be fully introduced to the clan, allowed out of the nursery frequently for their play time. They will be eating freshkill, unless the have an overindulgent mother. They can speak well, and there vocabulary is expanding. They begin to learn more about the world around them.
Week 9-26: The kits are basically true kits. They explore and learn about the clan/group/family, fantasize about being a growing up and being an epic hero, and playing all the time. They may try to sneak out of camp. They can speak almost like an adult cat.
After the Litter
After the litter has grown up, the queen will return to whatever she did before hand. However, sometimes the queen (Like Daisy, for instance) stays in the Nursery as a permanent queen. Either way, the queen will adjust to her new schedule.
Misc,
-In the warrior world, litters are 1-4 kits
-Siamese cats have a longer gestation and more kits
-Kits may have more than 1 father
-While technically a she-cat can become a queen at as young as four moons, in the Warrior World they usually wait until a year. This is due to apprenticeship and health issues.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, a long tedious process. From the first successful mating, pregnancy lasts 63-69 days. For some breeds, like a Siamese, may have a pregnancy last up to 71 days. Usually, if kits are born before day 58, they will not survive.
It is usually hard to pin-point the day of conception. Cats rarely get pregnant from the first mating. The mating triggers the ovulation, so it usually requires at least two breeding s for the she-cat to become pregnant. Once pregnant, she is know as a queen.
After a week or two she WILL know she is pregnant. Some clan cats visit the Medicine Cat to confirm there suspicions, but usually they will know by themselves.
At day twenty, the kittens heart beats can be heard. The kits can be felt in the abdomen. In clans, Medicine Cats sometimes do a check up at this point. The kits will be about the size of unshelled peanuts. However, most Medicine Cats will not do this, as excessive poking or prodding will result in a miscarriage.
Sometimes a queen will suffer from Morning Sickness. If it does happen, it will happen in week 3
-4. This is due to the hormonal changes and the stretching of the uterus. The queen may be apathetic. She also may refuse/vomit her freshkill.
By 35, it usually quite obvious the queen is pregnant. The queen's nipples become pink and obvious, and the queen's belly will be growing more and more.
By day 49, a skilled Medicine Cat may be able to estimate how many cats. The kits are are sausages shaped. The queen will gain a pear shaped abdomen, and kits may kick and move.
Day 40 is when clan cats move into the Nursery, and when the begin nesting behavior. For other cats (loners, rogues, and kittypets), nesting behavior may begin at day 15-45. They will find a suitable site (for clan cats, the warmest, driest part of the Nursery) and make a nest. They usually don't make a big deal out of it.
Kitting/Whelping
Contrary to popular belief, cats know when they are going to kit. Up to three days before hand, and at least twelve hours before. However, stressed, sick, scared, or stubborn queens may not notice the premature labour signs. Sometimes stress or fear may induce labour.
It can take up to six hours for a cat to give birth to all her kittens. In the Warrior World, however, it usually takes up to an hour. In the real world, the first kit is born within the first hour of labour. In the WW, it is usually born within the first ten minutes. In the real world, every other kit has a gap of ten minutes between them, however, in the WW it's sped up again to around 3 minutes. The reason is probably to keep the story moving, so choose either way time for your cat.
The stages of kitting, there are three, in general. The first stage is when contractions begin and get closer and closer together. Stage 2 is when the kit is actually visible. After a couple of pushes, the kit will be free. The queen will tear the membrane of the kit and lick it.Stage 3, the queen chews through the embilical cord. This repeats till every kit is born.
The birth process is not dramatic. The queen will not scream in pain unless she can not properly relax. A clan cat may ask for a Medicine cat, but often they want to be alone with only there mate or other queens.
Problems in birth are rare, but can happen. Here are the most common birth problems:
-Stillborn kittens
-A large amount of blood loss (Such as with Silverstream. Usually results in death)
-Queen is blood type A, and kit is blood type B (Most cats are blood type A), the Queen's milk will kill the kits blood cells (Kit needs to nurse off of another queen)
-Queen doesn't have time to stimulate breathing (Another cat should lick the kit and keep it warm until the queen can nurse it)
-Queen can't produce milk (Another queen can nurse thekits)
-Kits born backwards/get stuck
Kit Growth Rate
Newborn: The kitten is born, blind and deaf. It relies on sense of smell to find food. They may crawl and wobble to pile on there siblings.
Week 1: The kits may occasionally open their blue eyes, and may be able to hear. Everything is blurry and distorted, however. They will get a bit better at crawling, and may start to compete for who gets to nurse and sleep where. They have ver floppy ears, too.
Week 2: The kits vision and hearing will be better, though still a bit unclear. They will stumble around in an attempt to walk, and may even play a bit with siblings. They still tire very easily. They may also begin to talk in simple, easy to say, fragmented words.
Week 3: The floppy ears will start to get more erect, and the kit may begin to purr. They will try to walk, and will get good at it, though they will be a bit wobbly. Some daring kits may even try to run. The kits will start to play a lot more, and will try to explore the den/area they are being raised in. They will begin to talk in very simple, easy to say phrases. The kits baby teeth will also begin to grow in, so the mother may start to wean them.
Week 4: The kit's eyes will start to change into their true eye color. The may try to play with other kits,minor just there own litter. They will like to explore and ask questions, with their speaking ability more developed. The mother will offer them bits of her own freshkill.
Week 5: Now the kits are crawling, walking, running, playing all the time. They may try to sneak out of the Nursery, too. They may still nurse a bit, but they mainly eat Freshkill now. They are more outgoing and curious.
Week 6-8: The kits will be fully introduced to the clan, allowed out of the nursery frequently for their play time. They will be eating freshkill, unless the have an overindulgent mother. They can speak well, and there vocabulary is expanding. They begin to learn more about the world around them.
Week 9-26: The kits are basically true kits. They explore and learn about the clan/group/family, fantasize about being a growing up and being an epic hero, and playing all the time. They may try to sneak out of camp. They can speak almost like an adult cat.
After the Litter
After the litter has grown up, the queen will return to whatever she did before hand. However, sometimes the queen (Like Daisy, for instance) stays in the Nursery as a permanent queen. Either way, the queen will adjust to her new schedule.
Misc,
-In the warrior world, litters are 1-4 kits
-Siamese cats have a longer gestation and more kits
-Kits may have more than 1 father
-While technically a she-cat can become a queen at as young as four moons, in the Warrior World they usually wait until a year. This is due to apprenticeship and health issues.