Mau Mew: Do mother cats need more food?

Yes, lactating mother cats do need more food because their energy requirements increase by about 50% during pregnancy. Their energy requirements soar during lactation. Cat's milk contains about 40% more energy than cow's or goat's milk.

Mother nurses her kittens two of which are black. Photo: Wikipedia Commons. Caption: A one year old pure white cat nursing four kittens in a cardboard box behind a warm TV. Expectant mother cats usually seek a warm, dark place for giving birth to their kittens. Picture taken in Beaumont, Alberta, Canada in 1986. Name of Mother: Sugar (March 8, 1985 - August 26, 2004) Names of Kittens: Channel 3, Channel 5, Cable 8, Circuit Overload (May 4, 1986 - )

In order to produce milk which is so energy-dense, the cat has to ingest that energy i.e. they have to increase their energy consumption considerably. And even after her kittens have reduced their milk consumption, a cat's energy demands remain 50% above her usual needs until she replaces the bodyweight that she has lost on behalf of her kittens.

The energy requirements during lactation are up to 4 times greater than those of an inactive cat. During this time, the kilocalories energy level of your cat's food should be increased to minimise weight loss.

Purina, says that a pregnant cat will eat about 50% more than her normal level and it can be as high as twice her regular amount. They recommend that you feed your pregnant cat kitten formula from the 4th week of her pregnancy as the food is designed for kittens who need extra nutrition during the early development.

They also recommend that you mix dry and wet cat food, as if she prefers wet food, it has a lower calorie content to dry food. By adding the dry you add to the calorie content. The diet should be introduced slowly. Spend 7-10 days gradually adding the new formula to her standard food, they say.

As a guideline, an adult cat weighing 4 kg who has an inactive life burns 200-280 kcal per day. A pregnant cat requires 400-560 kcal. For a 6 kg cat the figures should be 300-420 and 600-840 respectively.

Here is a table (a rather poorly formatted one) showing calories needed for a lactating female and her weight.