| A placental mammal, the cat gives birth to young that have developed inside her body. Nine weeks after fertilization, hormones stimulate the cat’s uterus to contract and expel the kittens. Here, one kitten has already been born. The next can be seen emerging from the birth canal of the mother, shrouded in the amniotic sac that encloses each developing kitten in the womb. When the membrane breaks, the young animal takes its first breath of air. The mother licks the newborn clean and dry and chews through the umbilical cord still connecting it to the placenta. Another kitten is born within half an hour, by which time the first two, blind but not helpless, have smelled and felt their way to their mother’s belly to begin feeding. The placenta, or afterbirth, follows the last kitten. In the wild the mother eats this organ, both to obtain valuable nourishment when she is tired and immobile and to eliminate the smell of blood so attractive to predators. |
Hotmail
Messenger
My MSN
MSN Directory
