How to Tell if Your Animal Is Pregnant: Early Signs & Symptoms

What are the early signs of pregnancy in a dog?

Canine pregnancy runs about 63 days from ovulation, and nothing is visible for the first two to three weeks. Watch for these in order:

• Days 14 to 21: quieter, more affectionate or unusually clingy behaviour, sometimes a day or two of reduced appetite that owners read as an upset stomach.
• Days 21 to 28: nipples become firmer, pinker and slightly enlarged, most obvious on the rear pairs. Some bitches have a small amount of clear vaginal discharge.
• Days 30 to 40: steady weight gain and a thickening waist rather than a dramatic belly. Appetite climbs above normal.
• Days 45 to 63: obvious abdominal enlargement, visible fetal movement in a relaxed dog, mammary development, then nesting and a temperature drop below about 37.8 °C (100 °F) in the 24 hours before whelping.

Because canine gestation is measured most accurately from ovulation, not mating, dates from progesterone testing give a far tighter due date than a mating date alone.

How can you tell if a cat is pregnant?

Feline pregnancy averages about 64 to 67 days. Queens hide early signs well, so the sequence matters more than any single symptom:

• Week 1 to 2: she stops calling and no longer shows heat behaviour. Occasional brief loss of appetite or vomiting.
• Week 3: "pinking up" — the nipples enlarge and turn a deeper pink. This is the classic first visible sign.
• Week 4 to 5: a rounded, firm abdomen and steady weight gain, with a noticeably bigger appetite.
• Week 6 to 9: pronounced belly, palpable kitten movement late on, then nesting, restlessness and seeking out quiet enclosed spaces a day or two before queening.

How do you tell if a cow, goat or ewe is pregnant?

In ruminants the first sign is almost always a negative one: the female does not return to heat at the expected interval — about 21 days in cattle, 21 days in goats and 17 days in sheep. After that, look for:

• Steady body condition and appetite with no cycling behaviour.
• Gradual udder development in the last third of gestation, earlier and more marked in first-time females.
• Asymmetric abdominal fill, usually more pronounced on the right in cattle, from roughly month five.
• Relaxation of the pelvic ligaments, a dropped, slack vulva and thick mucus in the final one to two weeks.

On any working farm the practical answer is scheduled pregnancy diagnosis: rectal palpation from about day 35 to 40, ultrasound from about day 28, or a milk or blood pregnancy-associated glycoprotein test from about day 28 to 30.

How do you tell if a mare is pregnant?

A mare that refuses the stallion and shows no oestrus behaviour around 17 to 21 days after covering is the earliest useful hint. Physical change is slow: abdominal shape barely alters before month five to six, and udder development is a last-month event. Because equine gestation is long and variable, roughly 320 to 370 days, ultrasound at day 14 to 16 is standard practice and also detects twins, which need early management.

How do you tell if a rabbit is pregnant?

Rabbit gestation is short, about 31 days, so signs arrive quickly. A pregnant doe usually becomes territorial and refuses the buck, eats noticeably more from the second week, and pulls fur from her chest and dewlap to line a nest in the last week. Nesting alone is unreliable: false pregnancy in rabbits produces the same nest-building for about 17 days.

When can a vet confirm pregnancy?

Timings follow common veterinary practice and vary with equipment and operator experience. Ask your vet what they use.

What is often mistaken for pregnancy?

• False pregnancy. Common in unspayed dogs and in rabbits: nesting, mammary development and even milk production without fetuses.
• Weight gain and bloating. Overfeeding, parasites, ascites and pyometra can all round out an abdomen.
• Missed heat. Seasonal anoestrus, poor body condition, stress and ovarian disease all stop cycling without a pregnancy.
• Pyometra. A uterine infection in dogs and cats that can follow a heat and needs urgent veterinary care — lethargy, discharge and excessive thirst are red flags, not pregnancy signs.

How do you work out the due date once it is confirmed?

Once you have a mating or ovulation date, a due date is straightforward arithmetic on the species average, with a range around it. Pick the species you are working with:

• Dog due date calculatorAverage 63 days
• Cat due date calculatorAverage 64 days
• Cow due date calculatorAverage 283 days
• Goat due date calculatorAverage 150 days
• Horse due date calculatorAverage 340 days
• Rabbit due date calculatorAverage 31 days

Every species we cover is listed on the full gestation chart and in the calculator index.

Pregnancy signs: common questions