# kittening

Pronunciation: say "KIT-uhn-ing" /ˈkɪtn̩ɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of kitten. — present participle and gerund of kitten
   - Simple: Present participle of kitten. Use this form when a cat is in the middle of having her babies.
   - _The barn cat began kittening just before dawn._
   - _Kittening left the small tabby exhausted but content._

## Noun

2. The process by which a female cat gives birth to her kittens.
   - Simple: The act of a mother cat giving birth to her babies.
   - _The kittening took most of the night, but the queen managed without any help._
   - _Breeders prepare a clean, quiet nest box well ahead of the kittening._

## Origin

Formed from "kitten" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/kittening (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).