Since ancient times, people have special feelings for cats. It is these elegant creations that bring man many pleasant moments. A cat can become not only a source of positive emotions, but also a sign of status if the animal represents an elite breed and costs a lot of money. Kittens are also presented as expensive gifts.
Therefore, cat breeding often becomes a profitable business. But to do it, you first need to learn a lot of useful information about breeding cats. This issue is devoted to the article.
Cat puberty
Cats enter puberty at the age of 8 months. At this time, they strive to leave home, put marks everywhere, “attack” inanimate objects (soft toys, sofa thoughts, etc.), become aggressive and irritable.
If a flowing cat appears in the cat's accessibility zone, the male comes into a highly excited state.
Experts recommend the first mating of the male with the already giving birth female. It is highly recommended not to bring two virgin representatives of the cat. Breeding cats are knitted first 1-2 times a month, and then 1-2 times a week.
Puberty
Cats reach maturity at the age of 5-9 months. They try to draw attention to themselves, rub against objects, roll on their backs, meow piercingly, ask for freedom, leave marks, lose their appetite.
The frequency of leaks in cats can be different and depends on the conditions of detention. Usually it occurs in the winter, in January-February, and lasts several days. And then estrus passes in the summer and can last up to two weeks. However, these terms are approximate. Cats remain fertile throughout life. There are cases when females at the age of 20 brought offspring.
Physiological features
In cats, as in other animals, hormones influence sexual behavior. Physiological processes are characterized by cyclicality:
- The passive breeding period of cats (anaestrus) is associated with daylight hours and lasts about 4 months. During the year, moments of sexual activity occur 2-3 times.
- The preparation stage in mating is called proestrus. At this time, the cat becomes affectionate, excited, but the cat does not admit to itself. Her vulva swells, although there is no discharge. The phase lasts 1-3 days.
- Estrus period - mating readiness. The cat purrs, meows, rolls on the floor. When stroking, gets up in a pose of readiness for pairing, takes the tail. At this time, she has discharge, there is no appetite. A cat can run away from home.
The entire estrus period can last long and even continuously. The smell of such females attracts cats, and they arrange fights. How breeding occurs in cats, we will consider further.
Mating rules
In nature, a cat for breeding can choose a partner. But at home breeding it is worth using the services of special clubs. At the same time, it is important not to bring close relatives. Mating unrelated individuals allows you to add new characters to the breed.
Breeders believe that when breeding cats at home it is better to bring a female to the male, and not vice versa. Moreover, on the first day the animals do not mate, give them time to get to know each other and get used to each other.
The best day for mating is the third since the beginning of estrus. Usually two mating is allowed. The female takes her tail and crouches. During mating, the cat bites the female by the scruff of the neck and climbs onto it. Animals crouch, carrying out coitus. In this case, the female may feel tired and seeks to get rid of the cat. Copulation lasts a few seconds. The cat’s penis is covered with bristles; when removed, the female feels pain, emits loud screams and can attack the male. Then the cat lies on its back, this position contributes to fertilization.
If mating was successful, ovulation occurs in a day. Signs of estrus disappear. If there was no mating, estrus lasts 10-12 days. After estrus, diestrus occurs, and then, after 7-12 days, proestrus - the beginning of a new cycle. That is, the sexual cycles in cats are repeated after 21 days.
In some females, the period of diestrus may be absent, and within 6-10 weeks the cat shows readiness for mating, screams piercingly and bothers its owner. In this case, they talk about nymphomania.
Some Things to Know About
Cats do not have special periods of sexual activity, they are ready to mate at any time of the year, but in spring they can behave more lively.
The most suitable age for mating cats is the age of up to 8 years. At a later age, the gestational age is reduced, the embryos can die.
White cats with blue eyes are often deaf, and therefore do not hear the squeak of kittens. Cats have a reputation as worthless fathers. Usually they do not show interest in offspring. Cats do not allow cats to cubs, as they can crush them. Parents eat dead cubs.
The cat feeds the kittens until the age of one month, and then begins to suppress attempts to suck, hides the nipples, turns away. Kids learn to make milk from a bowl, and mom gradually gives them more solid food.
Pregnancy has come
A cat can produce offspring twice a year. More often, experts do not recommend, as this can harm the health of the female.
Signs of pregnancy appear three weeks after mating. The cat turns pink and swollen nipples. The female may lose her appetite, sometimes she vomits.
Pregnancy lasts about 9 weeks, its term is 58-72 days. At the 6th week, the cat’s belly is rounded; at the 7th week, fetal movements can be noticed. The cat is anxious, looking for a place for the nest, equips it.
Childbirth in cats
A week before the offspring, the mammary glands swell, light secretions appear from the vulva. The birth begins. At this time, the cat arranges a nest. From her nipples, discharge appears. This stage lasts up to 24 hours.
For kittens to appear, the cat takes a pose while lying on his stomach, amniotic fluid is released, the kitten comes out within 15 minutes. If the head does not appear, the owner should do obstetrics.
After the birth of the kitten, the mother nibbles the fetal bladder, if he himself did not burst. If the cat does not do this, the owner should help, because otherwise the kitten will suffocate.
The cat bites the umbilical cord after licking the kitten. If she does not, she is cut off at a distance of 2-4 cm from the abdomen.
A placenta leaves after each kitten, the female eats the placenta. However, she should not be allowed to eat more than two, otherwise vomiting and diarrhea may occur.
Delivery usually lasts from 2 to 6 hours, occasionally it can take up to 1-1.5 days.
After childbirth
After giving birth, the female needs rest. It is necessary to provide her with food and drink so that her mother can not leave the cubs. Usually, 4-10 kittens are born in a cat. If the female is not able to fully feed all, it is worth deciding how many kittens to leave.
Newborn babies do not hear for 10 days, but have a good sense of smell and touch. Each kitten weighs about 85 grams, its length is 10-12 cm. On the fourth day of life, they begin to massage the mother’s stomach with paws, stimulating milk flow. After a week, their eyes open, and by the end of the first month, the kittens play confidently, move around. Their blue eyes persist until 3 months of age.
Feline motherhood
The cat carries kittens by the scruff of the neck, reacting to their meow. So mom returns the cubs to the nest. At the age of 6-8 weeks, the kitten easily plays with a person. It can be taken by the scruff of the neck, supporting the tummy.
The weight of kittens is growing rapidly. From a month old they are given a little minced meat. At this time, kittens grow milk teeth. Overeating should not be allowed, giving each time fresh food and a sufficient amount of water.
By the age of six months, kittens are completely independent of their mother. It is better to take the baby at 8 weeks of age. At this time, its weight reaches 700-800 grams.
Custom cases
It happens that a cat after giving up abandons her cubs and is aggressive towards them. In this case, the kittens are transplanted to another nursing cat mother, having previously rubbed them with her milk. If this is not possible, the babies are fed artificially from a nipple or pipette, protecting it from the cold and changing the litter.
The composition of cow's milk and baby food is not close to cat's milk. If possible, the kittens are given a mixture of 2 tablespoons of concentrated milk, 2 tablespoons of boiled water and ¼ teaspoon of glucose. The temperature of food and water should be 38 degrees. If the kitten does not eat, its face is moistened with feed. Eyes washed with tea leaves.
Giving kittens to a new family, owners are informed about the habits of the cubs, as well as about vaccinations and treatments.
Nowadays, cats of some breeds are popular. Let us dwell on the issues of their reproduction.
Scottish breed
When breeding Scottish cats, some points are taken into account.
First of all, breeders are advised not to knit the female in the first heat. They are guided by the weight of the pet. Mature is a cat weighing about 3 kg. Usually this happens by the age of one. Thus, engaged in the reproduction of fold cats, the female is knitted on a third estrus. Some systems do not register kittens that appear in females under the age of 10 months.
When breeding Scottish cats, it is important to choose the breeding partner. The WCF has established specific mating rules for any species. Scottish cats are knitted only with representatives of their breed, interbreeding is unacceptable.
The partner is chosen with an identical color so that these breeds can be improved. It is highly recommended not to mix gold and silver colors, blue with purple. Such mating may result in kittens of a heterogeneous color, it will be problematic to implement them, as breeders choose pets for aesthetic reasons.
The mating of Scottish cats has one definite nuance. It is known that the breed is divided into fold and erect. Scottish fold cat for breeding is knitted only with straight cats and vice versa.
The risks of mating with unfamiliar cats
On sites on the Internet you can find many ads offering cats for mating for a small amount. However, the owners of animals in this case greatly risk the health of their pets. After all, many infections are transmitted sexually during the reproduction of cats: giardia, chlamydia, mycoplasma.
It is advisable to ask the results of tests before mating with the owner of the cat: a smear from prepuce, blood for herpes, for chlamydia.
British cat
When breeding animals of this breed, certain rules should also be observed:
- When breeding British cats they need to be knitted with cats of the same breed. Otherwise, the kittens will be left without a pedigree.
- Inbreeding during mating is not used, that is, individuals that are closely related do not cross. This is fraught with the appearance of offspring with felinological abnormalities.
- If the purpose of mating is to get kittens of a certain color, you should carefully study the pedigree of the pets. In Russia, the most popular blue Britons. They can be crossed with blue, chocolate or cream cats. The offspring will turn blue, black or cream, respectively.
All other principles of breeding cats of the British breed are the same as in other varieties.
Registration of kittens
When the babies reach 1.5 months, they are registered in the club where the mother is. In this organization, the color of the kittens is recorded and the metric (birth certificate) of the cat is drawn up. Also, for each baby they have a veterinary passport, where they enter data on the first anthelmintic treatment and vaccinations.
Interesting Facts
Reproduction of cats and dogs is not always controlled by humans, even in the case of thoroughbred representatives. For example, there are times when some species appear naturally. This happened to the Brazilian Shorthair cat.
The Portuguese in the 16th century brought feline to Brazil for catching rodents. Animals bred on their own. And so, in the 80s of the 20th century, one amateur became interested in street cats, began to study them, and as a result, a breed of Brazilian shorthair cat appeared. In breeding it was used European Shorthair. Breeders managed to get strong hardy animals of various colors.
In Russia, the breed is rare. The cost of kittens reaches 75 000 rubles.