Reproduction of cats at home

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Since ancient times, people have special feelings for cats. It is these graceful creatures that bring a lot of pleasant moments to a person. 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, breeding cats often becomes a profitable business. But to do it, you first need to learn a lot of useful information about cat reproduction. The article is devoted to this issue.

Puberty of cats

Cats enter puberty at 8 months of age. At this time, they tend to leave home, mark everywhere, “attack” inanimate objects (soft toys, sofa thoughts, etc.), become aggressive and irritable.

If an estrus cat appears in the cat's reach, the male becomes very excited.

Experts recommend conducting the first mating of a male with a female who has already given birth. It is highly not recommended to bring two virgin felines together. Tribal cats are knitted first 1-2 times a month, and then 1-2 times a week.

Puberty

Cats reach sexual 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 estrus in cats can be different and depends on the conditions of detention. It usually occurs in winter, in January-February and lasts for several days. And then estrus passes in the summer and can last up to two weeks. However, these dates are approximate. Cats remain fertile throughout their lives. There are cases when females at the age of 20 brought offspring.

Physiological characteristics

In cats, like other animals, sexual behavior is influenced by hormones. Physiological processes are characterized by cyclicity:

• The passive breeding season of cats (anaestrus) is related to the length of daylight hours and lasts about 4 months. During the year, moments of sexual activity occur 2-3 times.
• The mating stage is called proestrus. At this time, the cat becomes affectionate, excited, but does not allow the cat to approach him. Her vulva swells, although there is no discharge. The phase lasts 1-3 days.
• Estrus period - readiness for mating. The cat purrs, meows, rolls on the floor. When stroked, it rises into a pose of readiness for mating, takestail. At this time, she has discharge, no appetite. The cat may run away from home.

The whole estrus period can be long and even continuous. The smell of such females attracts cats, and they arrange fights. How cats reproduce in cats, we will consider further.

Knitting rules

In nature, a cat can choose a partner for breeding. But with home breeding, it is worth using the services of special clubs. At the same time, it is important not to bring close relatives together. Mating of unrelated individuals allows you to introduce new traits into the breed.

Breeders believe that when breeding cats at home, it is better to bring the female to the male, and not vice versa. Moreover, on the first day, the animals do not mate, they 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 start of estrus. Usually two matings are allowed. The female moves her tail and crouches. During mating, the cat bites the female by the scruff of the neck and climbs onto her. Animals squat, 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 it is removed, the female feels pain, makes loud cries and can attack the male. Then the cat lies on its back, this position promotes fertilization.

If mating was successful, ovulation occurs in a day. At the same time, signs of estrus disappear. If there was no mating, estrus lasts 10-12 days. After estrus comes diestrus, and then, after 7-12 days, proestrus -start 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, one speaks of nymphomania.

Some things to be aware of

Cats do not have special periods of sexual activity, they are ready to mate at any time of the year, but in the spring they can behave more lively.

The most suitable age for mating a cat is under 8 years old. At a later age, the gestation period is reduced, the embryos may die.

White cats with blue eyes are often deaf, and therefore do not hear the squeak of kittens. Cats, on the other hand, have a reputation for being bad fathers. Usually they show no interest in offspring. Cats do not let cats near cubs, as they can crush them. Dead babies are eaten by parents.

The cat feeds kittens until the age of one month, and then begins to stop attempts to suck, hides the nipples, turns away. Babies are learning to lap up milk from a bowl, and their mom is gradually giving them more solid foods.

Pregnancy has come

A cat can give birth twice a year. More often, experts do not recommend, as this can harm the he alth of the female.

Signs of pregnancy appear three weeks after mating. The cat's nipples turn pink and swell. The female may lose her appetite and sometimes vomit.

Pregnancy lasts about 9 weeks, her term is 58-72days. At the 6th week, the cat's stomach is rounded, at the 7th week you can notice the movements of the fetus. The cat shows anxiety, looks for a place for a nest, equips it.

Cat birth

A week before the birth of the offspring, the mammary glands swell, light discharge appears from the vulva. Childbirth begins. At this time, the cat makes a nest. There is discharge from her nipples. This phase lasts up to 24 hours.

In order for kittens to appear, the cat assumes a pose lying on its stomach, amniotic fluid is released, the kitten comes out within 15 minutes. If the head does not appear, the owner should attend to obstetrics.

After the birth of a kitten, the mother gnaws at the fetal bladder if it has not burst itself. If the cat does not do this, the owner should help, otherwise the kitten will suffocate.

A cat gnaws the umbilical cord after licking a kitten. If she does not, she is cut off at a distance of 2-4 cm from the abdomen.

The afterbirth comes out after each kitten, the female eats the afterbirth. 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, sometimes 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 the mother can not leave the cubs. Usually a cat has 4-10 kittens. If the female is not able to fully feed everyone, it is worth deciding how many kittens to keep.

Newborn babies do not hear for 10 days, but have a good sense of smell andtouch. 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 their paws, stimulating milk flow. A week later, their eyes open, and by the end of the first month, the kittens confidently play and move around. They have blue eyes up to 3 months of age.

Cat motherhood

The cat carries the kittens by the scruff of the neck, reacting to their meow. So the mother returns the cubs to the nest. At the age of 6-8 weeks, the kitten easily plays with the person. It can be taken by the scruff of the neck, supporting the tummy.

The weight of kittens is growing rapidly. From the age of one month 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 enough water.

By the age of six months, kittens are completely independent of their mother. It is better to take a baby at 8 weeks of age. At this time, its weight reaches 700-800 grams.

Custom cases

It happens that a cat after giving birth refuses cubs and shows aggressiveness towards them. In this case, the kittens are transplanted to another nursing cat mother, after rubbing them with her milk in advance. If this is not possible, babies are fed artificially from a pacifier or pipette, protecting them from the cold and changing the litter.

Cow's milk and baby food are not close to cat's milk in composition. If available, kittens are given a mixture of 2 tablespoons concentrated milk, 2 tablespoons boiled water, and ¼ teaspoon glucose. food temperature andwater should be 38 degrees. If the kitten does not eat, moisten its muzzle with food. The eyes are washed with tea leaves.

When giving kittens to a new family, owners are informed about the habits of the cubs, as well as about the vaccinations and treatments carried out.

Currently, cats of some breeds are popular. Let's dwell on the issues of their reproduction.

Scottish breed

When breeding Scottish cats, take into account some points.

First of all, breeders advise not to breed a female in the first estrus. At the same time, they are guided by the weight of the pet. A mature cat is considered to weigh about 3 kg. This usually happens around the age of one. Thus, while breeding lop-eared cats, the female is knitted for the third estrus. Some systems do not register kittens born to a female younger than 10 months of age.

When breeding Scottish cats, it is important to choose the right breeding partner. The World Federation of WCF has established certain mating rules for any variety. Scottish cats are mated only with representatives of their own breed, interbreeding is not allowed.

Partners are chosen in the same color so that these breeds can improve. It is highly not recommended to mix gold and silver colors, blue with lilac. Such matings can result in kittens of a heterogeneous color, it will be problematic to realize them, since breeders choose pets for aesthetic reasons.

Mating Scottish cats has one definite nuance. It is known that the breed is divided into lop-eared and straight-eared. Scottish fold cat for breeding is knitted only with straight-eared cats and vice versa.

Risks of mating with strangers

On sites on the Internet you can find many ads offering cats for mating for a small amount. However, pet owners in this case are at great risk to the he alth of their pets. Indeed, many infections are transmitted sexually during the reproduction of cats: giardia, chlamydia, mycoplasma.

It is advisable to ask the results of the tests before mating with the owner of the cat: a smear from the prepuce, blood for herpes, for chlamydia.

British cat

When mating animals of this breed, certain rules should also be observed:

1. When breeding British cats, they need to be bred with cats of the same breed. Otherwise, the kittens will be left without a pedigree.
2. Inbreeding is not used during mating, that is, individuals that are closely related are not crossed. This is fraught with the appearance of offspring with felinological deviations.
3. If during mating there is a goal to get kittens of a certain color, you should carefully study the pedigree of pets. Blue Britons are the most popular in Russia. They can be crossed with blue, chocolate or cream cats. The offspring will be blue, black or cream, respectively.

All other breeding principles for British cats are the same as for other varieties.

Kittens Registration

When babies reach 1.5 months, they are registered inthe club where my mother is. In this organization, the color of the kittens is recorded and the metric (birth certificate) of the cat is issued. Also, a veterinary passport is issued for each baby, where they enter data on the first anthelmintic treatment and vaccinations.

Interesting facts

Reproduction of cats and dogs is not always controlled by man, even in the case of purebred representatives. For example, there are times when some varieties appear naturally. This happened to the Brazilian Shorthair cat.

The Portuguese brought cats to Brazil in the 16th century to catch rodents. The animals reproduced on their own. And so, in the 80s of the 20th century, one fan became interested in street cats, began to study them, as a result, the Brazilian Shorthair cat breed appeared. The European Shorthair was used for breeding. Breeders managed to get strong hardy animals of various colors.

In Russia, the breed is rare. The cost of kittens reaches 75,000 rubles.