Surely you have experienced the feeling of raising a cat at home, this is a job that requires you to be extremely serious, time-consuming, and expensive. However, it is also a nice and unique experience when combining a lot of very cute kittens. So what you need are the basic requirements for how cats mate safely.
1. Planning
1.1 Choosing a breed of cat
There are almost always a lot of kittens in animal shelters and breeding purebred or pedigree cats is the way to ensure kittens are in a better condition. Choosing the breed you like best is an option, but if you're worried about finding a home for your kittens, consider choosing a mother cat from a popular breed not yet available in the area.
1.2. Network
Some breeders will not sell a cat of reproductive potential to someone who has no experience in the world of cat breeding and showing. If you already have a cat, bring it to some shows and make some contacts.
1.3 Choose a queen (female) carefully
In addition to being in good health and being of an appropriate age to reproduce (at least 18-24 months, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Does it exhibit the standard traits of its breed?
- Does it have accurate documents detailing its ancestry?
- Does it have the right to breed?
- Do breeding relationships like theirs have any pregnancy complications?
- Cats that have been shown and shown well will give birth to more desirable kittens, so consider whether it's possible to show it successfully (or if it's already on display).
1.4 Find a good stud
Most of what you look for in a queen bee is very similar to what you would expect in a sire - personality, appearance, breed condition and health are all equally important. Breed cat owners should have proof of their current health and breed. It is unwise to use a pet cat as a sire. Normal behavior for unneutered male cats includes aggression and spraying, and this behavior does not necessarily cease if the male cat is subsequently spayed. Ask your veterinarian, cat show, and breeder to find a qualified brood that is not too closely related to your queen cat. It's worth going to the right breeder if you can easily find good homes for your kittens.
1.5 See a veterinarian
Here, you need to make sure that both cats are healthy before breeding them. Some things to check with the vet are:
The vaccinations should be attached from a date of production
FeLV and FIV - these tests will be performed directly before each mating
Ringworm, ear mites, and fleas
A stool examination should be done to look for internal parasites
Genetic diseases include polycystic kidney disease, hip dysplasia, patellar dislocation, and heart disease
Any breed-specific disease
1.6 Budget planning
The kittens are expensive. The following is an estimate of the number of costs to consider:
Veterinary care – the mother cat breed requires further veterinary examination to ensure that the pregnancy is going well and there can be unexpected complications that require procedures such as a cesarean section.
Test before mating - $700
Ultrasound pregnancy test - $160 (or x-ray range $110)
The emergency C-section - $300
Food - good quality food for your queen is important throughout her life, but especially during pregnancy. Make sure her kittens get good quality food when they are weaned - this is essential for their development. At the same time, you should budget for things like fresh chicken, fish, special kitten food, and good quality raw minced beef, all of which are good for weaning kittens.
Almost the food for the cat during pregnancy and lactation about $147
Emergency food for kittens if milk supply fails - $20
Registration fee - $155 for your first year as a breeder. If you want your kittens to have a pedigree advantage, from there you need to register as a breeder and register the queen and each litter.
Heating, in winter. Kittens need to be kept warm at all times, and in the winter this can add up to a sizable bill.
1.7 Careful consideration
There are a lot of unwanted kittens in the world, so make sure you want more cats before you start. If your main reason for wanting a cat is to have kittens to play with, consider volunteering at your local animal shelter. In general, shelters send rescue kittens home with trained volunteers until they are weaned and ready to be adopted that included:
Budget - is it possible to cover all the costs of raising a kitten if you don't make a profit from selling the kittens?
Time - mating and raising kittens are both time-consuming activities - don't leave the mother cat or kittens alone for long periods (even a workday is too long).
Looking for kitten homes - is there a market for breeding cats in your area? Are you ready to do the marketing needed to find good homes for them? Any house is not a good house; It is your responsibility to ensure that your kitten adopters will not tire of them or discard them because of bad behavior due to mistreatment.
Ethical issues - while some people are looking for cat-specific physical traits found only in purebred cats, consider whether kittens could end up in homes that would be happy the same with a rescue cat or not.
2. Cat raising
2.1 Determine when the cat is fertile
Cats are usually only fertile in the spring and summer, although indoor cats exposed to lots of artificial light can breed year-round. Ovulation in cats is stimulated by the act of mating, and if cats do not ovulate, the cycle of fertile periods can repeat over and over again. Some cats will show no signs of this cycle in the presence of their owners, so it's a good idea to keep an eye out for male cats in the neighborhood - they'll show up when a female is in heat. The phases of the estrous cycle, especially when they do not include estrus, that is, when the cat is not fertile in winter are:
Early estrus - this phase can last one to two days but can be as short as an hour and not all cats have. During this phase, she can call tom, roll, and rub on the ground, but won't allow tom to come near her.
The estrus - this phase usually lasts about a week, and is when the queen should be brought to the open space to mate. The main sign of this stage is her vocalization to the male in a particular yowl pattern.
This is the general sound of a short, lamentable, hollow cry that sounds almost like "a-roo-ugh?" (although it can vary between breeds, so be sure to consult a breeder familiar with your breed) and the cat will go with her doing all she can to get to any cats in the area.
Oestrus - if the cat does not ovulate, it will enter this period, which usually lasts about a week before estrus or estrus returns. Often cats will show no signs of reproductive activity during the period of concern.
2.2 Understanding the information needed for mating
The stallion's owner will usually make these arrangements, but knowing what to expect is a good idea. No reputable stallion owner will hide any preparation from you and should check to make sure the owner knows what to do.
Tom needs a place for ticks to escape as soon as mating takes place because females often react violently.
Be prepared to hear screams of terror from your children - this is normal.
Immediately after mating, the female cat will likely frantically groom herself for about an hour, during which time she won't let anyone near her. Thereafter, estrus will continue as before mating until natural termination.
It is important to make sure the cat is mated several times during estrus as cats will not ovulate until after mating. Three matings a day during the first three days of the estrous cycle will give the queen a 90% chance of ovulating.
2.3 Planning for a second mating
If the cat doesn't get pregnant on the first visit to the hatchery, there are several possible timelines:
Female cats do not ovulate. If that's the case, it should return to fertility in about a week.
Cats ovulate, but do not become pregnant - this period is called metestrus; it lasts 5-7 weeks, and during that time she will not show any reproductive activity.
When your pet became pregnant or pregnancy was unsuccessful. If this is the case, the kittens should be fertile again 2-3 weeks after losing the kittens.
2.4 Make sure the cat does not mate with any other male cats
When a female cat is in heat, she will call any male within earshot and attempt to mate out with any male cat that responds to her call, but the cat should not be left to choose its mate. because then you won't know anything about the kitten's father, any underlying diseases or genetic problems he might pass on to them. Even after the breed cat is mated by the male cat of your choice, as long as the estrous cycle lasts, it will attempt to continue mating and any of these matings can produce any kittens. from which it was born.
3. Cat care during pregnancy and lactation
There is no such thing as an early diagnosis for pregnancy in cats as there is for humans, so the earliest that can be verified is the 15th-day pregnancy through ultrasound. The following methods, when used by someone familiar with them, can be used to diagnose pregnancy in cats:
Palpate her belly from day 20 - this should only be done by someone with experience as you can easily cause a miscarriage if you do it too hard and other parts of her abdomen may feel lumpy. At this stage, kittens feel like evenly spaced bumps about the size of unshelled peanuts. From day 35 to day 49, the fetus cannot be felt due to the fluid-filled sacs containing them.
Ultrasound - although the presence of kittens can be seen after 15 days, a heartbeat appears on the 20th day.
The relaxin hormone test can detect pregnancy after about 25-30 days.
Morning sickness during the 3rd or 4th week of pregnancy - this doesn't happen to all cats, includes lethargy, vomiting, and little interest in food, but lasts only for a day or two and can be easily overlooked.
X-rays - yesterday 43 x-rays will show the kitten's bone structure and is better than ultrasound at counting the number of kittens.
External signs - by the 35th day, the nipples will begin to become pink and clear, and the size of the cat will increase markedly. During the past two weeks, the pear-shaped belly will become apparent. Shortly before birth, cats will develop more noticeable breasts and a milky discharge may be released from the nipples.
3.2 The development of kittens
A cat's normal gestation period is 63-69 days, so if you're deliberately breeding cats, it's easy to calculate their due date within a few days. If not, here are some other options to guess when she will give birth.
Checking with your veterinarian can provide a very accurate due date. Veterinarians will likely use one of the diagnostic methods to determine if a cat is pregnant to guess how far she's pregnant.
Signs that a termite queen is impending include vomiting, crying, finding a place to house the kittens, and grooming. Think back to the last time you heard the female cat's call to mate discussed above (this is usually a short, lamentable, empty sound that sounds almost like "a-roo-ugh? ") - this is a sign of the last time she is fertile and pregnant can begin in that week.
Watch out for male cats in the neighborhood - the week they're no longer found around your house is probably when they're pregnant.
3.3 Check with your veterinarian
You should make an appointment to see your vet 2-3 weeks after mating, or as soon as you suspect she's pregnant if she could be more than a month pregnant. At this point, get some recommendations for keeping your cat healthy during pregnancy.
If the pregnancy seems normal, then just one more visit about a week before the kittens are due. Your veterinarian will check to make sure the kitten is healthy and look at what you should do when it's born.
3.4 Help the cat give birth
Cats often prefer to be left alone when giving birth, but your pet can rest easy knowing that you're nearby. Some of the things she will look for in a nesting place are:
Easy access to food, water, and litter (but don't put the litter box too close because you don't want to get an infection!)
It should be in a dark, quiet corner of the house with little traffic.
A box lined with a cozy blanket is generally a good idea.
It should be a place where the kittens won't accidentally trip - newborn kittens are blind and deaf, and the mother cat will want to keep them in a small space until they're old enough to jump out.
3.5 Know the signs of complications
If any of the following occur, take your cat to the vet immediately.
If possible yellow-green or bright-green discharge
Any bloody discharge
Every kitten born must be monitored by the placenta, if the placenta doesn't show up take the cat to the vet to have it removed - don't try this yourself, it could kill the cat if done incorrectly. If you find your cat after she has given birth to one or two kittens, don't worry if one or two placentas are missing, the mother cat eats the placenta to regain the nutrients it contains.
No kittens are born after 3-4 hours of labor
The Queen suffers, cries, or licks her pussy without giving birth to any kittens.
3.6 Checking for kittens at birth
When each kitten is born, the mother cat should lick it to remove the embryo sac. This checking will stimulate the kitten to breathe and move. If the mother cat does not do this, it will be necessary to use sterile hands and a clean towel to remove the embryo sac and clean the kitten's face. If the mother cat continues to show no interest in the kitten and it begins to shiver, dry it with a clean towel strong enough for the cat to meow.
3.7 Be prepared to take care of the kittens
Normally, newborn kittens need to eat every few hours. If the litter is particularly large, usually the smaller, weaker kittens (kittens) will not be cared for. Occasionally, some milk supply can also be problematic. Notice if the kitten doesn't seem to be getting any milk. Consult your veterinarian if the mother cat does not seem to be nursing, they can sometimes stimulate the milk supply, but make sure that the kittens are breastfed as often as they need. There are two options for replacing breast milk:
Get a surrogate mother - this means a cat with kittens of the same age but with a very small litter. Cats are usually happy to accept surrogacy kittens, as long as they have a small enough litter of their own and the surrogate cats are the same age as their litter.
Manually feed the runts. To do this, you need kitten-specific formula and bottles with nipples designed for kittens. If having trouble finding these, contact your veterinarian for assistance. Be sure to follow the instructions on the milk substitute to get the milk to the correct temperature and consistency.
3.8 Socializing kittens
Kittens should stay with their mothers until they are weaned, but that doesn't mean they can't play with them. The pet should be trusting enough to allow you to be around its kittens, but make sure not to do anything that would cause the mother cat to suffer. Be careful not to let them crawl out of furniture like a bed or table, as kittens don't have depth perception yet.
Conclusion
A better understanding of how to mate is essential information that can help you see and prepare for breeding. Furthermore, you also need to have a thorough knowledge of cats and ensure that they can handle cats properly. We have listed specific and easy steps to help you better understand the mating and breeding stages of cats.
