Breeding - BASICS FOR CAT PARENTS

Pregnancy is a time of special care for the cat.

- Dr. Reeja George P.

As a responsible pet parent there are many aspects of this period of her life that you should take care of and keep in mind. The cat’s demands for rest and food during this period are crucial. On the whole, breeding your cat can be an immense source of satisfaction, a whole new bunch of fluffy kittens is a treat to the mind as well as to the senses. But of course, just like any other aspect of our lives, there can be hiccups, which will have to be tided over. The beginning of any breeding journey would begin from an understanding of feline reproductive basics.

EXPLORING THE BASICS: HEAT IN THE CAT

The cat, like most of her other female mammalian counterparts, goes through periods of physical cycles that ensure that her body is ready for a possible conception and subsequent birth. This cycle is normally referred to as menstruation in female humans. In the cat, we call it estrus; and when your cat actually exhibits signs of this period we say that she is ‘in heat’. The cat usually comes into heat for the first time between six to ten months of age. Being in this state of ‘heat’ makes her hormones work in a way that she is receptive –hormonally- to the process of reproducing. During this period, her ovarian follicles produce the hormone oestrogen, which is responsible for a host of behavioural signs that she will exhibit during this period. But, unlike the dog, observable signs such as swelling of the vulva and discharge are a rare feature of a cat in heat. Your cat is polyestrous which means that she has heat cycles that occur many times each year. Each period of heat generally lasts for several days, in most cases it lasts for between a week and ten days. In case she is not bred, she will return to heat every two to three weeks, though for some cats their periodicity is between one and three weeks.