https://shorturl.im/awnlJHOW OFTEN DOES A FEMALE CAT COME INTO HEAT? In the world of breeding cats, the female cat is usually referred to as a “queen”. Her heat cycle is often called the “estrus cycle” or simply “estrus”. The length of time of the estrus, and the frequency of the estrus cycles depends upon many factors, such as geographic and environmental factors, (temperature and the number of daylight hours), her age and overall health, and her genetic background. Once a queen goes into heat or estrus, she may stay in heat for several days, to 2-3 weeks. Some queens, once they are sexually mature and enter estrus, do not come out of heat unless and until they are either bred to a full male cat, or spayed. The majority of queens will cycle in and out of estrus during the prime breeding season (roughly December through August), returning back into heat approximately every other week. CLICK ON KITTY to Return to Top of Page! WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF HEAT? Each queen will exhibit different signs of being in heat or estrus. Unlike dogs, cats rarely show signs of vaginal bleeding during estrus. However, their behavior changes greatly, with the majority of queens becoming quite vocal and loud, and showing increased signs of affection. They may roll around on the floor or plop down right in front of you as you are walking; they constantly want to be with you and be stroked, and when you pet them on their back, they will raise their rear end up high and knead with their front paws. CLICK ON KITTY to Return to Top of Page! HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I SHOULD BREED MY FEMALE? Many breeders as well as veterinarians and animal experts have different opinions on this. It is always preferable to have your queen be fully grown and mature herself, both physically and emotionally, before attempting to have her become a mother. It is usually recommended to wait until your queen is a year old, and has had 2 heat cycles, before breeding her. However, that said, there are cases when it may not be in her best interest, medically, to wait that long before breeding her. Factors such as breed type, the number and intensity of heat cycles, can all play an important role in this critical decision. Breeders of pedigreed cats walk a fine line between doing what they feel is best for their queens, and actually inadvertently causing problems for the queen by interfering too much with what would be the normal course of events in nature. For some queens, if they have had 3 or more heat cycles without having been bred, especially if these heat cycles are extremely intense, they may become more likely to develop a condition known as “cystic ovaries”. Once cysts develop on the ovaries, this will usually render these queens sterile and incapable of becoming pregnant. Occasionally, a feline fertility veterinarian specialist may be able to surgically break down and/or remove the cysts, but obviously this procedure carries other risks and may lead to scar tissue on the affected ovary. Infertile queens should be spayed and make WONDERFUL pets. CLICK ON KITTY to Return to Top of Page! 2 Versions of Nest Boxes: Left, the Simple Cardboard Box; Right, the Brand New Kitty Cave© from HDW Enterprises & Me-Ow-Trageous™, Inc.!! HOW LONG SHOULD I LET THE QUEEN BE IN WITH THE MALE? Female cats are known as “induced ovulators”, which means that the act of breeding itself is what stimulates her ovaries to release eggs. Most female cats require 3-4 breedings within a 24 hour period for ovulation to occur. Again, there are a variety of factors that can play a role here, and the breeder needs to be not only looking out for the well-being of the queen, but also for the overall health and well-being of the male cat (“stud” or “tom”). If the queen and stud are happy together, there is no urgent need to separate them after they have bred. We have left a happy couple together right up until a week prior to the queen’s delivery date, several times! Once the queen is pregnant, she will go out of heat, and the male will stop breeding her. Some breeders leave the queen in with the stud for 1-2 days, while others prefer to be a bit more certain that the queen is pregnant, and give them 4 days together. CLICK ON KITTY to Return to Top of Page! WHAT ARE THE FIRST SIGNS OF PREGNANCY? Pregnancy in cats , called the “gestation period”, generally ranges from 60 to 67 days, with the average being 63 days. Most of our queens deliver between days 64 and 66. It is very important to mark on your calendar the days you have actually witnessed your queen being bred by the stud cat, as this will be the primary way for you to determine when she is due to deliver her kittens. At about 3 weeks after breeding, a pregnant queen will show some physical symptoms of pregnancy, such as enlarged and rose-colored nipples, and a big increase in appetite and overall interest in food. Your veterinarian should be able to feel her abdomen carefully (called “palpating”) and detect any small fetuses. Some queens will have a few episodes of vomiting – the feline version of “morning sickness”. Most pregnant queens will become very affectionate, want to be close to you, and thrive on receiving loving reassurances from you that all will be well!! CLICK ON KITTY to Return to Top of Page! WHAT SHOULD I FEED MY PREGNANT QUEEN? You should expect that your queen will require and eat quite a bit more during pregnancy and during nursing than she did previously. One way to be sure she is getting enough nutrition is to increase the frequency of her feedings also. It takes an incredible amount of nutrition to create and then to nurse kittens, and if the queen is not taking in enough nutrition, nutrients will be pulled from her own tissues and put her own health at risk. A few days before her due date, you may want to start adding some calcium to her wet food. Calcium supplements for dogs and cats are available at most large pet and feed stores. Pregnant cats do need a bit of special care. Be sure to keep her indoors and in a clean, safe environment at all times. Make certain that her litter box is always extremely clean to avoid the spread of infection; and you may want to switch to a ‘shorter’ litter box as her belly starts to grow. Be sure she has comfortable, soft places to rest, that she gets plenty of rest, and do everything you can to try to keep the atmosphere around her as stress-free as possible....
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