Information pages
So you think you would like to breed ?
We have created this page for anyone considering breeding from their cat, I hope you find it useful. There is a lot of reading but it is all extremely useful.
What is a breeder?A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment. A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interest, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting ! She gives up the dreams of a long luxurious cruise in favour of turning that all important Show into this years 'vacations'. The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without a cup of tea) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little meow, wiggle or cry. The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at eight. She completely disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping newborn, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that my be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams. A Breeders lap is a marvellous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed. A Breeders hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a kittens nose. A Breeders back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to Show the next choice kitten to a Grand Championship. A Breeders shoulders are stooped and often healed with abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations. A Breeders arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of kittens to lend a helping hand to a newcomer. A Breeders ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) and strangely shaped (from being pressed to the telephone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine tuned to the whimper of a sick kitten. A Breeders eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own cats faults but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen. A Breeders brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It is so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good heavy boning, well placed ears, and perfect heads......... and buries the soul of the failures and the ones that did not turn out. The Breeders heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting ..................and it is always in the right place !
Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then there are BREEDERS !!
Practical considerations
First and foremost you must ask yourself, why do I want to breed kittens ?
There are hundreds of cat and dog breeders, that just churn out kittens and puppies year after year, without a thought to their long term welfare.
In this country there are thousands of strays each year, are you prepared to take back a kitten you have bred when it is much older, if the need arises ? Or are you quite happy for it to end up in a rescue establishment.
Can you spare hours and hours of your time, to look after your cat and her kittens, they are all dependent on you.
Can you afford the always large and most times totally unexpected vet bills incurred when breeding animals ?
Would the prospect of a large vet bill make you hold back from going to the vet ?
Review your answers and if you are in any doubt then do the right thing by your cat and make an appointment with your vet and have her spayed.
If you think you will only need just a little more food and a cardboard box with newspaper for her to kitten in and then all will be simple - forget it think again.
You only get out of breeding what you put in. Your first requirement is a healthy female with no outstanding faults and typical of the breed, with a good temperament. Try to ensure that her sire and dam are healthy with a problem free breeding history. Next you will need a suitable stud cat within reasonable travelling distance. Taking a queen to a stud will entail two visits - one to take your queen and the other to collect her. A maiden queen may possibly require a repeat visit as she may not settle and mate, or conceive after mating, the first time.
Your queen will need special feeding, not only throughout her pregnancy, but indeed every day of the year, in order to produce good quality kittens.
When your queen is to produce her kittens she will need 24 hour surveillance from a day or so before their expected arrival until the kittens are born, which may be several days after the expected date. The normal gestation period is about 65 days. Many queens do not know how to cope with their first or subsequent litters, so that your absence at this crucial time could cost you the litter and possibly the life of your cat. Local breeders with experience are usually on hand to give advice, as are many stud owners.
It is important that the kittens are kept warm - winter litters may mean vastly increased heating bills. Good food for your weaned litter is essential fresh chicken, fish, special kitten food, raw good quality minced beef (all of which have to be paid for at the time of purchase).
Your household will revolve around kittens' feeding times, changing litter trays, providing litter etc. Food cannot be left down at breakfast time to be renewed when you return from work in the evening - the mother may eat it all or in the summer flies may lay eggs on it, which means the kittens get nothing, or infected food.
Sit down beforehand and work out your expenses. You will need to think of special bedding, leukaemia testing, stud fees, travelling expenses to the stud and the vet, special food, extra heating, lost holiday time for kittening if you are working, inoculation for kittens and registration fees. Breeding means a big commitment. Finally, can you part with your kittens? They are only yours on loan for three months and then they have to go to new homes. It is up to you to find the right kind of home and owners and you will probably have to devote a lot of time to prospective new owners.
If, after considering all these points, you still wish to breed - good luck!
Your honest answers will tell you if you should breed or not, if you have said no to any question then please book your cat into be spayed, your cat will thank you and your vet will miss out on the pleasure of huge bills.
If you are in any further doubts, please read on before committing yourself.
The True Cost of Breeding
FOR EVERY LITTER: Pre-mating vet check up, worming & vaccination booster FeLV/FIV testing. Travel taking queen to stud (return fare). Travel collecting queen from stud (return fare). Stud Fee. Premium food & conditioners for queen during pregnancy. Possible complications at birth, e.g. caesarean, uterine inertia, hysteria, milk failure, damaged/malformed kitten/s. Kitten milk replacement, for weak kittens/hand-rearing. Purchase and preparation of weaning foods for kittens at 3-5 weeks. Extra, premium, food for queen during lactation (she will eat as much as 2 or 3 adult cats for more than a month). Extra cat litter (all that extra food has to go somewhere!) Feeding kittens from weaning-13 weeks (at 13 weeks, 4 kittens eat about as much as 4 adult cats). Even more extra cat litter for kittens (trays twice a day from 6-13 weeks). Extra cleaning - the household, not just the trays! Breakages, e.g. ornaments, house-plants, etc. having 5, 6 or more little monsters under your feet & tripping through your home for 2 months. Toys for kittens. Advertising. Registration. Vaccination. Insurance. Micro-chipping. Worming at 6, 9 & 12 weeks. 12-wk vet check & FeLV testing. Keeping off-colour or small kittens for longer time, keeping kitten/s to honour new owners' vacations etc. Cancellations. Refunds & taking kittens back if new owner changes their mind. Re-advertising cancelled or returned kittens. Extra heating costs for kittens in cold weather. Giving away or selling for less to special friends and relatives
Not being able to go on holiday or stay over for a night anywhere for 5 months. Being available for phone calls, visitors and enquirers. Time spent handling, socialising & playing with kittens (every day)
Sleepless nights and frayed nerves while queen is calling (every month or less between litters) Annual subscriptions to cat associations & registering bodies Subscriptions to cat magazines. Books .Time off work for birthing and when cats are sick Annual vaccinations, testing & health checks for breeding queen & your other cats. Equipment, e.g. litter trays, carriers, cages, bowls, beds, blankets, heat pads, scratching posts, cat trees
ALL THIS IF YOU OWN JUST ONE BREEDING QUEEN ! and of course, that queen might have only one kitten in her litter.
If you also own a stud cat: Stud house and run, & its annual maintenance. FeLV/FIV testing every 3 months Advertising stud services. Responsibility of handling other people's queens (insurance too) Being available at very short notice for stud services Extra time for "loving" a stud cat kept outside. Not being able to board out stud cat if you wish to take a holiday
If you go to cat shows:
Subscriptions to more cat clubs Travel to meetings &
symposiums .Travel to shows as visitor. Show catalogues &
door entry fees Entry fees for shows when exhibiting
..Travelling to & from shows (can be very long distances)
.Hotel accommodation .Grooming and conditioning products.
Time off work to attend shows, show drapes & furnishings
Extra time for training & handling show cats.
Assuming then that you are one of the more dedicated people with a willingness to change your lifestyle to suit your hobby, your partner does not object to the additional costs, very early mornings and extremely late nights, sometimes no sleep at all, the highs and the very upsetting lows, then
I hope my breeding advice is a help to you.
How to
go about Cat Breeding
Firstly, you must ensure your girl is on the Active Register. Cats are registered on the Non-Active Register when their breeder does not wish them to be used for breeding; this will have been the decision of her breeder so you should be honest about your intentions to breed at the time of purchase. Make plans well in advance of when you want her to be mated. She will kitten nine week after mating and there will be three months in which the kittens need to be reared and cared for - this makes a minimum of five months in all and could be a longer period if your queen does not come into season when expected, or if you have problems with the litter and they are not ready to leave you at three months.
Your female should be adult and well grown at the time of her first litter, and many stud owners are reluctant to take a queen on her first call. You should ensure that she was transferred to your ownership when a kitten and that she has been recently re-vaccinated against flu and enteritis. A stud owner will probably wish to see her certificates.
Breeding a cat should only be undertaken if you are aiming to breed to the breed standard. That is choosing very carefully the girl who will be the mother of your kittens and studying her pedigree against the choice of stud you have found. Look at the stud carefully does he have all the attributes he should have ?
If in doubt do ask his owner, he/she should be more than experienced enough to be able to assess their own cats objectively.
How to know which cat to breed
Knowing which cats to breed is perhaps the most important step in the breeding process. You should first decide your motivation for breeding. If it is to improve the bloodline of one of your existing animals, you’ll want to take different actions than if your motivation is to breed champion animals within your pedigree.
If you’re looking to breed cats to improve the bloodline, you’ll want to first consider what the weaknesses are of your queen or stud. You need to be aware of what the pedigree standard is and establish the weaknesses. A good queen to breed is typically outgoing but not overly aggressive and has decent size about her. She should not have any structural defects and should have a good disposition.
A good stud should be the best available to breed. It should have an incredibly strong bloodline and should be strong in the characteristic areas where the queen is weak. Male breeding cats typically have stronger DNA and lead more to what the kittens will be like. You want to make sure your male cat is as close to perfect as possible.
If your motivation is to breed champion pedigrees, you need to find extremely strong bloodlines. If you’re looking for champion kittens, you need to make sure your queen has an overall superb quality. It needs to be as void from flaws as possible, have an exceptional disposition and bone quality. And the stud should be very similar. You won’t breed champions unless both parents are of such unique quality that they themselves are practically champions.
Some other things to consider when breeding cats are to be aware of inbreeding. If you can breed with sons and daughters and half brothers with half sisters, you will help out the bloodline of the breed. There’s a misconception that inbreeding among cats can cause physical and mental ailments. This is not true. Inbreeding is actually something that is encouraged among solid ancestry lines.
You should do some research on the ancestry of the cats you’re considering breeding. Line breeding can be dangerous. Line breeding is when cats who have a common ancestor but who are not related to each other are bred. The problem comes in when you don’t look at the physical and mental flaws in the animals you are breeding. Line breeding often leads to animals with similar flaws being bred. This can be dangerous, as it exemplifies the flaws rather than cures it and can lead to kittens that have severe problems.
Visually check both cats against the breed standard, yourself it is part of your learning experience and it will be of immense help to you in all your breeding plans.
Discuss the probable mating with the breeder of your female, she or he will have a good background knowledge of pedigree's and any pitfalls involved and will be very willing to help you.
A female cat can start coming into 'call' as young as seven months although this is far far too young to start breeding, you should use this time to carefully monitor the pattern of her 'calling' and to start making enquiries about any future mating.
When a young female starts to call, it is not usually too vocal, but with each passing 'call' she will get louder and much more strident it can be very loud and very disturbing. Some owners have initially thought that their cat was in pain, and to all intents and purposes the female thinks that she is very badly done to, because she wants desperately to get out and find a mate. If your female does escape from the house then she definitely will come back pregnant, if she comes back at all because she will chased by every rampant romeo in the district.
Breeding cats must be kept inside and not allowed the freedom offered to other pets, this is for their own safety and to keep them away from the prospects of, cat diseases, along with the obvious dangers of being outside.
HOW OFTEN DOES A FEMALE CAT COME INTO HEAT?
I
n 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 February through to October), returning back into heat approximately every other week.
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 behaviour 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.
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 at least 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 fine 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 are not bred and they have 3 or more heat cycles, especially if these heat cycles are extremely intense, unless they are bred they may become more prone to a condition known as "cystic ovaries". Once cysts develop on the ovaries, this will usually render these queens sterile and incapable of becoming pregnant (however, these queens can still be spayed and make wonderful pets).
So your female is calling you think,
how do you know for sure ?
The very first signs shown by your female that she is thinking of coming in to 'call' may be restlessness and overly friendly, this can be difficult to assess if your cat is like any of ours, because they are always over friendly.
Other signs are that she will start rushing around, meowing and paddling the ground with her back legs, sometimes rolling over and over and howling. The howling is the real give away. She must be kept away from all male cats, this includes a male neuter.
Females come into their call or season frequently throughout the spring and the summer. At the very most if you are lucky, your female will have a break of 3 to 4 weeks in between each call. Each 'call' last from 4 to 10 days and if you are really 'lucky' and I say that very tongue in cheek, your female will call for 7 to 10 days every 10 days. Please be prepared for this and ask yourself can you cope with it.
Ideally a female should only have one litter a year, so there are a lot of tense weeks of 'calling' to live with during this time.
MAKING PLANS
There are a number of things one should do once the decision is made to breed your female. If this is your first litter you are probably taking your girl out for stud service. Once you have made your choice of studs, and the owner of that stud is willing to accept your female, a visit to your veterinarian is in order. If the owner of the male is conscientious, she will ask for a recent health certificate and FELV test. If she doesn't require these - look elsewhere for a stud! The stud owner should also be willing to show you the results of a recent FELV test for her male too. You should be just as concerned about the health of the male as the stud owner is about your female. In addition to these tests you should have your female checked for parasites and make sure she has been vaccinated within a couple of months of the breeding but not closer than three weeks before breeding.
It is very important to have a clear understanding of what you are paying for before you take/send your female to the male. The stud owner should watch the cats breed at least once before leaving them together any length of time. Some breeders just toss the cats together and never know if they mate. Do you pay for stud service if no breeding is witnessed? If the female goes out of season and does not get bred, do you pay a stud fee or \ board? If she is bred but does not conceive, do you get a return breeding? If so, how many? If you get one or more return stud services, do you pay board for the time she is there for return stud service? If your female becomes ill while out for breeding, who pays for veterinary care? Will the owner of the stud hold you responsible if your female injures the stud? And conversely, is the owner of the stud liable if the stud injures your female. What constitutes a litter? If the kittens are stillborn, do you get another stud service? Some breeders feel that if the stud has done what you paid for (impregnated the cat), that is the end of their responsibility; others feel you should get one, and sometimes two, live kittens. When shipping a cat, you are responsible for air fare both ways and may be asked to pay for the cost of the breeder going to and from the airport. It certainly eliminates misunderstandings if you ask all of these questions ahead of time. Ask if the cats will be caged separately, side-by-side, to get acquainted. Some breeders put a female in with a male as soon as she arrives and because she is feeling frightened and strange, she may go out of season and not come in again for some time. Or - an aggressive male may try to breed a female right away and if she is not receptive she will fight him and in most cases, any chance of a mating taking place will end right there. Finally, if you are dealing with someone with high quality cats (and you should be and not a "backyard" breeder), remember that, the stud owner is doing YOU a favour in accepting your female for breeding. The owner is the one who is dealing daily with a male who must be confined so needs lots of extra attention and is probably spraying. A boy will do his best to attract the girls and seems to think he can accomplish this by spraying farther (from every shelf in his cage) and smelling worse than any other cat.
Assuming you have carefully considered the situation and have decided to breed, there are many things you should know and do. The first thing is to prepare the queen for pregnancy.
Vaccinations: The queen passes important protective antibodies to her kittens. Some of these antibodies are transferred while the kittens are still in her uterus, but most are given with the milk, or 'colostrum'. This immunity conferred by these antibodies is strong but temporary, and the antibolevel in the kittens gradually falls to below protective levels a few weeks after birth. You can ensure the kittens get the maximum protection by correctly vaccinating the queen. It is recommended to vaccinate before the mating. It is not recommended that the queen be vaccinated during early pregnancy, as the kittens could be adversely affected.
Worming: The queen should be wormed before mating to help ensure she is in good physical condition for pregnancy. Treat the queen again a day or so after the delivery. Around the delivery period, you should wash the queen's nipples to remove any worm eggs stuck to the skin, there could be a number of these which the kittens might otherwise ingest while sucking.
Blood Test
: Many responsible breeders have their cats Felv and FIV tested to ensure that no diseases will be transmitted during the mating.
Though the brood queen plays a vital part in the breeding
programme, the stud male's role is perhaps even more
important, for he may be responsible for hundreds of
kittens during his working life, while even the most
fertile queen is likely to produce a maximum of one
hundred. For this reason the stud male must be an
excellent example of his breed, selected for his good
looks, which should approximate closely to the breed
standard of points of excellence, for his general health
and stature, and for his gentle temperament. He should
have been well reared and from a strong litter that
suffered no setbacks during the kittens' early days. The
qualities and fertility records of both his parents should
be known.
Keeping a stud male properly requires experience and
understanding. Such cats are generally loving and
affectionate, but their habit of spray-marking their
territory and possessions means that they usually have to
be housed well away from the family's rooms. It is
important, however, for the stud cat to be kept occupied
and interested in life during the periods between visiting
queens. He will need lots of affection and daily handling,
even short coated cats benefiting from daily grooming. His
accommodation should be as pleasant and spacious as
possible, with plenty of exercise areas and access to
suitable spots for sunbathing and running.
A cat chosen as a potential stud will be shown to
championship status in order to prove his quality and may
even go on to become a grand or double-grand champion. He
will be carefully reared through kitten hood, and be fed
to grow strong and healthy. His vaccination programmes
will be meticulously carried out and regular booster
injections given. He will be regularly dosed against
internal parasites and his teeth, ears and claws will be
examined weekly.
When a stud cat loses his popularity, the caring owner
will have him neutered rather than let him become more and
more morose living in a state of frustrated boredom.
As soon as your queen commences to call (signs of being on call vary between breeds, so it would be sensible to discuss what to expect with your breeder) contact the stud owner and check that the stud is available and when you take your queen. It is sensible to have a reserve in mind in case the stud already has another queen with him.
When you bring your cat home again she may still be calling. Make sure she has no opportunity to escape and be mated again by the local tom who will be waiting. A litter can be sired by more than one male and you can give no pedigree if the parentage is uncertain and all the kittens would have to be registered with 'sire unknown'.
Whilst you wait for the pregnancy of about 65 days to pass, read as many books as possible on cat breeding. Several will be obtainable at your local library. Keep in contact with your breeder, Breed Club and, if you have any worries, your vet. It's a good ideal to let him/her know when your kittens are due because all the problems that beset human pregnancies can happen with cats, including the need for a caesarean. Make sure you know exactly what to expect at the birth, and that you have everything ready. If anything happens that worries or concerns you don't hesitate to seek advice as quickly as possible. The care you have taken of your queen during her pregnancy by careful feeding, worming at the correct time (taking veterinary advice if necessary), choosing the stud cat carefully and making all the correct preparations will now prove their worth and greatly increase the chances of a healthy litter.
The stud owner will require the stud fee to be paid before the queen leaves and should provide a copy of the stud's pedigree and a mating certificate, plus details of the terms of any repeat mating. Do not offer a kitten in payment. 'Breeding terms' always lead to problems.
The very first signs shown by your female that she is thinking of coming in to 'call' may be a long stage of restlessness and overly friendliness, this can be difficult to assess if your cat is like any of ours, because they are always overly friendly.
Other signs are that she will start rushing around, meowing and paddling the ground with her back legs, sometimes rolling over and over and howling. The howling is the real give away. She must be kept away from all male cats, this includes a male neuter.
Females come into their call or season frequently throughout the spring and the summer. At the very most if you are lucky, your female will have a break of 3 to 4 weeks in between each call. Each 'call' last from 4 to 10 days and if you are really 'lucky' and I say that very tongue in cheek, your female will call for 7 to 10 days every 10days. Please be prepared for this and ask yourself can you cope with it.
Ideally a female should only have one litter a year, so there are a lot of tense weeks of 'calling' to live with during this time.
The queen as the adult breeding female is called, should be taken to the chosen stud on the second day of her call, but only after the stud owner has been contacted to make sure it is convenient.
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 matings 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. 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, if they have mated well over the two days that is enough to ensure the queen is pregnant.
If no kittens are produced from the mating, then the stud's owner should really be willing to take the Queen again, but there is obligation to do so.
Now that your girl is home, happy and hopefully pregnant, you can plan for the litter.
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 65 days. Most of our queens deliver on the 65th day. 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. You or the stud owner may have confirmed pregnancy by examining the nipples which become enlarged and turn quite pink about three weeks after mating or she or your veterinarian may have been able to tell by palpating the abdomen. Your veterinarian should be able to feel her abdomen carefully (called "palpating") and detect any small foetus's. Some queens will have a few episodes of vomiting - the feline version of "morning sickness". Some of the signs of pregnancy in animals are the same as humans - a tendency to sleep more and an increased appetite. 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 !!
17 to 21 days after mating her teats will be a deep pink, known as 'pinking up' this is a sure sign the queen is pregnant.
Throughout the gestation period the queen should be treated quite normally and should not be fussed, for over humanized queens usually make dreadful mothers. The spoiled queen may refuse to wash or nurse her kittens unless her owner stays beside her and lends a hand; she may be constantly stressed and therefore produce acid milk. The normal, well balanced and properly treated queen will sail through her period of pregnancy, birth and motherhood without encountering any serious problems, and will in turn, rear normal, healthy, well balanced youngsters.
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 little 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.
Do not increase the queens rations too early, be guided by your queen, ours are generally looking for extra meals at around 4 weeks, although the text books, advise not giving extra food until the latter two or three weeks.
The only problem we have with this, is that our girls don't read books !
The main drain on your queens' reserves will occur when she is feeding the kittens, not during pregnancy itself.
Overfeeding can produce problems, so you do have to be
careful to keep your queen in tip top condition. A fat
queen with a 'lazy' uterus may be capable of only weak and
perhaps ineffectual muscle contractions. Excessive fat
around the pelvic canal and oversized kittens can add to
the obese queen's difficulty in expelling the kittens at
term, so that veterinary assistance may be required. If
you are feeding a good, balanced diet there is no need for
extra supplements of vitamins or minerals.
Do not be surprised or concerned if, in late pregnancy,
the queen eats only a little at a time, or seems to be
only 'picking' at her food, Her abdomen is crowded with
kittens. This makes it uncomfortable to fill up with large
meals. By eating little but often she will usually consume
her normal daily intake. Some queens are eating about
twice their normal ration by the end of pregnancy. This is
all right so long as you do not start the increase too
early. Most queens will not over eat. Have the food freely
available and the queen will help herself.
Exercise within reason, normal exercise and activities
should be allowed. Jumping from heights should be
discouraged, especially in the last two weeks.
WHERE TO DELIVER?
Think ahead to where you want your mother-to-be to have her kittens. The middle of the duvet on your bed is NOT a good place. Nor do I like a closet floor because even in the best of locations it can be drafty. While my cats are generally only ever penned if they are playing outside safely, or obviously at a cat show, they roam the house free at night. I am a firm believer in a kittening pen for certain situations. Kittening is one of the times I insist on penning. It eliminates all sorts of problems you can do without ! Many a breeder has gotten up in the morning to find dead newborns scattered all over the house while other mothers insist that every day is moving day until the babies have puncture holes in their necks. Purchase or make a kittening pen, ours are made by a company called Rhampaws, and we are very pleased with them. Then you should decide where you want the mother to deliver and put her in it for a few hours every day, towards the end of her pregnancy, if she is not used to being penned. You find that your queen will have her own idea's if you do not give her some guidance, for a couple of weeks before delivery, your girl will be looking for places to deliver. She will poke into dark corners, make a mess of your linen closet if you are careless enough to leave the door unlatched or take over your overflowing laundry basket. Once you have her penned, she will do a lot of digging and nesting. Some breeders line the bed with newspaper but I find that too messy so I use quality Vet Bed, this washes well and does not object to the tumble dryer, which is an added bonus.
IS TODAY THE DAY?
Some cats give obvious hints when they are going to deliver, others give none. Most cats will skip the last meal before delivering; I have a couple of girls who will snack between having kittens and one in particular, Maisie who has been known to demand a full breakfast and then deliver her kittens within the hour. . Anything to make it more confusing.. Some breeders insist that they can accurately predict delivery time by taking temperatures twice daily beginning the 61st. day after breeding. If the temperature reads about 101.5 for a couple of days, then drops to 98 or 99 degrees, you can expect labour to begin within 12 hours. If the temperature goes a couple of degrees ABOVE normal, you have been real sharp and caught a beginning problem and you need to call your veterinarian right away. This may mean a problem with the pregnancy or a developing illness of some other type.
SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR DELIVERY
(Many) old, but very clean soft face cloths or hand towels
Heating pad
Small carrier which opens from the top or a container of some sort in which to put the pad.
Extra Vet Bed or bedding
Record book and pen
I keep a new shoe box always, just in case for the kittens to be transported to the vets, in the shoe box then inside the travelling basket with their mother., this keeps the kittens with their mum but also greatly increases their safety in the confines of the travelling basket.
Small scales which measures weight in small increments. (being Weight Watchers permanent friend, I find their scales are ideal). It does not help me loose weight but they are great for weighing new kittens.
Dopram-V (doxapram hydrochloride) this is extremely useful in reviving an inert kitten. Two tiny drops under the tongue will increase the heart rate and the blood circulation.
Oxytocin - discuss this with your vet
First Stage of Labour
In the first stage of labour, perhaps all you will notice after a general uneasiness in the cat is a slight mucous discharge or a more or less constant washing of her genital area.
Second Stage of Labour
The second stage of labour begins with straining. Sometimes the queen will go into her litter pan and squat but do nothing. You can see and feel the muscles of the abdomen contract as the straining becomes more pronounced. To facilitate delivery, the vaginal opening will have enlarged and the vagina will be well lubricated. Though a cat will rest between contractions, the contractions will come closer and closer together as the kitten leaves one of the horns of the uterus and nears delivery. Once the head is out, the rest of the kitten comes without too much trouble. Tail-end first means the large rib-cage has to come first and it is more difficult to deliver. Head first or rear first, the first thing you will see is some portion of the kitten covered by the sac of membranes. Once the kitten is out you will probably find it is still pretty closely connected to the mother by the cord to the placenta (or "afterbirth") which she should expel fairly quickly. She probably will begin to lick the kitten right away but may be more concerned with washing herself, especially if it is her first litter. Either way, break the sac over the face of the kitten and begin to rub it lightly with a small cloth such as a face cloth. If it is wiggling and making noise you have time for her to expel the afterbirth. If the kitten seems too quiet and lethargic, it is probably safest to break the cord so you can take the kitten out of the nest to work on it. Rub firmly with the hand towel and clear the mouth to remove fluid. Hold the kitten between the palms of your two hands, head down, and swing briskly back and forth, pendulum fashion. Stop and aspirate again and continue rubbing; continue the swinging and aspirating as long as you think there is liquid in nose, mouth or lungs. Once the kitten is breathing well and crying, stimulate by drying some more. Occasionally you will have a kitten born that does not seem to be breathing and the normal massaging doesn't seem to help. If you have Dopram-V available, a drop under the tongue, may be a life-saver. Continue to massage the kitten and "shake down". (Discuss this with your veterinarian ahead of time).
KEEPING RECORDS
I start to make a note of early on in the 'delivery' noting what time the contractions actually started. I do this just in case it goes on for a length of time to cause concern, then I can tell my vet the exact details.
After this you are ready for your actual birth record keeping.
Chelz -
Date Kittens were due 30.08.00 - actual birth date 30.08.00
started showing signs by 'nesting' at 2.45am
4
:00 a.m. cream male (headfirst) 4 1/2 oz (& afterbirth)4:20 a.m. cream male (headfirst) 4 1/2 oz (& afterbirth)
5.10 a.m. cream male (headfirst) 4 oz (& afterbirth)
6.00 a.m. blue-cream female (breech) 4 oz (&afterbirth)
6.35 a.m. blue-cream female (headfirst) 3 1/2 oz (&afterbirth)
7.20 a.m. blue-cream female (headfirst) 4 oz (&afterbirth)
I always keep a record, for various reasons, it is extremely helpful to the vet if he is needed in an emergency. I then carry on with the record keeping to record the daily weight of the kittens. this is most important - a lack of gain one day may be followed by a loss of weight the next day. By the time you notice or feel a weight loss; it may be too late to help the kitten and reverse the condition. If you weigh them daily about the same time, you will know if they are gaining regularly. Don't count on your sense of touch to tell you this. You cannot tell a loss of 1/4 to 1/2 ounce and this can be serious with a very young kitten. If you need to give supplemental feedings as might be the case with a large litter or to give the smallest kitten an extra boost, the sooner you notice any slight change, the better the prospects will be for the kitten..
Watch the mother carefully to see if she delivers the afterbirth and check off somewhere on the record for each kitten, the delivery of the afterbirth. It is VERY important to count a placenta for each kitten. As a retained afterbirth can cause a major infection for the mum within 24 hours. If a retained placenta is not expelled after an injection of Oxytocin, it may liquify and be expelled or be absorbed but this should be discussed with your vet.
IF YOU NOTICE A PROBLEM, CALL FOR HELP IMMEDIATELY
While most deliveries are problem-free, if a cat is in HARD labour for an hour and has not delivered a kitten, you should be concerned. Do NOT let anyone talk you into letting a cat continue in hard labour for more than two hours. It may be a simple problem where your vet can manually turn a kitten into a better delivery position. However, it could mean the kitten is just too large to deliver or it could even mean a torn uterus. In either case, a cat could labour forever and not deliver. The latter can, in most cases, be repaired for future eventless deliveries. Sometimes a cat needs a C-section but sometimes she just needs more expert help than you can give. Occasionally, labour stops and the veterinarian will give Oxytocin to start contractions again.
There is a problem you can handle yourself. "Each kitten is enveloped in a skin sac, transparent and filled with fluid. When the kitten starts through the birth canal, this sack sometimes is forced through first, the water forming a sort of blister-like protrusion before the kitten appears. Sometimes the force of the contractions makes the bubble very full of fluid and keeps the progress of the kitten back. Should this occur, pinch the bubble, or sack, between the nails of the thumb and the first finger to break it and allow some of the "water" to escape, and the kitten will then come rapidly as the pressure is relieved.
Most queens will attempt to eat each afterbirth; unless your cat is like some of my girls, who look at the afterbirth, then look at me and say "Sorry you know I don't 'do' afterbirths" I figure a couple are enough and dispose of the rest. In the wild, an animal will eat the afterbirth to remove all traces of the birth as protection from enemies. It is also a source of nourishment, a possible laxative and a source of hormones to make the uterus contract. The queen may deliver her kittens at 15 minute intervals or even wait four hours before producing another. As long as she seems seems comfortable - don't panic. An extended period of hard, unproductive labour is worth panicking about.
I
have to admit, that I only move kittens if they are in danger of being trampled on. I supervise all through the birth no matter how long it takes.It is vitally important at this stage to keep the newborns warm and dry.
AT LAST!
Most queens, when they finish delivering, make it pretty obvious by their relaxed attitude. The bedding gets wet and messy with each delivery so you will have changed it a time or two and now it's time to change the bed again and return the kittens to their mother - one by one. The kittening 'bed' I use for delivery is purpose built and it will be the family home for about 4 weeks. It opens from the front, and also with an opening top. The latter makes it very easy to help with the delivery of the kittens.
Katakoustiks Kall Me Madam
(Maisie quite content to watch the world go by - April 2003)
After all the kittens are back with their mother and she is attending to them, I close the top and leave the front opening door open for mum, if she wants come out. The kittens and mother are now snuggled up close further in the "nest" area, lying on clean dry Vet Bed, under which is placed the heated pad. I always give mum a warm dish of Cimicat, cat milk supplement and a little honey mixed in to help her to settle. After a little while, peek in and if all the babies seem to be nursing and contented, turn out the lights (deliveries often seem to happen at night) and go to bed. There is no better feeling than getting back into your own bed, knowing your queen is settled with her babies, and as you start to relax, you can hear the little ones suckling contentedlyI
I find this style of kittening 'bedroom' convenient because I can leave the front door open for the queen to come and go as she pleases until the babies can get out of the nest box. Then I keep the front closed, open one side of the top, and mom can still get out. By the time the youngsters try climbing the wire door it is time to move them to a very large kittening pen and play run downstairs now to get used to all the hustle and bustle, then from this kittening pen, they will learn to have the run of the house.
THE KITTENS
Sexing should be done if possible when the kittens are a day or two old, as the fur will not have grown too much. Beneath the tail of the male kitten will be seen the anus, and about 1cm to 1½cm nearer the stomach the rudimentary testicles, which have a bunchy appearance, may be seen. In the female the anus is in the same position, but close to it the vagina appears as a small slit. There is no 'bunchiness' in the female. If both sexes are in the litter the task is easier, as the differences may be seen more clearly with male and female side by side.
Most queens can manage to feed up to four or five kittens quite successfully. Some manage more. If it is found that a queen has no milk, it may be possible to find a foster mother, otherwise hand feeding may be necessary. This is no easy task, as it means feeding every two hours day and night for nearly three weeks. If the queen has lost interest in the kittens, they must be cleaned very gently all over by wiping with a slightly dampened rough towelling to replace the mother's tongue.
About eight to twelve days after birth, depending on the breed, the kittens' eyes will start to open. The kittens should not be kept in any strong light until the eyes are opened.
At the age of about three weeks the kittens will start to climb out of the box and stagger around. A small easily accessible litter tray should be provided and they will quickly learn how to use it.
Weaning may start at this age. Suitable foods are milk food sold specially for kittens, baby foods or goats' milk; a little milk of magnesia may be added to prevent digestive trouble. A drop on the kitten's lips for the first day or two will enable it to get the taste. Most kittens readily learn to lap from a spoon, which in turn can lead to a small saucer. A small teaspoonful should be sufficient once a day for the first week; in the second week a second feed can be introduced, offering perhaps a little scraped raw beef.
Up until now, your responsibility to the litter was pretty much limited to keeping the bed clean, the queen fed and happy, and handling the babies daily to weigh and inspect them. Once their eyes are open and they can see at around 3 weeks, I concentrate and getting the kittens even more used to being handled, by holding them, stroking them and talking softly to each one in turn.
VACCINATIONS
Every breeder has a pattern of vaccinations that works for them. You will have a number of decisions to make regarding vaccinations. I have always used the same vaccine my veterinarians use (a modified live virus). We are currently using a vaccine (two doses, three weeks apart) that combines protection against four upper respiratory infections: rhinotracheitis, calici, panleukopenia and chlamydia psittaci.
RESPONSIBILITY
Now that your kittens are vaccinated you will be thinking about new homes for them.
Please remember our breeders own ethics which are,
"You are responsible for every kitten you have caused to be born whether it is out of one of your females or SIRED BY YOUR MALE!" The latter is something often forgotten - think carefully BEFORE you breed your female and before you allow your stud to breed an outside female. This is quite a responsibility we take on when we choose to breed cats...
Question and Answers
HOW DO I KNOW WHEN MY CAT IS IN LABOUR?
Each female cat, or "queen", is different, and even the same queen can have different experiences with each litter. How her labour will go will depend upon many factors, including her age, health, genetics, how many kittens she is carrying, the size and placement of the kittens in her womb, if this is her first litter, etc. etc. Some queens will become more agitated and restless when they are in early labour; some will have a slight mucous-y vaginal discharge; and you may also notice her trying to wash and clean her genital area more frequently. Once labour begins in earnest, signs will usually include nervousness and panting. The queen will often lose interest in food the last 24 hours or so before labour begins. She will also usually have a drop in rectal temperature below 100ºF (37.8ºC). The temperature drop may occur intermittently for several days prior to delivery, but it will usually be constant for the last 24 hours. When labour starts, some queens will go straight to their nest box and burrow down inside the towels; some will cry and want to stay by your side. Some queens seem to have relatively easy labours, while others really hurt and scream each time a kitten is born. When you can actually see your queen trying to "push" out a kitten, you will know for certain she is having contractions and is in "hard labour". Total time in
labour can vary from several hours to 24 hours or more, with the mother cat normally having some breaks and a rest from labour in between kittens.WHAT HAPPENS DURING DELIVERY?
W
hile most queens experience delivery without complications, breeders will want to always be on the alert and be ready to assist their queens when needed. If there are going to be problems with the delivery, it seems to be most often the queen's first litter wherein problems are encountered. Kittens are usually born head first; however, breech presentations, in which the kitten is delivered tail-end first, occur about 40% of the time in cats and are also considered normal deliveries. Short-haired cats and cat breeds with slender or pointed head types seem to have the easiest and fastest deliveries, while domestic body type cats with the larger, round heads generally have longer delivery times. Each kitten inside the queen is enclosed in its own protective sac that is part of the placenta ("afterbirth"). The placentas usually pass after the kittens are born.If the delivery proceeds normally, a few big contractions will push the kitten out from the queen; it should exit the birth canal within ten minutes of being visible (either the head or sometimes, in the case of a breech birth, you may be able to see the tail). Following each delivery, the mother should lick the newborn's face. Her rough tongue is used to tear open the protective sac and expose the kitten's mouth and nose. This vigorous washing by the mother stimulates circulation, causing the kitten to cry and begin breathing, and also helps to dry off newborn. The mother cat will sever the umbilical cord by chewing through it about 3/4 to 1 inch (1.9 to 2.5 cm) from the body. Next, she will usually eat the placenta, which will usually either come out already attached to the kitten, or will be expelled separately. It is normal for the mother cat to eat the placentas, although not all queens do. It is thought that the placenta contains valuable nutrients, possibly laxatives, and important hormones that help to stimulate milk flow in the queen.
Each kitten, as we mentioned, is born enveloped in a protective skin sac, transparent and filled with fluid. When the kitten starts through the birth canal, this sack sometimes is forced through first, the result being that the water forms a sort of blister-like protrusion before the kitten appears. Sometimes the force of the queen's contractions makes the bubble very full of fluid and prevents the normal progress of the kitten through the birth canal. Should this occur, pinch the bubble, or sack, between the nails of the thumb and the first finger to break the sac gently. This allows some of the "water" to escape, and the kitten should then come rapidly as the pressure from the bubble is relieved.
It is normal for the queen to break open the placental sac and clean the kittens; however, first-time mothers may be bewildered by the whole experience and not know what to do. If the protective sac is not removed within a few minutes after delivery, the kitten will suffocate, so you should be prepared to intervene. The kitten's face should be wiped with a warm, damp wash cloth or clean gauze to remove the sac and allow the kitten to breathe. Then rub the kitten vigorously with a soft, warm towel, trying to simulate as much as possible the way the mother would normally wash her kitten with her tongue) to stimulate circulation in the kitten and dry it off. The umbilical cord which attaches the kitten to the placenta should be tied off with sewing thread or dental floss and cut with scissors sterilized with an alcohol prep or dipped in alcohol. The cord should be tied snugly and cut about 3/4 inch to one inch from the kitten's body. You don't want the cord so long that it gets in the way as the kitten moves around in the nest box; however, you definitely don't want to cut the cord too close to the kitten's body. Take your time, waiting several minutes after you have tied off the cord to cut it, and do so very carefully.
When you see and hear a newborn kitten with a raspy noise as it tries to breathe, check first inside the kitten's mouth to make sure it does not have a cleft palate. (This condition is often accompanied also by a bubbling of air at the nose, and the inability to nurse.) Sometimes, normal newborn kittens may aspirate fluid into the lungs, which you can help to remove by the following procedure. First, the kitten should be held in the palm of your hand with the kitten's face cradled between your first two fingers. The head should be held firmly with this hand, and the body should be held firmly with the other. Stand up, and use a slow, deliberate, downward swing motion with your hands so that the kitten goes down between your legs, then is swung up again. Gravity will help the fluid and mucus to flow out of the lungs. This process may be tried several times until the lungs sound clear. If the kitten is getting enough oxygen, it's tongue will appear pink to red. A bluish coloured tongue indicates insufficient oxygen to the lungs, and the swinging procedure should be repeated.
If you are concerned at all the mother and her litter should be examined by a veterinarian within 24 hours after the delivery is completed. This visit is to check the mother for complete delivery and to check the newborn kittens. The mother may receive an injection (usually Oxytocin) to contract the uterus, expel any remaining birth contents from her uterus, and stimulate her milk production. She will have a bloody vaginal discharge for 3-7 days following delivery, which is perfectly normal. However, if the discharge is extremely heavy or if it continues for longer than one week, she should be examined by a veterinarian for possible problems.
VACCINATIONS DURING PREGNANCY
Kittens inherit protection against infectious diseases in the first breast milk they consume after birth. The higher the mother's level of protective antibodies, the greater the level of inherited protection, which usually lasts from six to twenty weeks. Never vaccinate pregnant cats to increase this level of inherited protection. They should be vaccinated before they are pregnant. Live panleucopenia (enteritis) vaccine can damage the developing brain of kittens in the womb.
Never vaccinate other cats in the household of a pregnant female. Vaccine virus can be shed by vaccinated cats and affect the pregnant individual.
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