Breeding Cats

When breeding we call female cats ‘Queens’ and males cats ‘Toms’.  Before desexing we call both males and females ‘entire’.  We hope you find this information helpful as you prepare for breeding your cats.

1. Queens should be in excellent body condition. Worming and flea treatments should be up to date.  The optimal age to breed a cat is between 12 months & 7 years.

2. Cats may be ‘On Heat’ or ‘On Call’ from as early as a few months of age and therefore any cats who aren’t to be bred from should be desexed as early as possible.  Usually this is done at 5-6 months, however SDVC is most happy to desex kittens from 8 weeks of age.

3. Cats are ‘seasonal breeders’ which mean they usually come into season from spring to summer, as the weather starts to warm up.

Stages of Feline Oestrus include:

5. After mating, the Queen may either become pregnant or go into a false or ‘pseudo-pregnancy’.  These can be difficult to distinguish.  SDVC has ultrasound facilities, so a pregnancy check or ultrasound can be carried out from 16 days after the last mating to determine if they are truly pregnant.

6. Cats go in and out of oestrus constantly, until they are mated.  Therefore having an entire female who is not being bred with is not ideal. She will wear herself out!  Some catteries maintain a vasectomized male in order to stimulate ovulation in queens allowing them to come off call when breeding is not desired.

7. Mating in cats can look quite dramatic.  The Tom often bites the neck of the Queen while mounting, there is characteristic yowling by the queen, and after mating the queen often rubs herself on the ground and rolls from side to side whilst licking her vulva.  Cats can mate up to 30 times in 24 hours.

8. At least 4 matings are required to reliably cause ovulation.

9. We suggest you mark the following dates in your calendar:

1)    Day 1 of oestrus

2)    Date of matings

3)    From date of first mating, mark day 42 of pregnancy for worming

4)    From date of first mating, mark 59-65 days as the kittens due date. Average gestation for cats is 63 days.

10. Worm the Queen at 6 weeks of pregnancy with Drontal, Milbemax or Felix Plus Paste.

11. Queening (giving birth to kittens) should be observed, but it is important that the environment is not stressful as this can delay delivery.  Keep the people involved to a minimum and try to avoid fussing.

12. Two hours of weak contractions without a resulting kitten OR 30 minutes of strong contractions indicate that immediate action should be taken. Oxytocin or a caesarean may be required. It can be normal for a queen to rest for up to 2 hours between kittens. 

13. A vet check and Oxytocin injection should be given within 24 hours of queening to allow good contraction of the uterus and expel possible retained placentae.

14. Heating:  Most cats do not require additional heating whilst suckling kittens.  A warm, soft bed is fine.  Cats will keep this very clean once the initial delivery is complete.

15. When the queen is feeding kittens, she will have increased energy requirements. Feed her as much as she wants, three times a day to maintain her body condition. Eukanuba Feline Adult is ideal.

16. Kittens are to be wormed every two weeks with Felix Plus Paste and nails trimmed every two weeks to avoid scratching of the nipples.

17. Feeding of kittens can commence at 3 weeks of age. SDVC recommends Eukanuba Kitten soaked in a little water initially.

18. Kittens are to be vet checked and vaccinated at 6 weeks.  Microchipping is now compulsory prior to sale.  SDVC provides litter discounts for both vaccination and microchipping.

19. Kittens can be sold between 6 and 8 weeks of age. To allow settling of the milk supply, it may assist the queen to gradually wean the kittens

20. Each kitten should be groomed, nails trimmed, wormed, vaccinated, microchipped and completely flea free before going to a new home.  SDVC has lovely kitten packs available to new owners.  Please ask when the kittens come for their visit.

Kittening Checklist:

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