Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Mating my cats soon, can you help?

I have two persian cats. Marshmallow & GUCCI.

Marshmallow is a 16month old male cat, GUCCI is a 11month old female.

Marshmallow has recently been meowing in funny voices about the house and urinating in places where GUCCI usually rests, when GUCCI is brought to Marshmallow’s room he just cant stop sniffing at her back but I’m quite sure they haven’t mated.

But, one thing noticed is that Marshmallow never sprays/urinates in and around his room excepting his litter box. But what I did notice is that Marshmallow on a pile of clothes was jumping his hind legs up and when I caught him doing that I saw an erection in his penis.

GUCCI is a very loving doll since the day I got her, she snuggles with me in the bed, follows me wherever I go, never begs me treats, licks me on my nose and purrs like hell so I really cant say if she is in heat. Though I have recently been noting that she is running up and down making a growling noise and later rolling on the floor. Since she is a Persian I have been noticing her since 8 months she has a dangling stomach but I dont think so she is pregnant because her nipples are not that pink and protuding.

As soon as she becomes 12 months old, I am going to make a fish cake for GUCCI and later decorate a room for her and put Marshmallow in it for the night. And until I see signs of her being pregnant I will continue keeping her and Marshmallow inside the room during nights.

I have already designed a queen box for her, to nurse her kittens but I just want to know if all of this requires doctors concern. My friend tells me that everything is natural just check her up once with the doctor but dont let him come when she is delivering as it is all natural and automated. If you call the docotor for no work of his he’ll simply demand a kitten.

Please do suggest your views !

Just tell me :

1) Are they both ready to mate ?
2) Anyway I can come to know she is in heat ?
3) Involving the doctor is needed ?
4) Her stomach is dangling, will that make a difference to the number of kittens she’ll produce ?
5) I need your suggestions !
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs180.snc1/6775_105237451273_625421273_2288090_5448709_n.jpg
CathERRR……Lol, what makes you think I am so selfish |

What makes you think my kittens will end up in a shelter ?

I just asked for an opinion, if I have to involve the vet or no ? Thanks I got the answer !

But here is one suggestion from my side, you maybe a top contributor but you dont have the decency and politeness to talk. YOU are very rude. I do agree with what you say and so will other people but you could tell it all in a polite way.

And yeah, I am not in a "HURRY" to be breed them, the male is getting desperate and they love each other so much that I cannot leave them separately, excepting at night.

Lets nature take its own course !
I have used Yaho answers a lot but what I can see is that these "TOP CONTRIBUTORS" are just depressed freaks who just reduce their stress by answering a few questions but their anger and frustration shows the way they answer.

And Catherine is showing it all, moreover I know that she has even used pets to reduce her stress.

Catherine claims to know more about breeding cats even though she doesn’t own them, well she may know ! That is why I am asking ! DUHHHH !

What registry are they registered with as from the snapshot they don’t appear to be of show/breeding quality under any breed standard.( and they do vary around the world)
Have you had the required health tests done ? PKD, Blood typing & BAER for starters?
You wouldn’t want to breed a litter that dies at 12 hours old or were deaf or died from kidney failure would you?
Persians do often need veterinary intervention for kittening.
My advice is neuter your male. Start showing your female and take guidance form people more experienced so she can be mated to a suitable champion male (if she passes health clearances and is deemed suitable) when she has been assessed and has all the required clearances.
Have you checked the inbreeding coefficient on the prospective litter’s pedigree?

10 Responses to “Mating my cats soon, can you help?”

Jeff Says:

The female is too young to breed. Give her to 1-1/2 to 2 years of age. What’s the rush? Let her be a kitten a while longer. And, yes, always involve the Vet. Even though she may be in heat, doesn’t mean you have to breed her. Keep the two cats apart, and let her enjoy life now.
References :
Vet assistant.

J C Says:

I’m guessing here that your Persians are both registered cats, and have won ribbons in the show ring to prove that they are splendid examples of their breed, right? And you’ve had them both screened for the hereditary diseases that are lethal to Persians – PKD, heart disease, and saddle thrombosis, right? And they’re negative?

What? No? Then why on earth are you breeding them? You have no clue what you’re doing, do you? Do you know that Persians -due to their large heads – often require c-section deliveries, which cost up to $2500?

Spay and neuter your cats. Breeding is done to improve the breed, not to make kittens.
References :
many years of cat rescue

Jennifer O Says:

There are many things to consider before breeding your cats:

1) as a responsible breeder, do you already have homes lined up for the possible kittens? If not, you may find that instead of two cats, you now have 6-10.

2) Are both your cats up to date with their veterinary care and have a recent clean bill of health? This includes FeLV/FIV testing, parasite checks, and other more breed-specific tests.

3) Why are you trying to breed them so young? Most cats have healthier litters at 1-2 years vs. breeding under 1 year.

4) Have you read any information on cat breeding or discussed this with your veterinarian? Persians have large heads and, like bulldogs and other large headed breeds, can require a cesarean section surgery to deliver the kittens – the heads may be too large to pass through the birth canal. Have you looked into the cost of a surgery like this? They can run $1000-2000 or more, depending on whether there are any complications. This number increases if you wait and the mother or kittens are in crisis at the time of surgery. Also, at some point during the pregnancy, you should have ultrasound and radiographs taken to make sure the kittens are all alive and to know how many kittens to expect.

If you leave everything to nature, a first time mother cat will sometimes chew off the tails (or other parts!) of her kittens instead of the umbilical cords, may leave a kitten on the other side of the room to starve or chill to death, or other atrocity.

After the kittens are born, you have to make sure they are all nursing appropriately, weigh them daily to make sure they are gaining weight (you will need a postal scale for this, and if they are not gaining weight, they will need to see the vet at this time), and if the mother refuses any of them, you will have to feed them yourself with a bottle every 1-2 hours 24 hours a day for several weeks. Eventually, you will be able to feed them less frequently. At age 6 weeks, they should go into the vet for their first checkup, vaccines, and deworming – this will likely run you about $100 per kitten. This is also anticipating that none of the kittens are born with any defects that require medical care prior to this. After they are weaned (at 8 weeks or later), then you can start introducing them to their new homes.

5) Why are you breeding these cats? To have more cats? Someone wants one? You want to make money? They are show animals from a champion line? Just "for fun"? To show your kids the miracle of life?

Unless your answer is that you have 4-8 friends that have asked for kittens, or you are planning to show them in a cat show, then you should probably rethink breeding them. The financial outlay is often much more than the money you will get for the cats – if you pay $2500 for a c-section and only 4 kittens survive, you would have to charge $725 per kitten just to cover your vet bills, let alone possibly needing kitten formula, and all the time and effort you put into raising them. You will likely not turn a profit, and with all the cats at the humane society and on PetFinder.com, Craigslist, etc. people are not going to pay over $700 for a cat unless its parents are grand champions at cat shows and health certified by a veterinarian. And really, do you want to potentially invest up to $4000 in a "just for fun" project?

If your answer to that last question is yes, then start by calling your vet.
References :
Licensed Veterinary Technician, 10 years in practice

Ocimom Says:

I know this will be hard to take (I’m an ex-breeder of purebred Rexes) but you are going about this the wrong way in so many ways! Please bear with me and I’ll be as nice as I can.

First of all – are the cats show quality purebred cats with registration papers and do you have permission to be breeding them? If not, please take them in now and spay/neuter them. Pet quality cats should never be bred!

Now IF your cats have quality, the next question is "have they been tested for PKD and other genetic problems"? If not, get it done or spay/neuter right now.

Persians are usually slow to mature, so it could be a problem with them. Novice cats usually take longer to figure it out. And keeping them together more then a week when breeding is NOT recommended (you cannot tell if she is pregnant till about 3-4 weeks after mating). Cats will mate whether in or out of heat and you could risk serious complications of kittens developing at different times – cats are induced ovalators – they release eggs when bred.

Unless you know for sure WHEN she is in heat, do NOT leave them together at any time. The male should be kept separated from her so he’s more willing to breed. If they are together too much, many males will not bother.

IMO you really have not done enough research on your cats and both of the should be spayed/neutered. Also keep in mind that many Persians need c-sections to deliver the kittens – this can be pretty costly ($1500+).
References :

sue Says:

What registry are they registered with as from the snapshot they don’t appear to be of show/breeding quality under any breed standard.( and they do vary around the world)
Have you had the required health tests done ? PKD, Blood typing & BAER for starters?
You wouldn’t want to breed a litter that dies at 12 hours old or were deaf or died from kidney failure would you?
Persians do often need veterinary intervention for kittening.
My advice is neuter your male. Start showing your female and take guidance form people more experienced so she can be mated to a suitable champion male (if she passes health clearances and is deemed suitable) when she has been assessed and has all the required clearances.
Have you checked the inbreeding coefficient on the prospective litter’s pedigree?
References :
Show cats, rarely breed. Lost a Grand champion female and had to hand rear her single kitten – every two hours for several weeks.

COA Says:

I can only help by saying what others have already said. Unless your cats are prime breeding stock of show quality they should not be allowed to reproduce. I read all their comments and yours and I will say that top contributors are not necessarily depressed freaks, but in this category it is understandable why many of us would be depressed at times. Still because of our love for cats we choose to try and help educate others. The horrific sights of killed animals as shown in Catherine’s link is common in shelters across this country where millions of beautiful cats (just like yours) are put to sleep because no one wants them. Your kittens may find decent homes but it will end up costing you more than it is worth. Not to mention the risk you take. It would be a shame for Gucci to die because of complications. What’s more for each kitten you place one must die in a shelter because your kitten took its home. It sounds as though you love cats and I don’t think you are so much selfish as uninformed. I do think your intentions are good so please think hard on this. By making the decision to spay/castrate you could be part of the solution. :) If you don’t then you will be like so many others who only contribute to the deaths of all those precious animals. :(

If you decide to go ahead and fix your pets I would advise you to take them in at the same time and don’t worry on how they will feel about each other afterwards. They should be just as affectionate and loving as before.
References :

Happy Mew Year! Says:

These are cats that should never be bred. They’re not show quality, breed standard Persians. Their eyes are the wrong shape (they’re supposed to be completely ROUND), they don’t have the breed standard short faces and their ears are pointed – they should be rounded.

You clearly bought them from some horrible backyard breeder because reputable breeders don’t just hand over pedigreed quality cats to anyone. They only do so after that person has established a relationship with them, has shown their own alter cats of the same breed for at least a couple of years and unlike you, wants to breed cats for the RIGHT reasons – for the love of the breed and to better the breed. You can’t "better the breed" with cats as inferior as yours. And since I highly doubt you have papers for them really can’t even sell them as Persians.

Do you even know about PKD – Polycystic Kidney Disease? I’m betting you don’t and I’d bet a $1,000 that this lowly breeder didn’t bother to test his cats before breeding them. So you could have two PKD+ cats that give birth to PKD+ kittens – and they and their kittens drop dead as young as four years old.

Any kittens you have will take homes away from shelter animals – which will then end up euthanized. So why would you want to be that selfish? Do the right thing and get them altered. And stop insulting others because the people you’re talking to are, unlike you, quite educated about this subject and people you could stand to learn QUITE a lot from.
References :
Percy, my Persian, and friends who are reputable breeders of show quality, breed standard Persians (again, UNLIKE YOU)

john Says:

I know nothing about breeding cats.But I do know that there are thousands of rescue groups who are left with unwanted cats and kittens because of irresponsible people such as yourself.

You use the term love.I think it is more the urge to mate.A good suggestion would be to delay your backyard breeding enterprise until you read and take some of these answers to heart.And please lose your know it all attitude.I have learned a lot from these Top Contributors you loathe.

Think of what’s best for your cats not your own ego.
References :

Everycat Says:

The "depressed freaks" you name are people who in the real world see pretty much every single day the results of people such as yourself wantonly breeding cats without a clue as to what you are doing. Worse you do not see the bigger picture.

Thousands upon thousands of cats and kittens are killed in shelters every single day because people such as yourself think it’s ok to allow your unfixed cats to breed. For every kitten that your Gucci produces at least two shelter cats or kittens will be put to death because there is one less person looking to offer a cat or kitten a forever home. Often people who are looking for a cat will visit a shelter and maybe take two home with them.

Responsible breeders educate themselves properly for years about breeding cats. They don’t just drop by YA and ask vaguely worded questions about some fantasy they have of cat romance.

The reality is, that if you breed your cats, more cats will die because of it. You will be adding to the terrible problem of pet over population and are no more a responsible breeder than a rock is a cushion.

My advice to you is to buy yourself a good book on cat care and read it. Then make an appointment at your vets to have BOTH of your cats fixed. They need spaying and neutering.

You are putting both cats through unnecessary stress. It is likely they will mate before you "plan" it and Gucci is far too young to be having kittens.

If you get them spayed and neutered you will be saving them a world of health risks including cancer and endless womb infections for Gucci.

You do not give them impression that you know the first thing about the reproductive behaviour or cycle of cats. Therefore you should not even entertain the idea of breeding them.

If you love your cats then you will fully educate yourself about their care and how essential it is to neuter and spay them. Back Yard Breeders do not love their cats, neither do the uneducated who harbour fantasies of cat romance and having teh fluffeh kittehs to play with. You cannot guarantee that your kittens will end up in good, knowledgable homes and in all likelyhood they will end up being gassed in a shelter.

Where is the romance in that?

GET YOUR CATS FIXED.
References :

Alista Says:

ummm….not sure answered dis quuestion to earn 2 points yea!
References :

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