How to understand that a cat is ready for mating: signs and symptoms

What will you learn from the article?

1. When cats are ready to breed
2. Mating
3. How to prepare a male cat for mating Mating of purebred cats
4. How to choose the right mating partner
5. What should owners prepare before mating?

Mating cats is a natural physiological process that requires a responsible attitude on the part of the owner. Before you mate your cat, think about whether you are willing to spend time and money on the cat’s pregnancy, childbirth, and where you will then place the born kittens.

Are you prepared for the difficulties that may arise during the mating process, and subsequently during pregnancy and childbirth?

In our material, we have collected all the information about mating cats and tried to answer all the questions that concern owners.

When cats are ready to breed

It is a mistake to believe that with the onset of the first heat, cats are ready to mate. It is also incorrect to say that a cat is ready for mating at the onset of puberty.

Mating of cats and cats is carried out only when the animal reaches physiological maturity. What does it mean? The animal must reach puberty, become stronger physically and develop psychologically.

This happens in different breeds in different ways, on average – in 1-1.5 years.

Early mating of cats can lead to decreased reproductive abilities. Veterinarians recommend not allowing a cat to mate during its first two heats. The third estrous cycle is the optimal time for the first mating. Mating too early can lead to the death of offspring, complications during childbirth, and infertility.

It is also undesirable to delay this process too much - this has a negative impact on the cat’s mental state, the cat may become aggressive and refuse to mate with the cat.

False pregnancy

It happens that after sterile intercourse, the female’s body reacts as if pregnancy has already occurred. Most often this happens when the inseminator has problems with reproductive function, for example, there are no healthy sperm or their motility is reduced.

The cat begins to behave as if the embryos are developing as expected:

• behavior becomes more cautious;
• nipples swell;
• the stomach increases in size;
• After the end of pregnancy, milk is released from the mammary glands.

This condition is extremely dangerous for a cat: it causes mental stress, severe hormonal imbalance and deterioration of health. To prevent such a situation, you need to select a male who has healthy offspring, carried and born without problems.

How to prepare a female cat for mating

To ensure that the mating of cats goes without problems, the animals are prepared in advance for mating.

1. In 2-3 months
2. 3-4 weeks before mating, animals are shown to a veterinarian. He must conduct an examination, check the presence of all vaccinations, and give a conclusion about the absence of infectious and fungal diseases. Only absolutely healthy pets are allowed to mate.
3. The cat and the stud cat must have all vaccinations according to age. It is unacceptable to vaccinate immediately before mating.
4. 10-14 days before the expected mating, animals are treated for external parasites and anthelmintic treatment is carried out.
5. Immediately before mating, the animals' claws are trimmed so that they do not injure each other during mating games.
6. There is no need to bathe your pets before mating - this will remove the natural smell and complicate the mating process.

Mating of purebred cats

If purebred pets are being prepared for mating, the owners select a suitable pair in advance. This is best done at cat shows or through a professional club.

In advance, both parties prepare documents confirming the pedigree, veterinary passports, draw up and sign an agreement. The contract specifies all the data about the animals and their health status, the owners and the conditions for future mating. The cost and type of payment are negotiated - in monetary terms or in alimentary kittens.

How to choose the right mating partner

Partners for breeding are selected in advance. In order not to pollute the breed and get high-quality and healthy offspring, it is important to adhere to the rules:

• mating partners should not have relatives (up to 3rd generation);
• Only breeds are crossed, mating between which is permitted. For example, the Scottish Fold (Scottish Fold) is prohibited from breeding with fellow tribesmen;
• the choice of a partner is made based on health and appearance - in order to get kittens of a certain color, you need to take into account the color of the cat and the cat;
• The partner is selected according to blood type (A, B, A/B); mating of animals of groups A and B is prohibited.

Important!

A mating agreement is a legal protection of the parties from possible problems and a guarantee of a fair deal.

What should owners prepare before mating?

We have already said that mating is recommended to be carried out on the cat’s territory. The owner of the stud cat must provide a spacious room free of unnecessary furniture. Ideally, a separate, quiet room. You will have to look after the male and female cats, monitoring the mating process. The cat owner must be ready to help the animal if necessary.

The cat's owners must prepare in advance the carrier and all the things that the “bride” may need while she is visiting the “groom”: a tray, a bowl and the usual food for 2-3 days.

Negative consequences

The pussy cannot tell its owner about its problems. Therefore, the owner must be extremely attentive to symptoms that may indicate the onset or worsening of the disease.

Idle cats in heat are fraught with purulent inflammation of the uterus, leading to rapid death. If there is a hormonal imbalance, it is better to have the pussy castrated immediately, even at an early age.

The increased duration of the period of sexual heat (longer than a week) cannot be stopped by taking hormonal drugs. Menstruation in cats, unlike menstruation in women, is not painful. There are only two ways out of this situation: mating or castration.

Painful discharge or vomiting is a real reason to seek help from a doctor.

What to do if there is no heat

In order to breed a purebred cat, you need to ensure that the female is ready for fertilization. Measures that breeders recommend to prepare a cat for mating:

• make a girlfriend. Pussies often show readiness to mate at the same time.
• invite a cat to visit. The smell of a sexually mature cat awakens the reproductive instinct.
• Use homeopathic remedies and vitamins. You can induce a healthy female to mate by including drugs in the diet: vitamin E, catozal, gamavit, ovariovit, ortilin.

How does mating occur in cats?

The cat is brought to the cat on the 3-6th day of estrus and mating lasts 2-3 days. Animals are left in a separate room where nothing will interfere with the process. Mating is always preceded by a courtship ritual.

The cat gets to know the cat, sniffs her, purrs loudly, carefully approaching his partner. The cat does not allow the male to approach her, hisses at him, and drives him away with her paw. From the outside it may seem that the cat is not at all happy with the cat. In fact, it is part of the courtship ritual.

When the cat moves to a safe distance, the cat begins to flirt with its partner and purrs invitingly. To encourage the gentleman, she takes characteristic poses - lifts her tail, raises her croup and falls on her front paws. When the cat tries to approach, the cat runs away. Everything starts from the beginning. This “game” can last for hours and days.

When the cat has had enough of playing, she becomes less obstinate and allows the male to mount. The cat jumps on the partner from behind, holds her by the scruff of the neck with his teeth and clasps her sides with all four paws. The cat helps its partner - it removes its tail and presses itself to the floor.

When the male's attempts are successful, ejaculation occurs. The cat freezes for a while from a few seconds to 4 minutes and purrs contentedly. This is the moment of the partner’s highest arousal - the cat’s pupils dilate as much as possible.

After this, the female throws off the gentleman and hits him hard with her paw, releasing her claws. At this moment, the cat screams loudly - the keratinized spines on the cat’s genitals cause pain.

After copulation, the animals lose interest in each other and begin personal hygiene. After a pause, the process may be repeated. Owners usually do not take the cat right away; they give the pets the opportunity to copulate several times. This increases the cat's chances of becoming pregnant.

Mating rules

To get the desired result, experienced breeders and veterinarians recommend following these rules:

• Mating always takes place in the cat's territory;
• the cat is brought to the male’s house on the 3rd-6th day of estrus, when her appearance shows her readiness for mating;
• the cat in the new home is left in a carrier for some time so that it has time to get used to the new smells and the presence of the cat;
• after the cat and cat have sniffed each other through the carrier, they are released into an empty room and left there;
• the cat's owner must be able to look after the couple;
• if the female has lost signs of estrus due to severe stress, she is left to live next to the cat for a while or taken home until she resumes estrus;
• The cat owner should not unnecessarily interfere in the process, shout at the animals, or try to speed up the mating process.

Important!

If you're a cat owner, be prepared for a few hectic days and sleepless nights. Stay calm and control your emotions, even if you are tired of noisy animal mating games.

Knitting problems and ways to solve them

A male and female cat do not always succeed in mating the first time. Animals may refuse mating or carry it out without full coitus. First you need to try to identify and eliminate the problem that is bothering your pets.

The cat has problems

1. An unusual environment, the cat feels more confident in its own territory.
2. Lack of experience and “immaturity.” The cat makes characteristic movements, but cannot penetrate.
3. A ring of fur has accumulated around the head of the penis and interferes with coitus. You need to help the cat remove the disturbing fur.
4. Critically low testosterone levels. Insufficient levels of sex hormones lead to failure.
5. Season. A cat's sexual activity may be reduced in winter.
6. Bad experience. It happens that a cat was once severely scratched by a cat of a certain color and now he avoids females similar to her.
7. The cat didn't like his partner. Psychological problems are not alien to animals; an overly aggressive “bride” can frighten a partner and discourage him from mating.

Recommendations:

• Give the cat and cat the opportunity to be alone for an extended period of time.
• Separate the animals from time to time to increase their interest in each other.
• Mix inexperienced cats only with “untied” cats.

Problems in cats

1. Error in choosing the breeding day. Keep a diary to know exactly what stage of estrus your cat is at.
2. Stress. The cat being taken to the cat is stressed. The new environment in which she is placed only intensifies these experiences.
3. Negative experience. If the cat has already mated, she may have negative memories.
4. Estrus occurs without ovulation. This happens when there are hormonal disorders in the body due to illness or taking contraceptives.
5. The cat does not like the place to which it was brought or its partner.

Recommendations:

• If the cat allows you, hold the cat to help him perform coitus.
• Find another partner. A cat may not allow one male to approach, but will be favorable towards another.
• Leave the animals alone in a quiet room for several hours.

Cat behavior after mating

The cat does not calm down immediately after mating. The first days after copulation, she may continue to meow invitingly, ask the cat and show concern. The cat's hormonal background gradually changes over the course of several days after a successful mating. Don't worry - it will go away in a couple of days.

It happens that upon returning home, the cat gets bored, hides in the far corner, behaves lethargically and often sleeps. All this is the consequences of the stress experienced during the trip to the “groom”. Some cats refuse to eat for the first 2 days - this is also a passing condition. There is no need to force feed her. It is important to ensure that the animal always has fresh water.

How often can you knit a cat?

Veterinarians and breeders disagree on this issue. Some believe that cats can mate through heat. The latter allow only 3 matings in two years. Every owner should act responsibly and not exhaust their cat with numerous pregnancies and births.

What to do during sexual heat

The symptoms that accompany estrus are unpleasant not only for the owners, but also for the animal itself. Measures should be taken to alleviate the pet's suffering. It is better to sterilize an animal not intended for breeding at an early age. For a breeding cat, early estrus is an unlucky sign and is also considered an indication for castration. If the ability to reproduce must be preserved for subsequent breeding of the breed, the breeder can normalize the hormonal levels of the young pussy using moderate means.

Medicines

The need to use sedatives is associated with hormonal imbalances in the animal’s body. To alleviate your pet’s condition, veterinarians recommend the following list of remedies:

• suprastin - daily for 3 days, one quarter of a tablet for every 5 kg of body weight;
• motherwort – 4-5 drops twice a day;
• ovariovit – used to regulate the frequency of sexual heat, can be used for young and elderly individuals;
• “Stopstress” drops – one drop per kilogram of body weight twice a day (no more than two weeks);
• “Cat Bayun” - two milliliters 3-4 times a day, half an hour before or 1 hour after meals.

We should not forget that valerian drops, which are soothing for humans, have the opposite effect on cats. Medicines in solid form must first be crushed and the powder diluted in water; liquid medicines should be dropped from a pipette or added to food.

You should not get carried away with hormonal drugs, since the use of such drugs increases the risk of cancer. These medications have a short-term positive effect, and then accumulate in the animal’s body and only cause harm.

There is a way to regulate hormonal levels through a course of injections. Such treatment should be carried out strictly as prescribed by the doctor and during the pause between heats.

Alternative ways to calm your cat

To calm down and distract attention, you can:

• Play with your pet. Running and jumping will release pent-up energy.
• Get a massage. To do this, you need to lay the cat on the floor and press down on its back with your palm. At the same time, the other hand squeezes the base of the tail. Meowing and growling is a signal that the massage is being carried out correctly. When the pet begins to struggle, the massage can be completed. Subsequently, the pussy may ask the owner to repeat the procedure.
• Talk and pet. The sounds of calm speech, alternating with stroking, will bring the animal into a state of relaxation.
• Perform water procedures. Bathing will distract the cat's attention.
• Don't let your pet get a good night's sleep before the night concert. Tired in the middle of the day, the animal will sleep at night

To achieve a reliable effect, it is better to combine physical activities with taking medications.

Surgical intervention

In order to solve the problem once and for all, it is recommended to carry out a castration procedure by removing the female’s ovaries. If you limit yourself to sterilization (tubal ligation), the cat will not become pregnant, but periods of sexual heat will continue.

What to do if mating is not in your plans

Unsatisfied sexual instinct leads to many negative consequences.

Untied animals have hormonal imbalances, they yell, lose weight, and cats mark their territory. The risk of cancer, pathologies of internal organs and the cardiovascular system increases.

If you do not plan to breed purebred kittens, and a career as a breeder is not part of your plans, it is best to take care of spaying your cat and neutering your cat.

Estrus

It is very easy to recognize a cat's heat; as a rule, this period occurs in the spring, sometimes twice a year. At this time she is the most affectionate, does not want to play at all, constantly purrs, rubs against furniture and asks for affection.

She can also meow very loudly, thus calling for a cat that may be nearby.

• You cannot delay mating, because the cat can become very aggressive and simply abandon the cat and even bite him.
• If you do not plan to continue the cat's birth, it is necessary to use specialized products, they can be in the form of drops or tablets.

Solving problem situations

In the affairs of amorous animals, not everything goes smoothly. In some cases, a couple needs help from:

1. The cat hisses at the cat when mating. There is no need to rush animals, especially inexperienced ones. They need more time for foreplay.
2. The cat is smaller in size than its partner, as a result of which the cat rests on its back. In this case, it is necessary to send the male.
3. The bride falls on her side during sexual intercourse. In such a situation, they support the female.