How will I know my boy is ready to breed??

Hiya, I have a male Persian as part of my Persian breeding plan. I wanted to know if there are any signs I can look for that will show he is getting ready or ready to breed? I know long hair male cats tend to take longer to mature than short hairs and female, but I also know that ages vary - for example, the sire of one of my girls was only 7 months! (And he's also a persian). What changes might I see in his behaviour or body? Please help Thanks!

You will know if he either starts spraying or shows a lot more interest in girls then general play! Do you have a stud cage built yet? If not, better do so now and get him used to being in there. Males will spray and you don't want him running loose and spraying everything.

IMO if you don't know when they are mature enough to mate, you really shouldn't be breeding cats.

I don't want him outside, I want him inside (and yes I know he will spray etc.). I like it this way. I know the behaviours of adult males and the kind of non-gender specific behaviour of male kittens, but I have never had my own boy to watch go through cat puberty. To be honest, I have made many observations about changes he's going through, and while I might have thought he was in kitty puberty, many breeders I have spoken to have told me that there ARE no signs...I posted this to get "2nd opinions" as it were, and see the general concensus. He started spraying 1-2 months ago. He was spraying a lot. This month I moved house though, and its all laminated wood flooring. I don't know if its the surface, but he doesn't spray on it at all. But will FAITHFULLY spray on the doormat in the hallway if he gets to it! And yes, I have noticed him being interested in the girls, doing a lot of bottom sniffing So if those are the signs you are listing, I had already noted them. Thanks

Yes that's what I meant. But you misunderstood my "running loose" - I meant inside running loose and not being caged in a stud cage. I would never advocate a whole male to be running loose in the neighborhood

As he matures, he will start spraying in other places. Time to cage him is now, not later

O, I thought you meant like a stud house outside. Anyhow, none of my cats go outside, so he DEFINITELY wouldn't be stalking the neighbourhood's ladies! Well I am still quite happy for him to be uncaged inside. He is not causing me any problems and I really don't want him in a cage ANYWHERE, inside or out. I know he may well spray more later, but I STILL don't want him caged. I have remedies that work well on removing the smell etc., so no harm done essentially. We'll see, maybe my tune will change, but I doubt it. He is primarily my pet/baby and he's used to living like that too! So.....

Will you (or do you) have whole females? If you do, you should NOT be allowing him freedom to breed with your girls. They don't have to be in heat to get pregnant and unless you watch him 24/7 you will not know if or when he's bred the girls.

You need to have a controlled breeding program. Put the females in with him when you want him to breed!

Yes I have whole females. He doesn't have free reign with them though. They have a room of their own. So breeding is controlled.

Ok, I was picturing you letting him have free reign in the house. Sorry about the misunderstanding

For me the moment of truth came when my cream and white boy Ace started humping the blankets. He hasn't turned down a calling female since.

merrytreecats, now that's a sign you can't miss!

Hehe, yeah, that must've been his " teenage" phase, since he's calmed down since. That or it's the off season now...i've noticed my males definitely vary in their intensity and mating interest depending on the time of year.

Spraying and interested was it said.
I would say the urine in the litter smelling much stronger. They have sounds - meowing and such - much more and louder.
Them being VERY thoroughful with their hygiene down there.

They dont always spray. We had our two studs (russian blue) as beloved family cats free in the house. No or very little spraying - but pee happened now and then yes... .

We didnt have own females - only the ladies visiting for marriage. But some witness their studs arent much interested in own females living together. Their problem was to AROUSE the interest when the mating time did come... This is of course nothing you can rely on. So you must take precautions if you dont want to have unplanned kittens. But with a little luck this dont need to be as complicated as one worries about.