Breeding frequency

How frequently are queens allowed to breed? I know I am considered conservative by only breeding my persian queen every 14 months, approximately. What is considered to be the safe norm? I know a lot would depend on health etc., but for a perfectly healthy queen, what do other breeders do?

I have talked to a few other breeders, and it can depend on the breed of cat. The norm seems to be every 12 months, give or take a month or two. As with all things, there's a wide variety of techniques out there. My feelings are that you shouldn't wait more than 12 months, because your risk of Pyometra is much higher, and if you breed too soon, you risk mom not being strong enough and problems with the kittens. I would much rather see everyone healthy and happy

i think it depends on the cat. Some cats go into strong heat right away and keep cycling until bred. Some cats will lse weight and make themselves sick if not bred. And I think it is a bad idea to let a cat cycle more then 3 times without breeding the chances of pyo. and other problems increases as the cat continues to cycle.
So in short I would suggest whatever schedule works best for each individual cat.
Sorry not much help
Denise

Thanks for your comments. I have always frowned on what I considered to be too frequent breeding, but maybe I have judged breeders unfairly. I guess one shouldn;t be so rigid about things.

I have a friend who's queen calls more than she'd like. She will come into heat when her kittens are 8 weeks old. When she's in heat she will stop eating among other things. My friend is forced to breed her more than she'd like because of a) the risk of pyometra & b) the fact that she loses condition by continually calling. Even her vet has told her it's better to mate her. That's not to say she's constantly pregnant or nursing. Friend does hold off, and let her have a couple of heats, and also, she comes off call during the winter months, so friend & cat get a break from the calling.

I think as a rule here (don't quote me), you're not meant to breed more than 3 litters in 2 years. But, as everybody else has said, it really depends on the individual cat. It's also not good if you have a cat who's coming into heat every couple of weeks.

Julia.