New to breeding - Please HELP!!!!

Hi everyone,

Im am new to breeding and just have a few questions I hope someone can help me out with.

I have persians, 1 male & 4 females, these are all adults (between 15-24 mth old) 3 females proven with 1 litter each. 1 female & male unproven as yet. They all live in the house for now, until I get the cattery sorted for them (the male does not spray)

Anyway since getting them 1 female has been into heat twice the male mounted her quite a few times but seemed to off target! And we have seen no sign of pregnancy from her.

Now a different female has come into heat, again he is mounting her but still seems to be off target and looks to be too far up her back. These 2 girls are both proven so they are very well behaved with him and just stand there for him. What I need to know is if there is anything I can do to help them out, or do I just leave them to it and hope eventually he will hit the spot?

Just to point out I am experianced with dog breeding but this is my first time breeding cats myself, I have taken my girl out to stud before but this is my first time with a stud cat.

Any information appreciated,

Thanks in advance, Kelly.

My male devon had the same problem...knew what to do just not WHERE!! It took several attempts before he hit the bullseye. It is so funny AND frustrating to watch because you know your female is ready for it, the male just hasn't quite got the knack of it yet LOL

My only suggestion is to wait and see. You should hear the scream of ecstasy from your female when it has happened. Sometimes though, it just might be a growl. My female devon growled and so I wasn't sure if she was successfully bred or not...till 3 weeks later when her nipples grew.

I even went as far as locking the two in the bathroom, but it didn't happen there...happened above my head on my body pillow I use as a pseudo headboard. I've tried showing my male where the location was, but that just got them separated, so I just figured he'd figure it out eventually.

Persians have long hair. Would it be possible to trim down around the area so the male's penis can get in there easy and not contend with longer hair around the vagina?

It is not uncommon for Persian/Exotic breeders to "assist" the males (if allowed by the cats) by moving them to the right position. See if your boy will allow it! Also for the novice female, you could help her by at the very least moving the tail out of the way!

Meanwhile, it will take some time for the boys to learn but once they do.....

I also concur with GK, try trimming down the back end, it may help.

We had the same problem when we had a Scottish fold female visiting my british shorthair male. Both were first-timers. It seemed like the female was a bit too long for the male and he was also having problems with hitting the right spot, so we tried to "assist" them by keeping the female in right place and covered her neck with my hands so that the male had to take hold from lower part of the females back instead of neck, that made him reach better.. First time was just for practice, but the second time was successful.

As a Persian/Exotic breeder myself yes sometimes you do have to assist them but make sure you trust the cats fully first. Assisting involves pulling him down of her back, or moving the girls tail, tickling her neck to give him access. Make sure you're around for the matings also so you know when the kittens will be due and yes it will be pretty obvious once they've mated! Do you have a website?