Breeding for the first time...

Hello,

I have some questions regarding my cat named BABY. I am sorry If i have posted this topic in the wrong section.

My cat is 5 years old and i have never breeded or mated her. Her heat season just came a few days a go so i decided to get a male cat from my friend to breed her.
The male cat just arrived last night and my problems and concerns have just begun. I will list all of them.

First of all my cat has never been around other cats... she likes staying indoors and only goes out with my supervision. She is a bit pampered by my family and has a bit of an attitude problem.

When i introduced her to the male cat named HINKO, she was a bit surprised to see another being like her at home. Well as it was late at night i only let them together for an hour but in morning i consulted my Vet and he advised me to let them be alone in room for some time. So i did leave them alone and my cat started hissing at the male cat. The male cat is pretty calm and just sleeps in one corner while she stays alert in the room. they are not getting near each other and just sleep in the two corners of the room.

I am a bit worried about my cat because the Vet told me that they might fight a bit which is daunting for me as i have never seen my cat fight with another.

At the moment i have left them alone in a room. Please advice me what should i do.

Waiting for any replies...
Laila

Im in a hurry, write more later. But
5 years is rather late for a first timer.

So my advice is: Abandon, abandon, abandon.

as nothing is prob happened yet.

Hi,

personally I wouldn't breed with her either- many pedigree cats go into retirement at that age. Cats shouldn`t be left unneutered that long either because they then face a higher risk for uterus cysts or a pyometra (infection in the uterus).

What breed is your cat and have you informed yourself about breed specifics and blood type incompatibilities?

Were both your cat and the tom checked by a vet?

regards,

Christine

I have to agree with StefanZ, 5 years is too late to have first litter. The complication risk is high when female is that old when having her first litter, it will be hard for the mommy and the babies. When you are breeding cats, the first litter should be produced when the female is about 1-3 years (depending on her breed and heat cycle).

I witnessed a difficult labor with a 3 year old first time mommy cat, 2 kittens died and the mommy got sick. Thankfully she is now fine,. The female was checked by the vet before mating, they did an ultrasound to her uterus to see if it's safe for her to have her first kittens at that age and the vet said that the female needs to be mated as soon as possible, or forget about the whole thing. Female was mated very soon after that, but seems like it was a bad choise after all.

OK, now I have more time.

The answer is on several levels.

1. Breed or not to breed?

a) pedigree. Not all pedigree breeds! Most are in fact neutered.
If you dont have good reasons, dont do it.

b) Domestic moggie. Most forumists and advisers here would say, dont do it: there are lots of moggies in the world seeking good home. If you want to see kittens - take in a pregnant mom and give her shelter. MUCH revarding and you will also please God.
I myself Im not entirely against: there is some need for home raised moggies. So if you do have a real nice cat, and are really determined you want to go through this, etc - yes, sure. You may try.
But here I dont see any signs you are really that determined and long time planning...

2. The age. 5 years is rather much especielly for a firsttimer. It is not absolutely no no, but the risks ARE bigger.
If your healthy female was very important for the breeding, perhaps had a valuable contribution to the gen-poole in your breed... Yes, it could be proper to think about it. Weighting the risks contra gains.

But here - hand on your heart, is she - ie her genes - that unique?

Thus my advice is once again - abandon.


3. The situation in that room as for now.
It seems pretty normal. a friendly tom, and an entirely normal, nice female.

If they had not begin to fight each other yet, they probably wont. Some hissing and jabs with paws by the female are in fact part of the usual foreplay.

The male is usually keeping away but nearby, courting and besieging the female... He goes on her first when she is ready.
But some cats are real very friendly from the beginning. Sometimes you can see a real love story.

With normally friendly cats there is seldom more. But with some cats it may be some fighting yes. Before. And usually also when they are finished: she hisses and tries to punsch him as hard as she can, while he is running for his life...

This is prob what the vet meant when he said they may fight. But usually it seems worse than it is.

Territorial dominant tom may be more rough! It can even resemble a rape...
Territorial dominant female may also be more rough...
Your tom seems to be nice and friendly. He has probably also some experience.


So. If you really want to go on with this, let them be there in that room of theirs. It can take several days if they arent experienced.

After the first mating the next is usally easier and they are more friendly.

(Them becoming suddenly friendly is in fact one of the signs they did mated, if they werent very friendly before).


Good luck with your decision!

ok if spray her... will she face any complications???

There is always some sort of risk when they go under anesthesia, however, the sooner she is spayed the better. The longer you wait, the higher the risk for pyometria & other reporductive issues (cancer, etc).

Originally Posted by Laila

ok if spay her... will she face any complications???

Click to expand...

Usually there are no complications. Usually - complications do occur sometimes. There is no 100% quarantee...

But being pregnant and deliver has also its risks - ESPECIELLY at her age.

And not doing nothing at all does have risks - either if you have her on pills long time, or letting her go empty heats year after year...
These risks are in fact clearly bigger then complications at spaying.


ps. IF they did mated, spaying doesnt have any additional risks. As long the heat is over.

There's of course a risk of the anethesia, which in my experience, is pretty small. There are also major risks associated with a) having her go through with a litter at that age ( and there is a risk with every pregnancy, even among the healthiest cats at an ideal age for breeding), and b) leaving her unspayed. Spaying reduces or totally eliminates the risk of many serious conditons (several listed above by other posters).
I hope you'll get your kitty spayed.

I vote for spaying too. It's safer than birthing (in fact, the solution for birthing gone wrong usually includes spaying!).

If you want more cats, go to your local humane society and tell them you want some. They have plenty, there's no need to make more.