How old is too old?

purrfectmisha · Jan 18, 2017

Hello,

I am new to writing in the forum, but have read it for the past half year I've read pretty much every single post and you are great guys!

Long story short.. I have found a beatiful boy for my little girl (for when she is old enough to have babies). Problem is that he is 10 years old. He has never had any health problems and is still a very active cat, but is he too old to make babies? Do you have any idea how old is too old?

StefanZ · Jan 18, 2017

PurrfectMisha said:
Hello,

I am new to writing in the forum, but have read it for the past half year I've read pretty much every single post and you are great guys!

Long story short.. I have found a beatiful boy for my little girl (for when she is old enough to have babies). Problem is that he is 10 years old. He has never had any health problems and is still a very active cat, but is he too old to make babies? Do you have any idea how old is too old?

With males it shouldnt be problem. If he is healthy and able. With a female its much more complicated, especielly if she hasnt given birth before.

Of course, the REAL question is if you really shall make new cat kittens... Most of us will strongly advice against, not necessarily because of his health problems, but for almost all other reasons...

purrfectmisha · Jan 18, 2017

I am sure that most of you are on the opinion that there are enough cats seeking shelter, but everyone has the right to have an oppinion, right?

I have already found responsible people that would take good care of 5 kittens ( and I don't even know wheather there will be this many).

Thank you for your answer, do you think that if he's never been mated before it would be a problem? He's been an indoor cat his whole life and at age 10 he is still a virgin..

StefanZ · Jan 18, 2017

PurrfectMisha said:
I am sure that most of you are on the opinion that there are enough cats seeking shelter, but everyone has the right to have an oppinion, right?

I have already found responsible people that would take good care of 5 kittens ( and I don't even know wheather there will be this many).

Thank you for your answer, do you think that if he's never been mated before it would be a problem? He's been an indoor cat his whole life and at age 10 he is still a virgin..

That may be a problem, he perhaps dont know he is supposed to do anything. Perhaps just some licking on the ears...

Have them toghether several days in a room when she is in heat, undisturbed. With a little luck they will find out.

You CAN visit them - they do welcome visits by friendly people. Sometimes they dare to begin first with a friendly human inside the room. but most time they shall be there.

Of course, hold watch at their first hour of meeting meeting, so you are sure they dont begin to fight. Sometimes the tom doesnt recognize its a visiting lady, he thinks its an intruder. Or the female is very fierce. But if they havent began to fight in the beginning, they probably wont.

Observe, its a common part of the courtship play, she pretends not interested, swipes with paws, hisses. He is beleguering, waiting, making friendly noises. this is not hostility from her, this is part of the timeless gender play...

talkingpeanut · Jan 18, 2017

Why do you want to mate your cats? Are they purebred?

Sarthur2 · Jan 18, 2017

How old is your female? She should not mate prior to 18 months of age for her own safety and health, as well as that of her future kittens.

If your cat is purebred with papers, you may want to mate her with a purebred, registered male stud. You would pay for his services, and you would locate a suitable male through the pedigreed network.

purrfectmisha · Jan 18, 2017

Misha is too young, she is 7 months old, I concider mating her when she is at least an year and a half, I've already read a lot of material on the time that it is okay for her to give birth. She does not have documents, I bought her from a woman that claimed and swore that she is purebread and I had the stupidity to pay before she gave me the documents. I don't know if she had them at all, it doesn't mater now for me, since I love her so much, it doesn't matter.

The dad-to-be has documents, he is a purebred cream Persian, but it was never his parents' intention to mate him, his owner is a friend of mine and we have agreed that they would make lovely babies. I have decided to mate her only once, since there is a big interest of friends and family of mine, i concider spaying her after her first & only birth, I read that it's okay to do that when the babies are 8 weeks old.

P.S. sorry if my English is not that good, it's not my native language.

talkingpeanut · Jan 18, 2017

PurrfectMisha said:
Misha is too young, she is 7 months old, I concider mating her when she is at least an year and a half, I've already read a lot of material on the time that it is okay for her to give birth. She does not have documents, I bought her from a woman that claimed and swore that she is purebread and I had the stupidity to pay before she gave me the documents. I don't know if she had them at all, it doesn't mater now for me, since I love her so much, it doesn't matter.
The dad-to-be has documents, he is a purebred cream Persian, but it was never his parents' intention to mate him, his owner is a friend of mine and we have agreed that they would make lovely babies. I have decided to mate her only once, since there is a big interest of friends and family of mine, i concider spaying her after her first & only birth, I read that it's okay to do that when the babies are 8 weeks old.

P.S. sorry if my English is not that good, it's not my native language.

So, I of course understand why you want kittens and why you think your girl is perfect. The issue that I see is that you are risking her life for more of her. You don't know her health history because you don't have a pedigree. You can find out about the male, but it's not really enough information. Also, Persians can have quite a lot of trouble delivering on their own. We just had a poster who lost several of the kittens and had to assist with the delivery of their Persian. Even a normal pregnancy is not without risks. Mating is painful and delivery is painful. She could need a c-section. A lot could go wrong, but especially with Persians.

I would seriously recommend that you reconsider. Perhaps you could foster a pregnant mom to get that experience.

purrfectmisha · Jan 18, 2017

Unfortunately I live in a small town in Bulgaria.. there is no such thing as fostering cats in here.

The pros of living in a small town is that my vet lives two houses away from me and is one of the people I'll eventually give a kitten. He has always offered 24h service and with him living next to me - it's even easier. So if any complications occur he would be here for us in a minute.

There is always a risk that something may go wrong, I understand where you are coming from, but both cats are in perfect health (hope it stays that way forever).

Thanks to @StefanZ for answering all my questions

and to all of you guys that are making sure i thought this through

How old is too old?

purrfectmisha

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