how old is old to be a mother?

Hi all,

I'm a new member here.
Kiki is my 9 months old persian tom & Koko is my 5 months old ragdoll queen.
My kiki boy is maturing & have been showing signs of wanting to mate with my pretty koko.

Have done some reading up on breeder books that it's not advisable for ragdoll to be pregnant before they reach a year.
Should I seperate the pair while I'm out for work in the day?
Or should I just let nature takes its course?

Lotsa meOws,
kikikoko

Hi and wecome to TCS.

It's best to keep them separated. Are you a registered breeder? If not, please give consideration to having your girl spayed and your boy neutered as there are already so many unwanted kittens around.

Also, please read this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52744

hi tania,

thanks for your reply.
i did not have intentions to breed till i've got the pair.
i do not want the girl to miss out the experience of being a mother.
& i'm prepared to keep the kittens.
moreover, my cousins are all big time cat lovers eversince they met my pair.

lotsa meOws,
kikikoko

Originally Posted by kikikoko

hi tania,

thanks for your reply.
i did not have intentions to breed till i've got the pair.
i do not want the girl to miss out the experience of being a mother.
& i'm prepared to keep the kittens.
moreover, my cousins are all big time cat lovers eversince they met my pair.

lotsa meOws,
kikikoko

Click to expand...

Kiki...did you let the breeders who you acquired these kittens from know you intended to breed the girl and boy?? The reason I ask is that if you do not have breeding rights..you will not be able to register the kittens. I would also encourage you to talk to the other breeders here (the breeders forum is a good place to start) because they will be able to guide you regarding responsible breeding.

Katie

Well if you know that under a year is too young (and it is) to be a mother, then why would you want to let nature take it's course? You need to keep them seperated until they are the correct age. That means no interacting, she can get pregnant really fast and will whether she is in heat or not. I agree to that if you do not have breeding rights and all that then you need to alter them both. And doing that before she has too many heats and him before he starts spraying is a really good idea.

hi jen & katie,

did actually inform the breeders that i've got my babies from that i might keep them as wholes & breed them..
thus i believe i shld have the breeding rights to them..
meanwhile, i'd keep them seperate when i'm not ard..

lotsa meOws,
kikikoko

Just because you have "informed" the breeder that you intend to keep the cats intact does not mean that she has given you breeding rights whether you believe you should have them or not. The contract you have (Sales Agreement - document you signed when you purchased the cat) should outline clearly whether or not the cats were sold with breeding rights. Additionally, if you have their registration papers, those will also tell you clearly whether or not the breeder sold them with breeding rights.

That all now being said, if you intend to breed these cats then you should probably go on over to the Breeder's Corner here at TCS and introduce yourself there. There is much to learn before you begin and as your girl is way too young to breed yet, you do have time to soak in as much as you can.

Out of curiosity, why are you breeding? What is your intended goal in breeding your two cats?

~gf~

thank u for ur advice.
i'd do an introduction @ the breeder's corner soon.
meanwhile, i've been soaking in as much info as i can.
there's so much anxiety looking forward to her delivery day.

there was no sales agreement for the girl.
all i was given was a sales receipt.
as for intentions, i've mentioned in my earlier reply. (see below)

initially, i've only gotten the boy for companionship.
then he became grouchy bout being alone while i'm out for wrk.
so i started to look ard for another kitten till i set my eyes on the girl.

btw, r u also a breeder??

lotsa meOws,
kikikoko


Originally Posted by kikikoko
hi tania,

thanks for your reply.
i did not have intentions to breed till i've got the pair.
i do not want the girl to miss out the experience of being a mother.
& i'm prepared to keep the kittens.
moreover, my cousins are all big time cat lovers eversince they met my pair.

lotsa meOws,
kikikoko

Originally Posted by kikikoko

do not want the girl to miss out the experience of being a mother.

Click to expand...

actually that is one mistake people always make. cats have no idea in the slightest that they are missing out on anything at all. they know nothing about having kittens. it isn't like a female human where you grow up knowing you will have a kid someday but then a doctor informs you that you cannot and you feel sad about it. cats are not missing out. if it is YOU that doesn't want to miss out on seeing/having kittens being born, then foster a pregant female cat from a shelter. Not only will they be forever grateful for you for helping out a cat in need, but you will not add to the millions of cats already in the world. they would also be happy to know that you are willing to use your desire for kittens in a good way by helping with an already unfortunate pregnant unwanted cat instead of letting your own have babies.

Originally Posted by Jen

actually that is one mistake people always make. cats have no idea in the slightest that they are missing out on anything at all. they know nothing about having kittens. it isn't like a female human where you grow up knowing you will have a kid someday but then a doctor informs you that you cannot and you feel sad about it. cats are not missing out. if it is YOU that doesn't want to miss out on seeing/having kittens being born, then foster a pregant female cat from a shelter. Not only will they be forever grateful for you for helping out a cat in need, but you will not add to the millions of cats already in the world. they would also be happy to know that you are willing to use your desire for kittens in a good way by helping in an already unfortunate pregnant unwanted cat instead of letting your own have babies.

Click to expand...

Totally in agreement on this one.
Cats are not people. Its not the same.

I would keep them separate! A 5 month old KITTEN can get pregnant - but you still have a kitten and she's not done physically growing.

With our barn cats they got pregnant at 5/6 months of age and almost all the kittens are on the smaller side because she was still a kitten herself.

With spring coming in, it could trigger your female to come into heat sooner and with the male approaching a year old, he too will get "spring fever" and do his best to mate with anything. You also should be considering a stud cage for him - 9 out of 10 males will start spraying and you don't want the male to be doing that all over your house.

I am also curious as to why breed a persian and a ragdoll, you will not get pedigree cats from this cross. as the books closed this year at my last check to CFA, for the cross to be considered in the ragdoll books.

and at the ages you said. YES THEY NEED TO BE SEPERATE.