When you are a scientific communication officer, one day or another, you will have to do lectures. I am not complaining here since, in my current position, this is something I really enjoy! It gives me the opportunity to connect with our clients and discuss their questions and concerns. No better way to stay in touch with the field! Our lectures usually contain lots of information and, as shown by several studies on human cognitive psychology, we humans tend to retain only 10% of the content that we are presented. In the past I was sharing copies of my slides but more and more, those only display pictures: no text & no comments don t make it easy to remember the message, especially when you review the document days, weeks or months after the lecture. Since 2015 my presentations all come with lecture notes in this simple e-book format. It just contains the key messages I believe are important to remember. In this one, you will read about reproduction in the feline species : It s not always a good time : Tips & tricks to optimize breeding success. As much as I like lecturing, I like writing even more. I hope this document will be helpful for you guys, and if you have any comment/idea on how to make the content part of our seminars even better, don t
hesitate to let me know, I m always open to constructive suggestions! You ll find my contact info at the end of this e-book! Good reading then! Before we dive into this e-book, I want you to think. Think of your first cat(s). Maybe this goes way back, probably even during your childhood. And at this time, if you had been asked Do you believe it is difficult for cats to have kittens?, what would have been your answer? In can tell you that for me, for a long long time, I never really thought it was the case. I grew up on a tropical island and my grandmother was the poster picture of what is now depicted as a «crazy cat lady». We had lots of cats at time and in a place where feline population control was just a vague idea. Cats proliferated. In the 17 years I spent on my island, I probably saw lots of litters. No kidding here. We learn as we go. When I started working with cat breeders, I found out what the situation really was. Fertility - and cat breeding in general - can be tricky. For a cat breeder, there stand several challenges. And knowing about those is crucial : cat breeding and associated genetic selection programs relies on reproductive success. And the simple equation that is displayed on the slide above, well, is usually not that simple! We could indeed factor in several variables :
- Fertility parameters : we need the male to produce many normal & motile spermatozoa to fertilize the eggs the female ovulates. And we need the female to ovulate good quality eggs that are fertilizable. - Anything that relates to breeding per se : we indeed need those gametes to meet at the right time in order to optimize the fertilization process. Fertility is about combining female and male factors together to obtain the best result. In my opinion, that is an important concept to grasp, since in the real world, we often tend to blame one of the two partners for the infertility issues that are encountered. While in fact, fertility is always a couple s matter. - There is however more to it: the effects of the surrounding environment the cats live in bring an additional layer of complexity we often tend to overlook. In multi-cat households, housing conditions & stress do have an influence on the breeding success. You understand : the equation is complex. You understand : breeding cats can sometimes be a challenge.
Biology rhymes with unpredictability : nothing is ever certain. That being said, there is good news here. There are things can do inside your catteries that will improve the breeding success. And it is not rocketscience. This is what this e-book is all about : sharing with you this essential knowledge you need to know so you have all the cards in your hands. Reproduction is an essential element for your genetic selection program. You select the individuals you want to breed based on genetics, morphology, behaviour, or whichever characteristics you want to throw in the equation (remember, you are in charge here!). Your goal is to improve the breed. And the kittens you obtain from these marriages are therefore the results of your genetic selection efforts. This all starts by proper planning of your cats reproductive career.
For anybody who wants to breed cats, there is a first mandatory pre-requisite : you need to know your feline reproduction 101. That is definitely something you cannot bypass! The cat reproductive physiology indeed bears unique elements : - Male cats carry penile spines, that are the reflection of proper testosterone secretion ; those penile spines will trigger hormonal mechanisms during coitus that will lead to ovulation in the queen ; - Their reproduction is seasonal. The queen s cyclicity is influenced by daylight (and as a matter of fact, any source of light) which somehow controls the production of the hormone melatonin. To make it short : the shorter the days, the more melatonin is secreted. The more melatonin, the more the queen s estrus cycle is inhibited. - Females are induced ovulators. On the contrary to dogs, ovulation is induced by coitus ; - Don't expect to see blood when the queens are in season : unlike what is seen in the bitch, there is no vaginal blood discharge during heats!
You can review all you need to know on feline reproduction in this online video here https://youtu.be/2oghqtl5v0u. This is essential because as breeders, you might see things that are unusual, you might bump into situations even your veterinarians have never encountered. To better apprehend those situations, knowing the bases sounds to me like a mandatory step. When it comes to the cats reproductive career, I think the important word you guys need to focus on is definitely «career». Because even this kind of career might not always turn out to be a long quiet river. When it should it start? When should it end? These are questions we hear a lot in the field. These are questions for which you need clear & simple answers.
The very short answer would be : not to early, and not too late. Let me explain through two short stories. When I was doing emergency consultations in France more than 10 years ago, one night I was brought a very young queen. She was 8 months old and the reason for the consultation was because this young queen was pregnant (remember that sometimes they reach puberty at 4 months of age!). She was having difficulties to give birth. We ended up doing a C-section and luckily delivered two healthy kittens. In veterinary medicine, even if we do perform C-sections in queens, the feline species is usually underrepresented when it comes to veterinary obstetrics. In my experience, most C-sections in queens are done in young individuals that have not reached their adult size at the time of breeding. The undersized pelvis is an obvious risk factor to dystocias (= difficulties to give birth). At the same time, the capacity to ovulate might not be optimal yet and that could lead to smaller litter size which can mean bigger kittens since the uterine competition is limited in this case. Another clinical case I wanted to share with you : it was a 9 year old queen that was brought to the clinic because she also had difficulties to give birth. She was more of the feral type and was not spayed. Remember that there is no menopause in your queens : they can cycle during their entire life, and if mated, can definitely have a litter. However with aging, the uterine contractions weaken. If the queen is
pregnant, there are again more risks to end up dealing with a dystocia. It is usually not recommended to breed queens after 6-7 years of age, because of the increased risk of dystocias. Keep in mind that there is no consensus to date on how many litters a queen should have during her life, what is important is that they stay healthy and in good body condition throughout their breeding career (more info in this blog here : http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fat-more-than-juststorage ). What about the males? Same thing can happen. I remember an infertility case we had to deal with back in the days. The owners were using a young Persian male cat as a stud. He was very young, less than a year of age. Remember that the age they reach puberty may vary from one breed to another, and Persians are definitely the late type! Young male cats usually have a poor semen quality and might not necessarily demonstrate good abilities to breed. Better to wait sometimes... That's what we recommended here : the owners waited 6 months and when they used the male again, he successfully sired two litters. More info in those two blogs : http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feline-reproduction-when-looking-for-a-newbreeding-male-part-i http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feline-reproduction-when-looking-for-a-newbreeding-male-part-ii
During the breeding career, it is important in my opinion to do regular check-ups, what we refer to as breeding soundness evaluation. Especially when dealing with individuals with high genetic value.
The regular check-up in your cat s breeding career can be the annual visit at the veterinary clinic. However, is a physical enough? I believe it is always a good start, and will help evaluate morphologic parameters like body condition which again is something important in breeding animals (check this blog to better understand why : http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fat-more-than-juststorage ). What about a blood work? Always a good way to screen for some potential medical problems and catch them right in time, like kidney disease for instance. Observation of the genital tract is obviously of outmost importance. The external (testes, vulva, mammary glands) & internal tracts (uterus, ovaries) need to be observed. This is why I am really fond of the use of ultrasounds. This imaging technique will allow visualization of the uterus & the ovaries. Thanks to this technique, veterinarians can detect some of the most common genital abnormalities like uterine diseases or ovarian cysts. It is important because some of these diseases are preventable and can be medically treated. Caught and treated early, they might not impact fertility results. What about the male? The same kind of approach could be envisioned. The semen quality could be evaluated through an exam that is called a spermogram. This one is routinely performed in breeding dogs. However, this is not as easy as it sounds in cats. Check this blog to find out what can be done in the feline species : More about some uterine diseases in cats here : http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/vulvar-discharge-in-diestrus-why-you-shouldalways-worry http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pyometra-in-bitches-and-queens-antibioticsalone-will-never-be http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/liquid-in-the-uterus-pyometra-or-mucometra http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feline-reproduction-spermogram-in-catsfeasible-or-not
As we mentioned earlier, there are challenges associated with breeding cats... and one of them is dealing with calling queens. This was not an uncommon cause of consultation when I was at the vet school in Alfort and I can definitely tell there is a breed effect associated to it. As you might know, Persians and related breeds are usually quieter (most of them, not all of them!) but when you breed Siamese for instance, very often it looks like they are constantly and consistently in estrus until they are bred! Definitely quite the opposite!
This can drive the breeder insane (and I'm not making that up, this is from real conversations with real clients!) especially when you don't have a dedicated cattery and the cats live inside your house with you. There is also a health concern for the queen. Breeders often report that prolonged estrus periods lead to poor coat quality & weight loss. And these repeated periods of hormonal impregnation (especially estrogens) have an effect on the uterus (it leads to uterine edema - which is normal somehow but when it is repeated too often, we believe the uterine health can be impacted on the long run). Remember something we said in a previous webinar on infertility in cats : uterine diseases are certainly an underestimated cause of infertility in this species (see the video of this webinar here https://youtu.be/x4jq5qkhftg?list=pltvkqzjixgmxwklpdlvchmbvn4ykgpvrb ). So what can we do to better control their cycle? Below is a quick review of the different options currently available.
Remember that queens are seasonal and that their seasonality is influenced by light. You can take advantage of that : lighting protocols will definitely help you better control your queens cycle. In order to cycle, the queen must receive at least 12 hours of light (351 lux of light intensity, which is usually what you need to be able to properly read the newspaper) per day. If they receive only 8 hours of light per day, they will stop cycling. Some breeders are using this effect to their advantage, and that can definitely help you here. More info on light protocols in catteries here : http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-article-released-the-importance-of-light-incat-breeding
One way to increase the length of time between seasons is to have the queen ovulate (and induce what we call a pseudopregnancy or false pregnancy ). If she ovulates, she will produce progesterone, which will inhibit the ovarian function. Some breeders have vasectomized males that are among a group of females they don't want to breed. When the females are in season, the male breeds them and this will increase the interval between season by 45 days (whereas in certain cases, especially in Siamese, you are under the impression they are in permanent estrus!!!). Another option is to mechanically mimic the stimulation that triggers ovulation during breeding... for instance with a Q-tip. You can rub the Q-tip in the vagina of the female (it is usually recommended to do this 3 times at a 20-min interval) to induce ovulation in the queen. Beware however : if this technique has been described, remember that after the stimulation the female will react like in a normal breeding. The post-coital reaction starts with an aggressive behaviour towards the male : therefore, if you go down this path, watch out for your hands! Something important however to keep in mind : when you use this technique, it will lead to progesterone secretion and the genital tract will be under the influence of this hormone. This hormonal
influence plays a role in the development of uterine diseases (like pyometra and cystic endometrial hyperplasia) and mammary gland diseases (like fibroadenomatosis : check here http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/feline-reproduction-fibroadenomato-what ). There are always potential side effects that can therefore be associated. Medical options today exist to better control the queen's cyclicity. While in the past only progestins (like contraceptive pills for cats) could be used, today there is a larger range of alternatives, like melatonin or GnRH agonists implants. There are interesting data on the use of those treatments in breeding catteries. However, they might not be available everywhere. Don't hesitate to discuss this with your veterinarian so he can give you some recommendations on this topic. Read those scientific abstracts that discuss this topic :
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26467539 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26323798 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22578617 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23265930 It was a 2 year old Persian female named Bella. The owners contacted us because they were under the impression she was never in seasons. And while she was considered a valuable addition to their breeding program, so far they never had a single kitten from her. Bella was group housed with a lot of other females. Apparently the others cats were considering her as the black sheep of the group. She was constantly attacked by the other cats and clearly, ranked at the bottom of the group s hierarchy. She was always hiding. Very high stress levels inside the group, that s for sure! Stress leads to higher cortisol secretion. Cortisol has a negative effect on the proper functioning of the reproductive function. No doubt she was never really seen in seasons.
She was moved to another cattery where she was not stressed as much. There, she got pregnant. There is a common say among feline practitioners : cats thrive on familiarity and routine. That s true for many aspects of feline breeding. That s also true when it comes to breeding. Preventing stress is a vital aspect for breeding success. Few things to focus on then :
- The size of the group : Usually females are kept together. However when the group gets too large, stress can come as an associated side effect. There are no real rules to date on how many females should be kept together. However, you know your cats so make sure the females that are in the same group are all socially compatible. The more they get along together, the better! If you are under the impression one individual becomes the black sheep of the group, don t wait : maybe she needs a group of her own to thrive there.
- Environmental enrichment : Make sure you offer your breeding animals an environment in which they can thrive. Cats love shelves, hiding places & scratching pads. When they feel good in their head, everything else gets smoother, reproduction included. Lots of examples are out there, and if you are looking for inspiration I definitely encourage you to make a stop at Pinterest (check out this blog here http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pinterest-a-revolution-in-canine-feline-breeding ). Use your imagination and think in 3-D : when I look at the pictures on Internet, no doubt great environments for our cats can be built with some creativity!
- Pheromones : Pheromones are chemicals that are secreted in bodily fluids that are believed to influence the behaviour. Some of the cats pheromones have been isolated, synthetized and marketed. They have an appeasing effect on cats and are now commonly used in veterinary medicine to prevent stressful situations. They are an interesting option to look into in catteries. Don t hesitate to speak with your veterinarians about them!
When I was preparing this e-book, I ran into a blog post online that was written as a reminder that cat breeding was not as easy as one might think. And a sentence caught my attention : «it is not recommended for novices to keep a stud». In my opinion, this totally makes sense. There are some associated challenges to keep an entire male cat at home (spraying, fighting, difficulties to prevent them from breeding if they live with the females ). You clearly need to be aware of them, especially if you just got into cat breeding. For all those reasons, many cat breeders don t keep a stud, even if it is an essential element of the breeding success.
We opened a forum thread earlier last month to discuss what the different options are when you want to keep a male. You can read the answers on our forum here http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/forum/topics/breeding-cats-what-are-the-precautionsyou-take-when-keeping-a Male cats are usually kept separated from the females in a specific room or in what we could call a bachelor condo. Few things to keep in mind here : - make sure they are fully separated from the females. Indeed, smelling the male (or its pheromones) can stimulate the induction of seasons in a group of queens (it is called the male effect we ll touch on it later). On the other hand, if the male smells females in season, he might get hyperactive and try to sneak out to see the females. Many breeders describe that in these situations, the male tends to lose weight, as well as a negative impact on its coat quality.
- Remember : cats thrive on routine and familiarity. True for the females, true for the males as well. In feline breeding the custom is usually that the queen is taken to the male for breeding. So same thing here : the breeding should occur in an environment where the male feels comfortable.
We mentioned the male effect a little bit earlier and that is something you need to be aware of. Indeed, smelling the male (or its pheromones) can stimulate the induction of seasons in a group of queens. If you want to better control the seasonality of your breeding animals, this is definitely something to avoid. However, you can also use this effect at your advantage : if you would like a queen (or a group of queens) to start their seasons, introducing a male they haven t been in contact with might be a good idea. There is another group effect you can take advantage of. Synchronization of heats is indeed something well documented in different groups of mammals. The same occurs as well in multi-cat households. If one of your female starts her season, she will probably induce the seasons in the other females living with her. That is something to pay attention to if you don t want to deal with all your queens in season at the same time but again, this is also something you can take advantage of depending of what you want to do. Remember that infertility is always a couple s issue. That s why the breeding(s) are an essential part of the process. Many think this is something that you can absolutely not influence : this is not true, on the contrary, this is where you should concentrate your efforts! The reason for that?
When you think of infertility in the feline species, you MUST be aware of the fact stated on the slide above : absence of breeding is, without any doubt, THE number 1 cause of infertility in felines. That is why you definitely need to take some measures to make sure everything goes according to plan. And there can indeed be some challenges down this road.
As we mentioned earlier, it can sometimes be a challenge to deal with a group of calling queens! The calling / rubbing / meowing behaviour is very characteristic, and when you've seen it once, you know what you are up to when you see it next! However, there are always exception to the rule. And those exceptions, you cat breeders are predisposed somehow to encounter them. Some queens have very discrete seasons and that can sometimes become a challenge in a breeding cattery. Here again we will make the difference between Persian and related breeds vs Siamese and related. In Persians indeed, some queens heats are very difficult to detect, which can definitely be a cause of infertility. That being said, keep in mind it can happen in any cat, from any given breed.
One option is to use one of your male as a detector.
When the male is in a group of female and one of them is in her season, the male will smell pheromones we humans cannot perceive and he will start showing more interest to the female and try to breed her when she starts her season. Keep in mind there is not always a pro-estrus period in the queen like we can see in dogs (period during which the male is attracted by the female, but the female does not allow breeding). Some queens might therefore accept being bred as soon as they start their season. Another option can consist in the use of vaginal smears. This is something you can work out with your veterinarian. The aspect of the vaginal cells will be modified based on hormonal secretions. When the queen is not in season, we will see nearly no cells, most of them being small and round-shaped with a big nucleus. When the queen starts her season, cornified cells will be observed (see picture above) : they are bigger cells, with a more angular aspect (we tend to say they look like cornflakes!). This simple test can be done on a regular basis to detect when the queen is in season and determine when she should be put with the male.
One thing to keep in mind : sometimes, the heats are difficult to detect in overly stressed individuals. Always make sure that you tried to relieve all potential stress factors that could inhibit estrus behaviour in your queens. There are medical reasons that can also explain this situation, like ovarian cysts for instance. Don't hesitate to ask your vet for a check-up if you want to make sure everything is ok then. During breedings, the partners and especially the female will display a very specific behaviour: it is called the post-coital reaction, kind of an aggressive reaction the female has towards the male. More info on this here : https://youtu.be/vsa00tdfd2o
You need to make sure you observe this reaction. Why? Because as we just mention, the no1 cause of infertility in felines is failure to breed (or lack of breeding attempts). You therefore need to make sure that proper breedings occur. When you choose the partners then, choose them wisely. Especially when one of them (or both of them) are first-timers. The specific behaviour displayed at this time can have severe consequences on the male and female future breeding career. Pairing young or inexperienced cats together can sometimes result in shyness or a refusal to mate. It is best to expose a shy cat to an experienced partner, preferably on a daily basis, for short periods, before the actual mating is required (about 15 minutes at a time to start). Inexperienced queens should be placed with experienced but calm and non aggressive males and vice versa.
We already mentioned that queens are induced ovulators, which means breeding will lead to release of the eggs from the ovaries of the female. However, did you know that only 50% of the queens will ovulate after a single breeding? This emphasizes how important the choice of the partners is! The chances of ovulation are greatly improved when there are at least 3 breedings or more.
That is why you MUST observe and confirm that enough breedings occurred. Remember that this is always one of the first question you need to ask yourself when a queen is infertile. If you have the right answer, it will definitely make the diagnosis work-up easier for your veterinarian.
Today, it is recommended to breed the cats during 3 consecutive days : - the first day of the breeding period will induce the LH surge that will trigger ovulation 24 hours after - the second & third day will help cover the fertility period.
A study that was performed on follicular growth in cats also showed us that in fact, the size of the ovarian follicles reaches its maximum 3 days after the queen starts to show her estrus behavior. This should therefore be the best time to breed the queen, since this is when we can think the eggs are of better quality. If you deal with a queen which has an history of infertility, you always want to confirm that ovulation indeed occurred. Because if there was no ovulation, you don t need to investigate any further. As a cause of infertility, anovulation is certainly very common and it comes with absence / lack of breedings. Following ovulation, the ovaries of the queen will secrete the hormone progesterone. This does not confirm gestation, but it does tell you if ovulation occurred or not. And this can be simply achieved by performing a progesterone test the week following the breeding.
That could indeed be a problem as you can imagine... In other species when this happens we will usually turn to the use of artificial insemination. In cats, let's be honest : very very very few clinics will offer today this service in routine. There are good news however!
Several techniques have been described and some of them give pretty good fertility results (read our blog here http://royalcaninbreedersclub.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hot-topic-artificial-insemination-incat-a-new-technique-on-its ). Moreover, progresses are being made and new techniques using endoscopy (aka TCI or Trans Cervical Insemination, a technique routinely used in canines) have been described and published last year. Read the abstracts here : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25358819 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26092701 Meanwhile, on your side, there are still few things you can do to face this challenge if it even occurs : - Sometimes animals that have been living together for a long time tend to show no more interest in each other. One solution to overcome this issue is to separate the male & the female so that they cannot smell / hear each other for a prolonged period of time and reintroduce them together at the time of breeding. This novelty effect often helps overcome this kind of problem. - If it is more a female problem, you can try to maintain her during the breeding (if the male accepts your presence). However, beware of the post coital reaction then! Don't be too pushy however, if the handling generates too much stress on the queen this can lead to problems. - What you should NOT do : don't use drugs to mildly sedate the queens during the breeding. Those drugs have a negative effect on the ovulation process and will prevent if from happening. Remember the importance of territoriality when it comes to breeding. This is why the female is usually brought to the male. However, transport can cause stress, which as we mentioned earlier can interfere with proper reproductive function. That's why we usually recommend transporting the female before she is in season. This way she can get used to the male and the new environment, and then be bred. This will definitely minimize the impact stress can have on the reproductive function.
We just walk you through some of the most important points to focus on while breeding cats. If I had to sum it up in three take-aways, it would be the followings : - Know your cat reproduction 101 : this is something essential that will help avoid many mistakes that can lead to infertility ; when you the bases, you are better prepared for anything unusual that might show up ; - Optimize the cats environment : working towards a stress-free cattery is definitely something that can optimize reproductive success, and will help you deal with many other catteryassociated challenges ; remember: cats thrive on familiarity & routine. - Observe the breedings : remember that absence / lack of breedings remains from far the first cause of infertility in the feline species. If you can confirm what really happens, it will make your veterinarian s job way easier. That s a certainty!
You can adopt a simple zootechnical approach here. And that can help you win big while facing the challenge of infertility.