Cat Mating
Unless one has a pedigree cat and is mating it to another purebred, mating usually takes place unobserved by human beings; but it is often heard. As mentioned before, mating can be very noisy. There is ritual connected with the mating of cats roaming at large. The queens it’s in the centre of a ring of tomcats, each of which awaits the chance to mate with her. When the opportunity arrives, one of the toms leaps on the female and catches her by the scruff of the neck. Toms usually fight over the queen.
If you have a pedigree female and want to mate her, you probably will have to take her to the male. You will be wise to arrange for the mating in advance. Keep a record of your female’s heat periods, so you will know when to take her to be mated.
If there is a pedigree tom of the same breed in your neighbourhood, your problem will be simplified. Make sure that he is in good health and is not sterile. Also, have a written agreement with the owner of the tom as to method of payment for the stud service.
Some owners of purebred stud cats advertise stud services in the classified advertisement section of the newspapers. Others list “toms at stud” in “Fur and Feather”. When breeding your female to one of the professional studs, you will have to observe’certainrules. First, all arrangements are usually formal. You may have to pro-duce the female’s registration papers and a vet’s health certificate. You also may be required to send a photo of your cat.
Some professional breeders stipulate that their studs are available only to “approved” females. Usually, these breeders have high-grade stock and a reputation which they wish to maintain; therefore, they are particular as to which queens they allow to mate with their studs.
It is your responsibility to get the female to the torn. If you have to send the cat, be sure to make all arrangements in time. This is par-secularly important to ensure getting the female to the tom in the right stage of heat. If she arrives too early, you will have to pay a boarding bill. If she arrives too late, you will have had the trouble and expense of transporting her to and from the breeder for nothing.
If you own a purebred tom and wish to mate him, shop around for desirable female. Advertise in the local newspapers that your torn is “at stud”. When you get a response, work out the arrangements and put them into writing.
Mating usually is carried out at the home of the tomcat. There is good reason for this: the tom performs better in familiar surroundings. Also, if he has to travel too far, the tom may be tired, nervous and excited, and fail to mate.
Select a secluded room, basement or garage for the mating. Make certain there are places to which the stud can escape after mating. After the tomcat withdraws his penis, the female will be in pain and may strike out at him with her claws. Males have had their eyes injured.
By females after coition. If there are no other places of escape, put up shelf upon which the tomcat can jump after mating.
When mating is about to take place, the female crouches down, her pelvis raised in the air. The stud sniffs her genitals, and cries out, and then moves on to the female from the rear and to the side. The female obliges by lifting her tail. After the tom mounts the female, he begins to knead her sides with his front paws, while performing a treading movement with his hind feet. He next thrusts several times, then re-mains motionless as he ejaculates. Finally, he withdraws his penis and the female cries out in pain because the tom’s penis is covered with small horns or barbs, which rip the lining of the vagina.
When the male withdraws his penis, the female ovulates. When ovulation takes place, the follicles of the ovaries are sealed with blood. These plugs of blood are the start of a yellowish mass which forms over the ovarian follicles. The mass is called the corpus lustrum. It produces hormone which puts an end to the estrous cycle.
To make certain of conception (assuming both cats are not sterile and the female is in the right stage of heat), it is well to arrange for another mating a day later.