Many people in the Cat Fancy begin as I did - with a pet cat. "We'll raise just one litter and then spay her." Famous last words spoken by many of us! The experience with that first litter often determines whether or not you will continue as a cat breeder or spay your cat and forget about breeding. If you are fortunate enough to have a friend in the fancy, perhaps the person from whom you purchased your female, who will literally "hold your hand" and tell you what to do and what to expect, step-by-step, you are more apt to have a satisfying experience.

Most cats deliver their young in a no-nonsense manner. Some females or "queens" are calmer, some more high strung (especially with their first litter) and frequently the difference depends upon the breed of cat involved. I have bred both Siamese and Persians and there can be a notable difference in their kittening and mothering but without exception I have never had a cat I would call a poor mother. A couple have been not-too-bright at the beginning but once they got the idea, they were always good and devoted mothers.

MAKING PLANS
There are a number of things one should do once the decision is made to breed your female. If this is your first litter you are probably taking your girl out for stud service. Once you have made your choice of studs, and the owner of that stud is willing to accept your female, a visit to your veterinarian is in order. If the owner of the male is conscientious, she will ask for a recent health certificate and FeLV test. If she doesn't require these - look elsewhere for a stud! The stud owner should also be willing to show you the results of a recent FeLV test for her male too. You should be just as concerned about the health of the male as the stud owner is about your female. In addition to these tests you should have your female checked for parasites and make sure she has been vaccinated within a couple of months of the breeding but not closer than three weeks before breeding.
It is very important to have a clear understanding of what you are paying for before you take/send your female to the male. The stud owner should watch the cats breed at least once before leaving them together any length of time. Some breeders just toss the cats together and never know if they mate. Do you pay for stud service if no breeding is witnessed? If the female goes out of season and does not get bred, do you pay a stud fee or \ board? If she is bred but does not conceive, do you get a return breeding? If so, how many? If you get one or more return stud services, do you pay board for the time she is there for return stud service? If your female becomes ill while out for breeding, who pays for veterinary care? Will the owner of the stud hold you responsible if your female injures the stud? And conversely, is the owner of the stud liable if the stud injures your female. What constitutes a litter? If the kittens are stillborn, do you get another stud service? Some breeders feel that if the stud has done what you paid for (impregnated the cat), that is the end of their responsibility; others feel you should get one, and sometimes two, live kittens. When shipping a cat, you are responsible for air fare both ways and may be asked to pay for the cost of the breeder going to and from the airport. It certainly eliminates misunderstandings if you ask all of these questions ahead of time. Ask if the cats will be caged separately, side-by-side, to get acquainted. Some breeders put a female in with a male as soon as she arrives and because she is feeling frightened and strange, she may go out of season and not come in again for some time. Or - an aggressive male may try to breed a female right away and if she is not receptive she will fight him and in most cases, any chance of a mating taking place will end right there. Finally, if you are dealing with someone with high quality cats (and you should be and not a "backyard" breeder), remember that that owner is doing YOU a favor to take your female for breeding. The owner is the one who is dealing daily with a male who must be confined so needs lots of extra attention and is probably spraying. A boy will do his best to attract the girls and seems to think he can accomplish this by spraying farther (from every shelf in his cage) and smelling worse than any other cat.

Now that your girl is home, happy and hopefully pregnant, you can plan for the litter. You or the stud owner may have confirmed pregnancy by examining the nipples which become enlarged and turn quite pink about three weeks after mating or she or her veterinarian may have been able to tell by palpating the abdomen. Some of the signs of pregnancy in animals are the same as humans - a tendency to sleep more and an increased appetite! I found with the Siamese I had to limit what they ate because they never knew when to call it quits but I have never had to limit my (Silver) Persians.

WHERE TO DELIVER?
Think ahead to where you want your mother-to-be to have her kittens. The middle of the down comforter on your bed is NOT a good place. Nor do I like a closet floor because even in the best of locations it can be drafty. While my cats are generally caged only at night, I am a firm believer in cages for certain situations. Kittening is one of the times I insist on caging. It eliminates all sorts of problems you can do without! Many a breeder has gotten up in the morning to find dead newborns scattered all over the house while other mothers insist that every day is moving day until the babies have puncture holes in their necks. Get or make a cage, decide where you want the mother to deliver and put her in it for a few hours every day if she is not used to being caged. It is a good idea to feed her there too. About two weeks before delivery, put her in the cage and leave her there all night. Delivery dates can be tricky too. I put my girls in with the stud twice a day for three days unless I want to pinpoint the delivery date a little closer. Then I begin a kitten watch 63 days from the FIRST mating, NOT the last. I've had cats deliver anywhere from 61 to 69 days from that first breeding. Needless to say, she may not have conceived from that first mating or even the second - you'll never know; but it's much more expedient to keep a KITTEN WATCH from the 63rd day on.

IS TODAY THE DAY?
Some cats give obvious hints when they are going to deliver, others give none. Most cats will skip the last meal before delivering; I have a couple of girls who will snack between kittens. Anything to make it more confusing.. Some breeders insist that they can accurately predict delivery time by taking temperatures twice daily beginning the 61st. day after breeding. If the temperature reads about 101.5 for a couple of days, then drops to 98 or 99 degrees, you can expect labor to begin within 12 hours. If the temperature goes a couple of degrees ABOVE normal, you have been real sharp and caught a beginning problem and you need to call your veterinarian right away. This may mean a problem with the pregnancy or a developing illness of some other type.
I never seem to be able to tell with any real accuracy exactly when my girls are going to deliver - either I'm a nervous mother or they lie to me. For me, the best system, exhausting though it is, is to set an alarm for every hour and a half all night from the 63rd night - or sooner if your female shows signs of impending labor. With a husband who is a light sleeper and/or you want to avoid a divorce, you and the mother-to-be should spend a few nights in another room. Your queen will not object if you get her used to it ahead of time.

For a couple of weeks before delivery, your girl will be looking for places to deliver. She will poke into dark corners, make a mess of your linen closet if you are careless enough to leave the door unlatched or take over your overflowing laundry basket. Once you have her caged, she will do a lot of digging and nesting. Cardboard cartons or half of a large carrier make good nest boxes to put in your kittening cage. Some breeders line the bed with newspaper but I find that too messy so I use towels and the female can dig and nest in them.

KEEPING RECORDS
Now is the time for you to apply white iodine to the navel cord to prevent infection. I just drop the cord in the bottle, put the neck of the bottle against the belly of the kitten, and invert. After this you are ready for your record keeping. If your kittens are all going to be "look-alikes", you will want to mark them. I use a permanent magic marker. Touch the kitten under the front leg (armpit) with the marker, weigh it and put it in the "incubator" on a well-covered, warm heating pad. I have a page in my record book fro each litter, and it looks like this:

RESPONSIBILITY
Now that your kittens are vaccinated you will be thinking about new homes for them. When I began breeding silver Persians, Grace Over of Gray-Ivy cattery gave me some advice which I have never forgotten. "You are responsible for every kitten you have caused to be born whether it is out of one of your females or SIRED BY YOUR MALE!" The latter is something often forgotten - think carefully BEFORE you breed your female and before you allow your stud to breed an outside female. This is quite a responsibility we take on when we choose to breed cats...

REFERENCES
(1) Siamese Cat Book by Vera Nelson; All Pets Books, Inc. 1956