How do you know if your cats have mated? Secondary questions asked by a person on Quora.com were: My female cat hisses and growls at the male yet likes to tease him. Will they still act this way towards each other after having mated?
Breeder present
Two initial points need to be made. Firstly, it’s important that the cat breeder is present during the mating process because it can become quite violent. Some cats, though, refuse to mate when a person is in attendance. You should still watch but out of sight. The second point is about cat breeding generally which I touch on below.
Receptive
When the female cat is sexually receptive she will allow the male to approach, lick her face, touch noses and investigate her genital area. If she is not receptive she will growl at the male and attempt to bite him.
The female then assumes the receptive position and the cats mate. When they separate the female cat may turn and strike out at the male cat because the withdrawal of his penis causes pain. This is necessary to stimulate ovulation to occur 24-hours later.
Multiple matings
Importantly, there may be subsequent matings. The second mating normally occurs within a few minutes. Others may follow with more extended intervals. Ovulation does not normally occur with the first mating. The cats should be left together under observation and allowed to mate for one to three hours daily for three consecutive days.
After each mating episode the female cat will roll over and groom herself extensively. She will pay attention to her genital area.
You’ll know
So in order to answer the question in the title you have to conclude that you will know when your cats have mated through observation and when the female is grooming herself and paying attention to her genital area for the last time after a series of matings.
Once they have mated they should be separated after the female has been through the rolling over and self-grooming stage of the mating process. At this point the female cat will not be hissing and growling at the male or teasing him. Therefore the answer to the secondary question is, no.
Reluctance
If the queen (breeding female cat) is at the correct stage in her breeding cycle but refuses to mate it may be that she does not like the male cat. It’s a question of preference. Apparently, some females don’t like to mate with a timid tomcat while others prefer male cats of a certain breed or even a specific coat colour.
Pregnant?
There is no cat pregnancy test available. Few signs are detectable during the first few weeks of gestation. The heartbeats of the foetuses at day 20 can be detected providing a sure indication of life.
Against cat breeding
There is a third point to be made. Unless you are a proper and experience breeder of purebred cats, there is a strong argument that you should not let your cats breed. This is because there are already too many cats. There are too many unwanted cats. There is no need to breed cats. In fact the argument goes wider. There is no need to breed purebred cats if we are honest and genuinely concerned about cat welfare. Unwanted cats are euthanized at shelters or they are discarded to suffer.
Visitor contributions
I always welcome the views of others particular experienced cat breeders in this instance. I am sure that you can write a better answer than me on this topic. If you have been involved with cat breeding then please share your thoughts in a comment.
