As a cat owner, I think it’s very natural to have to know the characteristics of a cat in heat. Especially if you are a cat breeder, then the knowledge of when cats mate is the knowledge that you must know.
The characteristics of cats want to mate, both females and males are almost the same. The most distinguishing is the age when the cat is ready to mate.
For example, male cats have a ready mating age ranging from 10 to 12 months of age.
As for female cats, they have a lustful age and are ready to mate at the age of 6 to 10 months, mostly between 7-8 months.
10 Characteristics of in-Heat Cats That Are Ready to Mate
Signs of cat lust between males and females are not much different. For that, we will discuss it in one. Here’s a sign the cat wants to mate:
1. The age of the cat is fitting
To find out if your pet is ready to mate or not. You must know how old it is. You need this for identification. Where female cats range in age from 6-10 months. And male cats are 8-10 months old.
2. Being More Spoiled
Both male and female cats are the same, they will look more spoiled than usual.
This is a natural sign, yes similar to human behavior. Who will be more spoiled and caper when in love.
3. Like Meowing
As well as turning out to be more spoiled, cats will also become noisier. That is, meowing more often.
This sign is commonly experienced by female cats, and in male cats, the case is very rare. But still there. The meowing sound will sound louder than normal meowing.
4. Cats Become More Active
Another characteristic of a cat in heat you can see from its more active behavior. Where cats move more often and leave the house.
It is a normal thing, which is a natural instinct to actively look for a partner when the cat’s mating period arrives.
5. Curved Tail
Another sign of a cat about to mate is when you stroke her body then her tail will often be seen curling. This behavior may have to do with the process of attracting a partner.
Where he will play his body parts to attract the attention of other cats who are ready to mate.
6. Often Rubbing Her Body
Another characteristic of cats that want to mate is that cats often rub their bodies against walls, floors, or other objects that they like.
In females, it will even be accompanied by a spoiled rolling motion to attract the attention of male cats.
This kind of behavior will actually be very noticeable if you do have several cats of different types. There are females and there are males.
7. Often Licking Nearby Objects
The characteristic of cats does like to lick their body parts. But for cats in heat, not only the body. But sometimes also like to lick some objects around it.
Although this kind of behavior is sometimes a sign of cat thirst. But if other signs appear. Then maybe this is a sign your cat is in heat.
8. Looks Restless
Some cats will be very restless if during their lambing period they haven’t found a partner. This is common if the cat is often put in a cage which makes it unable to find a partner.
The usual sense of anxiety is shown in the form of cats looking back and forth like confused and restless.
9. The fur becomes shiny
Another feature when the cat will look for a partner to mate is that the fur becomes more beautiful and looks shining. Especially if it happens to a female cat. This is used to attract males.
For that as an animal owner, especially one who has a female cat. It is very important to always maintain the health of the cat’s fur so that the fur can also grow dense and beautiful.
10. Decreased Appetite
By the time the cat is ready to mate and is in heat, it will usually also experience a decrease in appetite. However, this sign must be balanced with other signs that appear.
This is because cats that lose their appetite are more common due to sick cats than cats in heat.
Therefore, you must always be careful to see other signs.
When Does the Mating Period Occur?
Mating happens anytime or there is no particular season. If the cat is ready to mate, then at that time, the cat will look for a partner who is ready too.
Therefore, if you look around. You must be able to often see pregnant cats more than once a year.
That happens because cats do not have a special mating season.
How Many Times Do Cats Mate Until Pregnant
What is clear, the period of mating cats is about 7 days. So if cats mate 3x a day, then at least they need 21 matings to get the mother really pregnant.
That’s just an approximation because it could be within 3 days, the cat is already pregnant. Or it could even take up to 10 days to get pregnant. The point is in general the period you mate the cat is 7 days.
Effective Ways To Breed Cats
In order for the process of mating cats to be successful, you should follow these tips:
- Make sure the cat is really in heat by looking at the characteristics of its behavior. Ensure health between the male and female.
- Provide 2 cages close together and put the male in cage 1 and the female in cage 2.
- After the one-day introduction process, try releasing the two cats to have physical contact.
- Watch for 1 – 2 days, whether the two cats are compatible and willing to mate or not. If the pair is compatible, leave them for 7 days, a maximum of 10 days.
- Separate the two, then look at the development of the female’s abdomen for a few days, whether pregnant or not.
The most important thing to monitor is during the initial introduction process of 1 – 2 days and in the process of the cat’s mating period which is about 1 week.
Why should you keep an eye on it?
The answer is that during the introduction process and physical contact, there is a possibility that males and females do not match and even fight each other. Therefore, you must be careful.
Then in the one-week cat mating period, why should you monitor? The answer is because during the mating period the cat ends, or when the female has had enough and decreased her lust. Sometimes the female will feel disturbed by the presence of males, so it can cause a fight.
