IACUC Learning Module - Cats |
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Cats are often purchased from Class A vendors or dealers, who maintain a
breeding colony strictly for the purpose of raising cats for research. These
dealers are licensed by the USDA, which means that their facilities are
inspected each year and they must follow the same regulations, under the Animal
Welfare Act, as does the research institution.
Although cats from dealers tend to be uniform in size and are generally in good health, they often are not well socialized to humans, having spent much of their lives with little human contact. Therefore, these cats tend to be afraid and caution needs to be used when handling them as they may be fear biters. |
Currently, cats can also be obtained from animal shelters or pounds, but this is rare. These cats are of various breeds, or mixtures of breeds (usually called domestic shorthairs), and have a wide variation in temperament. Because cats are kept at the pound for several weeks to allow them to be adopted as pets, and may have little or no medical history, they should be quarantined for an adequate time to ensure that they are not incubating a serious illness.
Upon arrival, cats are quarantined for at least two weeks. During the quarantine period they are examined and vaccinated against feline panleucopenia, chlamydia, calici virus, and rhinotracheitis. Cats may be housed separately in cages with resting boards. If the cats are of the same sex and if they get along socially they can be housed in a room. This allows for enrichment socially. For psychological enrichment devices are also given such as balls or hanging toys.
Daily, cats should be given fresh litter boxes (UAC uses donut trays with sani-chips) fresh water and dry food ad libitum. If a cat is ill or recovering from surgery, it may be given canned food to entice it to eat.
The male cat is called a tom. The female cat is called a queen. The young are called kittens. Females generally mature at 3 to 9 months, males at 7 to 12 months. Feral cats may not mature until they are 15 to 18 months old. This varies depending on the breed (somewhat earlier in Burmese and Siamese, for instance), the time of year and nutrition. Queens usually come into season (estrus) for part of each year, usually in late winter to early spring and late spring to early summer. Each cycle lasts 3 weeks. In the receptive phase, up to 10 days, estrogens are produced by the ovaries and the queen is sexually attractive to tom cats. During the quiescent phase (infertile phase of the reproductive cycle) the body prepares for the next cycle. Increased daylight can regulate the breeding condition of cats. Cats housed indoors in artificial light can be sexually active at any time of year.
Tom cats go through a period of springtime rut which declines to a low in sexual activity during the autumn. However, it is not known whether male cats have an annual sexual cycle controlled by day length because their sex life may simply be turned off and on by the availability and sexual condition of females in the vicinity. The normal reserved behavior of the cat undergoes a severe change when she is in heat. It varies from cat to cat, but the queen generally shows signs of restlessness and decreased appetite and urinates more frequently. Cats call/cry/yell sometimes for hours on end - this is especially loud with the Siamese cat, the nymphomaniacs of the cat world, who are prone to prolonged estrus.
Body postures are particularly characteristic: the queen becomes affectionate, rubbing against objects and people, rolling on the ground and mewing repeatedly. Any touch to the back of the tail is likely to stimulate a crouch position, and stroking at the base of the tail further exaggerates this receptive posture. Estrous queens often engage in rhythmic treading of the paws, the rump is lifted and tail deflected to one side. This is called lordosis.
Cats are not usually monogamous and if several toms are available more than one may be selected by the female. Some considerable fighting may take place between the toms at this time, but the winner or most dominate tom may not be accepted by the female. Mating of a queen during one period of estrus may occur on many occasions, at up to ten times an hour and usually until the exhaustion of the male. He may then be replaced by one or many successors.
Courtship between a pair of unacquainted cats on strange territory may last for several hours before copulation begins, although it may be brief with a frequently used stud cat or between a pair of cats who know each other well. The tom cat’s reading of the queen’s receptivity is quite important during the courtship phase because a premature attempt to mount is liable to provoke a vigorous attack from her. Before copulation the male smells the females genitals and eventually grasps the queen by the scruff of neck to immobilize her while he mounts. Genital contact only lasts about ten seconds and involves a few deep pelvic thrusts and ejaculation of sperm by the male. When the male ejaculates the female releases a loud piercing cry and immediately separates and turns upon the male. No mating in other domestic animals has such a mood swing. This maybe due to the male’s penis having numerous spines at its tip which induce an intense and possibly painful stimulation of the female’s vagina. The stress invoked stimulates a chain of hormonal reactions, culminating in ovulation about 24 hours after mating and hopefully the possibility of conception. The female usually rolls on the ground and purrs. Sometimes she swipes at the male who usually just sits by and waits. Copulation must occur before the female will ovulate. Unless UAC chooses to operate a breeding colony, cats should not be allowed to become pregnant.
The cats gestation period is 63 days. The cat will search for a dark, quiet and easily guarded site to give birth to her kittens. When the cat goes into labor she retreats to her nest. As each kitten is born the queen licks it clean (this helps to stimulate breathing in the kitten) and nips thru the umbilical cord with her teeth. She eats the afterbirth and birth sac. Between kittens and once finished delivering she cleans herself and curls around her brood to keep them warm and secure so they can nurse. Mothers usually purr loudly throughout the entire process.
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