In cat breeding, an important step is reproduction and obtaining healthy offspring. The main factor determining the survival of newborn kittens is the normal course and length of pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gestation length on the early development of kittens. It was shown that kittens (premature kittens) later double their body weight (p < .01), have lower daily gains (p < .01) and higher body weight during eye-opening (p < .01), which occurs later than in kittens born on time. In addition, due to a shorter period of prenatal development, they require more time until the day of eye-opening, which, together with the length of pregnancy, was defined as development age.

Bengal Cattery Emerald Heart Poznań Poland

Bengal Cattery Moni Dworek Kaczyce Poland

Bengal Cattery Prime Tigris Warsaw Poland

Bengal Cattery Rascal Bengal Jihlava Czech Republic

Bengal Cattery Sirocco Gliwice Poland

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Warsaw University of Life Sciences Warsaw Poland

Institute of Animal Sciences Warsaw University of Life Sciences Warsaw Poland

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Donoghue, S., & Scarlett, J. M. (1998). Diet and feline obesity. Journal of Nutrition, 128(12 Suppl), 2776-2778. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/128.12.2776s

Kaelin, C. B., McGowan, K. A., Hutcherson, A. D., Delay, J. M., & Barsh, G. S. (2022). Ancestry dynamics and trait selection in a designer cat breed. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.12.520105

Lawler, D. F. (2008). Neonatal and pediatric care of the puppy and kitten. Theriogenology, 70(3), 384-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2008.04.019

Little, S. (2011). Feline pediatrics: How to treat the small and the sick. Compendium: Continuing Education for Veterinarians, 33(9), 1-6.

Mugnier, A., Cane, T., Gaillard, V., Grellet, A., & Chastant, S. (2022). Birth weight in the feline species: Description and factors of variation in a large population of purebred kittens. Theriogenology, 190, 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.THERIOGENOLOGY.2022.07.008

Paragon, B. M., & Vaissaire, J.-P. (2005). Tha main stages of a cat's life. The royal canine cat encyclopedia. The Aniwa Publishing. (Vol. 2, pp. 362-373).

Romagnoli, S., Bensaia, C., Ferré-Dolcet, L., Sontas, H. B., & Stelletta, C. (2019). Fertility parameters and reproductive management of Norwegian Forest cats, Maine coon, Persian and Bengal cats raised in Italy: A questionnaire-based study. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 21(12), 1188-1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X18824181

Socha, P., Lengling, R., Bonecka, J., & Janowski, T. (2019). Obstetric and newborn parameters in the Maine coon cats. Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 22(3), 439-443. https://doi.org/10.24425/pjvs.2019.129303

StatSoft, I. N. C. (2011). STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 10. StatSoft Inc. www.statsoft.com

Veronesi, M. C., & Fusi, J. (2022). Feline neonatology: From birth to commencement of weaning - What to know for successful management. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 24(3), 232-242. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X221079709

Veronesi, M. C., & Fusi, J. (2023). Biochemical factors affecting newborn survival in dogs and cats. Theriogenology, 197, 150-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2022.11.040