The Birds and the Bees, part two

The Birds and the Bees, part two

Cats are serious about procreating. I read somewhere that a single female cat can ultimately be responsible for producing thousands of new stray cats, and all within just a few years. There’s a modest amount of debate on the exact math but no arguing the fact that cats are more skilled at reproduction than their canine counterparts. What follows might not be suitable for our more sensitive viewers…

Female cats become capable of carrying a litter around 5-6 months of age. That’s a bit earlier than many dog breeds, so the cats have a tiny head start already. But here’s where they really pull into the lead: while the average female dog has only two opportunities to get pregnant each year, a lady cat can go into estrus every three weeks until she makes a love connection. If at first you don’t succeed... try, try again! With a seven-day window of fertility occurring once every three weeks for months on end, her chances of becoming pregnant go right through the roof. She’ll spend those seven days hard at work, exhibiting the flamboyant estrus behavior typical of domestic cats. They roll around on the floor, rub their bodies on anything too slow to escape (including inanimate objects), flaunt their rear ends suggestively in the air, and cry loudly at all hours in a shameless bid for attention. Many cat owners have rushed to the vet about their pet’s apparent pain and drastically altered state of mind.

Once a male is located, mating is a spirited event. The actual union might last for under a minute, but the sequence as a whole is a prolonged, raucous, and somewhat violent affair punctuated by noises which are invariably described as screams. Immediately upon completion of the act, the female will usually turn and aggressively attack the male. This dramatic performance might be repeated many times over the course of several days. Male cats are reputed to mate repeatedly to the point of exhaustion. When it comes to making babies, cats do mean business!

Feline physiology has also undergone some special upgrades to allow maximum efficiency in the manufacture of kittens. Superfecundity means that each baby can have a different father, and female cats have a reputation for accepting all applicants. Unlike dogs, cats can become pregnant again very shortly after giving birth—while still nursing their most recent litter—which allows faster production of kittens. Female cats can even become “more pregnant” (a phenomenon called superfetation) if they mate again while already carrying a litter. Two smaller litters of kittens thus exist inside the same mother and can be birthed as they become ready. No wasted space here!

So you can see that felines really throw themselves into the process of reproduction. They’re beating the dogs hands down, at least. Whether that’s just an increased zest for life or a bid for total world domination, the cats aren’t saying.

Dr. M. S. Regan