Local Cat

　　Cats are not only natural enemies of rats but also pets in many urban families, with considerable medicinal and edible value; in recent years, cat trading markets have flourished across regions, and the price of cats has continuously increased. The breeding and feeding management techniques are briefly introduced as follows:

　　1. Mating and Breeding Under normal circumstances, cats reach sexual maturity at 7–10 months of age and can be bred at 12 months. Different from many animals, female cats can mate with two male cats before and after estrus, allowing repeated fertilization. Since cats dislike people watching during mating and dislike bright lights, it is best to keep the mating place dark and quiet, preferably mating at night. To improve fertilization rates and increase litter size, one male cat can mate first; 24 hours later, another male cat can be introduced for a second mating. This can increase the average number of kittens per litter from 3–5 to 6–8. The gestation period of a female cat is 63–65 days, with a lactation period of 50–55 days. To improve economic efficiency, mating times can be scheduled; for two litters a year, mating should be in March–April and September–October; for three litters, scheduled in March, July, and November. The general principle is to avoid giving birth during the hot summer to improve kitten survival rates.

　　2. Pregnancy Management After 30 days of pregnancy, the female cat's abdomen begins to enlarge and hang down, and kittens can be felt by hand. To prevent miscarriage, the place where the pregnant cat is kept should be as quiet and dim as possible. The pregnant cat’s diet mainly consists of rice porridge supplemented with small fish or meat broth, fed twice a day at 350–400 grams each time to ensure sufficient nutrition. Ten days before delivery, prepare a separate room or nesting box with clean cotton, cloth, or other soft materials. Avoid using grass, sawdust, or wood shavings to prevent kittens from hiding and being crushed. After birth, provide the mother cat with plenty of warm salted water, sufficient protein foods such as meat, fish, liver, milk, and appropriate vitamins and mineral supplements, feeding 3–4 times daily at about 400 grams each time to ensure sufficient milk.

　　3. Kitten Feeding During early and mid-lactation, the mother cat generally stays in the nesting box except for eating and excreting. Any disturbance may cause her to carry kittens away. Kittens open their eyes at 10 days, crawl at 20 days, walk and forage at 30 days, wean and eat small mice at 40 days, and can be sold on the market by 50 days. Newly weaned kittens should mainly be fed dairy products or porridge, with some liver, fish, and meat as animal feed while ensuring adequate addition of fish bone powder rich in vitamins A and D. Prepared cat food should be served around 38℃, as food that is too cold or too hot is not conducive to growth. During kitten raising, training should be provided to teach them to defecate and urinate in designated places, not to climb on tables or beds, and avoid sleeping with people, fostering good habits.

　　4. Cat Disease Prevention Cats are very clean animals and require frequent brushing and wiping with warm water to reduce bacteria. Every week, use a 0.3% dichlorvos solution or rub with camphor powder or peach leaf juice to eliminate fleas and lice. Caged cats require regular cage and feeding utensil washing and disinfection, timely removal of feces to maintain a clean environment. Feed small amounts multiple times a day, avoid excessive feeding at once, never feed leftover food, sick animal meat, or spoiled and toxic food. Excerpted from Sichuan Agricultural Science and Technology (Source：PetsZone)