What to do to my in-heat girls?

Question
QUESTION: Dear Marcia
It has always been a dilemma to me,and currently I'm dealing with it once more.What should I do to my in-heat girls when I temporarily don't want them to mate?
Actually this beautiful bio-color Persian queen of mine is in heat right now,and I am determined not to let her mate and go pregnant for now,hence she has had her first litter (triplets) just two and half months before.Obviously it would be so soon for her to get pregnant once more.However,she's in perfect physical condition.
I am absolutely confused and a little bit apprehensive as I don't know what to do with her.Vets say using pill can lead to cancer,so it's out of question.I had decided to let her yell and call and separate her from my boy,but many experts and breeders told me it could lead to uterus infection,and it would also weaken the queen and make her lose weight.So I really don't know what to do.Should I let her mate?I don't want my girl to be harmed.Please help.What to you recommend?What would you do in such occasion?I'm a breeder so spaying her is out of question for now.
Soheil

ANSWER: Hi Soheil

This is a constant problem that breeders face and there is no one method that works for everyone.  I have Burmese who call on a very regular basis and because of the economic climate at the moment I am having to consider the best thing for my cats to balance health against having too many kittens around until they are found homes.  

I guess from what you say that the vet is not too keen to prescribe the pill.  If left to call some cats may indeed have a pyometra but though everyone warns about it, its not as common as you may be led to believe.  In 32 years of breeding I have only had one case and even that girl after having a successful litter after the pyometra, had a number of calls without any recurrence.  

As I said, I have had to consider my options this year and have for the first time turned to homeopathy which is totally safe.  Even if it doesn't work it doesn't do any harm either.  There is a remedy called Folliculinum which if given in the right potency is reported to hold cats off call.  I have just started trying it and so far so good.  You may like to consider looking at this link http://www.hsaw.org.uk/html/calling_queens.html which is actually written by a UK breeder that I know.  I have given the initial dosing of 3 pills of the 1M strength for 3 days and then gave one pill 6 days later and so far so good.  I intend to give the occasional dose around every week for now. My Burmese were hardly finishing one call before they started the next and we have had a period of quiet for now.  Obviously it is too soon for me to definitely say it is working for me but I am using it on two girls who are incessant callers.

If you can't find a homeopathic pharmacy locally then you could try Ainsworths in London who may well ship it to you.  Their website is http://www.ainsworths.com

My feeling is if using this method helps to reduce the number of calls it will be a lot better than using the pill or leaving them to call incessantly.

I wish I could give you other advice but the only one I can think of is to induce a false pregnancy by using a cotton bud in the vagina, but that can also lead to pyometra in some cases, but as stated earlier, not all.  Your girl will be at added risk of having a pyo if her mother or grandmother has had one, but then again, the cats don't read the books as my girl had a daughter who never had a litter and by the age of 7 was neutered she didn't have any problems.

Regards

Marcia.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks a lot,but hence I live in Middle East I assume I'm not going to find those medicines that you recommended.I wish I was in London...
So,how often can I breed my pedigree Persian girls?Can I let her go pregnant three months after the previous litter if she's in perfect physical condition?
I actually have seen Persians who give birth continuously and have no problem!there is this 12 year old girl of my aunt who has given birth more than 20 times and still mates and mothers!

Answer
Hi Soheil

I have had a look on Ainsworths website and they state they ship to anywhere in the world, so I think I would give them a go first.

If you do want to give homeopathy a try, then I think I would let her call this time and get your order in very quickly and then give it a go.  If it doesn't work for her, then you may have to let her have a litter.    Here in the UK the longhaired cats do seem to have a period of quiet through the winter but not sure whether your cats will with your climate.

If you get desperate not to mate her, although your vet has commented on the use of the pill, it wouldn't hurt to give it her on a one off basis to give her a bit of a rest.  We use Ovarid in the UK.  Not sure what it may be called in your country.  I think in the States it may be called Perlutex.  With Ovarid, the vets do tend to prescribe very large doses, but breeders have found that .25 of a 5mg tablet on the first day of a call is enough to suppress that call.  I expect given in the high doses such as 1  x 5mg tablet each day for 3 days would have a much higher risk.  A lot of breeders will keep their cats totally off call by giving .25 of a tablet every 3 weeks with no health problems occurring.  Have a talk with your vet again and explain to him that something like Ovarid or Perlutex does not carry the high risks if used in this way to suppress a call.  

I have to say that these frequent callers can be a nightmare especially if you have boys around and you have to go one way or the other.  Perhaps consider having litters close together and neuter her earlier?  I must admit to being very wary of breeding beyond the age of 8.  I have had a cat with a ruptured uterus at that age and another one just now who has had to have a c.section as she just didn't go into labour at 9 years old.

Let me know how you go on.

Marcia.