How often can I breed a Persian Queen?

Question
Dear Norman
I'm breeding pedigree-Persians professionally , and I though I'd better ask you , how often can I breed a Persian queen and up to which age can I let her go pregnant not to harm her ? my girls come to heat few months after the delivery . I was wondering how often should I let her mate after each pregnancy? I don't want to harm my girls .
Thank you
Soheil

Answer
Soheil,

We do not like to breed our females until they are a year old.

The problem is if they begin to have very hard heats, that rule can change.  A female should be bred after having 3 very, very intense seasons in succession.  One should not count mild seasons in this equation.

Once a female has a litter, you should wait about a year before breeding her again.

The least amount of time you should wait is 3 months plus 1 month for every kitten nursed.  So, if she has 4 kittens, you should wait a minimum of 3 months + 4 months, which is 7 months, before breeding her again.  This gives her time to get her body back in condition and rebuild the nutrients she expended in nursing the kittens.

Again, should she begin cycling very, very intensely, you may have to breed her sooner.

We usually do not breed a female older than 5-6 years of age.  By then we should have been able to produce a better female out of her to use in her stead.  If we have not produced a better female by then, she has no place in our breeding program.  In either case, we have the female spayed.

Best regards... Norm.