himalayen in heat

Question
shes about 9 mos. old, shes been in and out of heat for over a month, how and when would i go about breeding her? i found a breeder who will take her for a week, but is there any way of knowing her cycles? thank you, chris.

Answer
Most cats have very definite heat cycles.  You just need to start charting her cycles on the calendar.  Unless she's unusual, after three cycles, you'll be able to predict when her next heat will be.  Many females show sexual behavior when they go into proestrus.  This lasts for a day or two, and the cat will not be interested in mating at this time.  A cat typically becomes receptive to males during the second or third day of obvious heat.  This is called estrus and is when she is fertile.  Estrus usually lasts about a week.

Definitely think long and hard about breeding her.  Cats who are bred are at higher risk for mammary cancer and a deadly uterine infection called pyometra.  Also, every breeder is nearly guaranteed to run into expensive problems with deliveries and such.  A problem delivery can easily run you $1200, and without shelling it out, the cat is likely to die.  I have seen all these problems in my own cats who were bred.  Of course, that does not even take into consideration vaccinations that the kittens will need, or antibiotics if they come down with an upper respiratory infection, etc.

Also, 9 months is a little young, especially for a Persian/Himalayan.  Most responsible breeders will wait until the cat is a year old before breeding.

Make extra sure that the stud you're using has been tested for feline leukemia and feline AIDS.  I'm a little worried about this breeder, to be honest, because I feel they should have educated you about calculating her heat cycle and would've recommended waiting another couple months.