Since Misty only had a single kitten for her first litter, we bred her right back after weaning the kitten per advice from her breeder and the vet. She had another single kitten this morning, a girl weighing 4.2 oz. We know the male had no issues breeding her, so are unsure as to why she is only producing a single kitten at a time. She had a little difficulty with this birthing and we are thinking it would be in her best interest to spay her and re-home her as a pet.
Do any of you think that is in her best interest? Have you experienced this with any of your breeding females? If so, did you spay or keep trying, and maybe succeed at getting a larger litter?
Thanks for any advice.
I would not have rebred her so quickly. There was no reason to do it and only risks. If each kitten has been healthy, there is no reason not to breed her again. If you are worried about socialization, then have another litter at the same time so that the kittens from each can be together. Many do that anyway so that each queen can backup the other for milk and caring for the kittens. (We do not prefer really large litters. They are much harder on the queens and with 2-4 kittens they are well socialized by each other. Singleton litters can be a socialization challenge for the mom - often she will engage in much more kitten play.) This time wait a year for the next litter - or at least ten months.
I was a little surprised that the advice was to breed her right back, but was also told that she should not be bred for another year after this litter. Thanks for your advice!
I also would wait ten months to a year before mating again.
I would mate her with a different male to see how many kittens result from the mating, perhaps she will have more either way a nice kitten pre litter is not necessarily a bad thing.
Enjoy and have lorger litters with your othr females.
Congrats on the precious little one!
We have no other male to breed her to. Also, our male has produced a litter of 5 with our other female, so I do not feel that he has anything to with her only producing single kittens. Thanks for your advice though.
JanH Wrote:If you are worried about socialization, then have another litter at the same time so that the kittens from each can be together. Many do that anyway so that each queen can backup the other for milk and caring for the kittens.
Another advantage from this is that if the other girl has a large litter while Misty has another singleton, Misty could take on some of the kittens to make two more even sized litters.
Have you had a ultrasound done to make sure she has both Kidneys?
I just discussed having an ultrasound with her breeder. We have decided there are a few things we will do to make sure there is no underlying cause for her only producing one kitten per litter. I am very thankful that I purchased two of my Ragdolls from a breeder that will answer any question I may have and is more than willing to give me some advice. I also appreciate all of the advice I have received here.
You do not need the expense of an ultrasound for that. A vet can palpate both kidneys without any additional expense over the office visit fee.
I was thinking of having her abdominal area ultrasounded as well as checking for both kidneys. I will also be having her checked for any possible infections, such as a low grade UTI. I would like to rule these things out before making any serious decisions. My main concern for thinking about spaying her is because of the amount of trouble she had delivering this kitten, it was larger than the last at 4.2 oz. Which shows that her kittens may increase in size with each pregnancy. I just do not want her to go through a very painful delivery (more so than what she already has) or to have a possible c-section. My concern is for her health and well being, I would like to prevent anything too traumatic from happening to her. I will let everyone know how her exam goes, it will still be about 7 weeks until I take her in, after the kitten is weaned.