Seasonals reproductive patterns of the domestic cat in La Plata, Argentina: a preliminary report.

ABEYA A; CARRANZA A; DE LA SOTA P; VALIENTE C; CORRADA Y; DIAZ JD; GOBELLO C

Jornada; Jornadas de investigadores jóvenes en ciencias veterinarias.; 2011

Introduction: Domestic cat seasonality between the tropics and the arctic zones is scarcely described and controversial. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe domestic feline (Felis catus) seasonal patterns in the city of La Plata, Argentina Materials and methods: A total of 47 estrous cycles were studied in 6 post pubertal female cats during 12 months. The queens were housed in our Laboratory cat colony (1; 34° 8´ South Latitude, 57°54´ West Longitude), acclimated under natural photoperiod, and daily observed for reproductive behaviour. Vaginal cytology was carried out three times a week (2). For each cat the number days in estrus per month per year were recorded. The months of the year were grouped into 4 periods (mean hours each: 13.3 vs. 10.6 vs. 10.9 vs. 13.7) of 3 months each according to day length and photoperiod and compared by ANOVA for repeated measures. Results: All the cats cycled throughout the year without intervals of anestrus. Mean number of estrous days differed among the periods (p < 0.01), being those of long day length and ascending photoperiod significantly higher (18.1 ±1.6) than those of descending photoperiod either with long (9.8±2.3) or short (8.0±0.1) days. When both ascending and both descending periods were considered together and compared between themselves, they also differed (p < 0.01). Conclusion: It is concluded, that domestic cats under the temperate photoperiod of the city of La Plata, cycle throughout the year showing peak activity the months with increasing photoperiod. References 1 Risso A et al. 2010 Colonia experimental felina del Laboratorio de Fisiología Reproductiva FCV-UNLP. X Congreso Nacional de AVEACA (abstract). 2 Johnston SD, Root-Kustritz MV, Olson PN. The feline estrous cycle. In Canine and feline Theriogenology. Philadelphia: BW Saunders, 2001;396-05.