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Burmese queens tend to be precocious and some have
been known to start calling or come into oestrus as early as four months
of age and
sometimes younger! Most queens breed readily; the average sized litter is four to six
kittens. Burmese are very good mothers, and have little problem producing their
young. The kittens are born with fine 'downy' coats and therefore, care must be
taken to ensure that the kittening box is placed in warm, draught free
environment.
Most cat fancies recommend that a young
queen is not bred until she is at least 9 months old. However, there are
exceptions to every rule. Should a young queen start calling at too early
an age, it may be more beneficial to her health if the breeder is guided by her
weight. She should not be less than 2 kgs (kilograms) or 5 lbs (pounds).
Continual calling may produce complications such as polycystic ovaries or even pyometra which may lead to surgical intervention with the queen being spayed or
altered without ever being bred. The alternative to early breeding of a
young queen would be a "sterile" mating by a
Teaser Tom which would trick the
queen's system into believing she has been bred. Cats are "reflexive or
induced ovulators", a trait they have in common several other mammals, viz: the
group of induced ovulators includes rabbits, ferrets, mink, voles, camels, the
tree shrew and ground squirrel.
Gestation for Burmese cats is usually calculated on 63 to
67 days from the first date of breeding or mating to a stud male. Therefore,
if your queen was bred on May 5th, her kittening date will be July 9th to 13th.
The chart below gives a "mean average" - based on 65 days gestation - between the dates noted above.
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