🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This review summarized the reproductive physiology of the domestic cat, which serves as the principal model for understanding felid reproduction. The authors described the follicular phase and estrous…

Tsutsui T, Stabenfeldt GH · Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement · 1993

This study validated and applied fecal steroid hormone assays to track ovarian activity in multiple felid species without restraint or blood sampling. The authors characterized how estrogen and proges…

Brown JL, Wasser SK, Wildt DE, Graham LH · Biology of Reproduction · 1994

This review compiled what was known about reproductive hormone patterns across the cat family, drawing heavily on noninvasive fecal and urinary steroid monitoring developed for zoo animals. The author…

Brown JL · Theriogenology · 2006

This review synthesized progress in applying in vitro fertilization, embryo culture, embryo transfer, and cryopreservation to nondomestic cats, using the domestic cat as a research model. The author s…

Pope CE · Theriogenology · 2000

This study compared the outbred Serengeti lion population with the small, geographically isolated Ngorongoro Crater population, which descended from few founders and experienced inbreeding. The author…

Wildt DE, Bush M, Goodrowe KL, Packer C, Pusey AE, Brown JL, Joslin P, O'Brien SJ · Nature · 1987

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist implants offer a reversible method of suppressing reproduction in cats by downregulating the reproductive axis after an initial stimulation. This overview survey…

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its agonists are used to induce ovulation in cats by stimulating the pituitary to release luteinizing hormone, substituting for the natural mating stimulus. This ove…

As cats age, their reproductive output typically declines through reduced fertility, smaller litters, and lower offspring survival. This overview surveys patterns of age-related fertility decline acro…

Pregnancy rates from artificial insemination in wild cats remain modest and variable, reflecting the biological and technical challenges of the procedure. This overview surveys reported success rates…

The ocelot has served as a focus for applying assisted-reproduction techniques to a small spotted cat of conservation concern. This overview surveys reproductive research on ocelots, including reprodu…

When some individuals in a group reproduce while others are suppressed, the resulting asymmetry reflects social and physiological mechanisms regulating reproduction. This overview surveys asymmetric r…

Managing captive felid populations requires balancing genetic goals, such as retaining diversity, against demographic goals, such as maintaining stable numbers and age structure. This overview surveys…

Successful reproduction in captivity depends not only on physiology but on appropriate behavior, including mate recognition, courtship, and competent maternal care. This overview surveys how behaviora…

Lionesses that give birth around the same time pool their cubs into a communal creche, nursing and defending young cooperatively. This overview surveys how creches form following synchronized births,…

Managing the size and genetics of captive felid populations sometimes requires preventing reproduction in animals that are genetically overrepresented or surplus to program needs. This overview survey…

In induced-ovulating felids the chance that mating triggers ovulation rises with the number and spacing of copulations, suggesting a threshold of cumulative stimulation that the female's neuroendocrin…

Female cats select sheltered den sites to give birth and protect altricial young during their most vulnerable weeks. This overview surveys how felid mothers choose dens that provide concealment and th…

Habitat corridors that allow subadult cats to move between core areas are central to maintaining gene flow and demographic exchange in fragmented landscapes. This overview surveys research on how conn…

The dispersal phase is among the most dangerous periods in a young cat's life, as subadults move through unfamiliar and often occupied or human-dominated terrain. This overview surveys evidence that d…

Using domestic cats to gestate embryos of related wild species offers a practical surrogate system for conservation reproductive technology. This overview surveys the use of domestic cat recipients to…

In felids housed or living in groups, social rank can influence which individuals reproduce and how successfully. This overview surveys how dominance hierarchies relate to reproduction in cats, includ…

Collecting semen from nondomestic cats usually requires electroejaculation under anesthesia, a standardized technique that allows evaluation and banking of sperm. This overview surveys how electroejac…

Freezing embryos preserves them for future transfer, allowing the genetics of valuable matings to be stored and used across time and space. This overview surveys methods for cryopreserving felid embry…

The physical environment of an enclosure, including space, complexity, seclusion, and the ability to avoid disturbance, influences the reproductive function of captive cats. This overview surveys how…

The interval between successive estrous periods varies considerably among cat species and depends on whether ovulation has occurred. This overview surveys data on follicular phase duration, interestro…

Measuring estrogen metabolites in feces allows researchers to follow follicular development and estrus in cats without restraint or blood collection. This overview describes how fecal estrogen profile…

Measuring glucocorticoid stress hormones in feces provides a noninvasive way to assess how stress relates to reproductive function in cats. This overview surveys the use of fecal glucocorticoid monito…

Female lions usually remain in their natal pride for life, producing prides composed of closely related females that cooperate in hunting and cub rearing. This overview surveys the pattern of female p…

Whether semen is used fresh or after cryopreservation strongly affects the success of artificial insemination in cats, since freezing damages a fraction of sperm. This overview surveys comparisons of…

Genome resource banks, sometimes called frozen zoos, store gametes, embryos, and cells from felids to preserve genetic diversity for future use. This overview surveys the concept and practice of bioba…