🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Gestation in felids scales broadly with body size, ranging from roughly two months in small cats to around three and a half months in the largest species. This overview compiles comparative data on pr…

Human chorionic gonadotropin mimics luteinizing hormone and is widely used to trigger ovulation in felids after follicular development has been stimulated. This overview surveys how the hormone is adm…

Applying in vitro fertilization to endangered cats aims to produce embryos from valuable individuals, including those that cannot breed naturally, for transfer to surrogates or for banking. This overv…

Inbreeding in small captive populations can reduce fertility, increase juvenile mortality, and cause physical and reproductive abnormalities, collectively termed inbreeding depression. This overview s…

Most cats are induced ovulators, meaning that the surge of luteinizing hormone needed to release eggs is triggered by the physical stimulation of mating rather than occurring spontaneously on a fixed…

Litter size in cats varies within and between species, influenced by maternal age and condition, resource availability, and species biology. This overview surveys typical litter sizes from small felid…

Captive cats often live longer than their wild counterparts, raising questions about how reproductive performance changes across an extended lifespan. This overview surveys data on longevity and repro…

Mean kinship is a central metric used to decide which captive cats should breed in order to preserve genetic diversity. This overview surveys how mean kinship, the average relatedness of an individual…

Microsatellite genetic markers have made it possible to assign parentage in wild and captive cats, resolving questions about mating systems that behavior alone cannot answer. This overview surveys the…

Determining the sex of individuals from non-invasively collected samples such as feces or hair supports studies of population structure, dispersal, and reproduction. This overview surveys molecular se…

Recovering viable gametes from animals shortly after death allows valuable genetics to be salvaged that would otherwise be lost. This overview surveys post-mortem gamete rescue in felids, including th…

Progestin-based contraceptives have been used to suppress reproduction in captive cats, but concerns about side effects have shaped their use. This overview surveys the application of progestin contra…

Solitary cats rely heavily on chemical signals to advertise reproductive status and locate mates across large ranges. This overview surveys how felids use urine spraying, scrapes, cheek rubbing, and g…

Banking living somatic cells, such as skin fibroblasts, preserves an individual's full genome for potential future use in cloning or stem cell technologies. This overview surveys the collection, cultu…

Freezing and storing sperm is the most established form of felid biobanking, enabling the preservation and transport of male genetics. This overview surveys methods for cryopreserving cat sperm, inclu…

Deciding which individuals, tissues, and species to bank, and how to use stored material, requires strategy to maximize conservation value. This overview surveys the principles guiding genome resource…