🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This review examined how artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, and gamete cryopreservation can support the genetic and demographic management of captive felid populations.…

Swanson WF · Theriogenology · 2006

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 reported the successful cloning of an endangered small felid by somatic cell nuclear transfer using domestic cats as oocyte donors and surrogate mothers. Researchers transferred nuclei from…

Gomez MC, Pope CE, Giraldo A, Lyons LA, Harris RF, King AL, Cole A, Godke RA, Dresser BL · Cloning and Stem Cells · 2004

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

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…

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…

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…

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 African wildcat, closely related to the domestic cat, has been a key species for demonstrating embryo transfer and related technologies in a wild felid. This overview surveys work in which African…

Embryo transfer, in which embryos are moved to a recipient female to establish pregnancy, was developed in the domestic cat as a foundation for felid conservation applications. This overview surveys h…

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…

Female cats in estrus display a recognizable suite of behaviors, including increased vocalization, rolling, treading, lordosis posture, and heightened receptivity to males. This overview describes the…

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…

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…

Preserving ovarian and testicular tissue offers a way to bank the gametes of immature or recently deceased felids whose mature sperm or eggs cannot be collected directly. This overview surveys researc…

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…

The conditions under which felid embryos are cultured after fertilization strongly affect how many develop to stages suitable for transfer or freezing. This overview surveys research on in vitro cultu…

In vitro fertilization in the domestic cat has provided the methodological foundation for producing felid embryos outside the body. This overview surveys how cat oocytes are recovered, matured, and fe…

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…

Induced ovulation is widespread but not universal among carnivores, and comparing felids with mustelids, some canids, and other groups clarifies how the mechanism evolved and varies. This overview sur…

Reprogramming felid somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells offers a future route to generating gametes and preserving genetic diversity. This overview surveys early research on deriving ind…

Transferring embryos of a rare cat into a more common related species as surrogate offers a way to produce offspring without risking the endangered female. This overview surveys interspecies embryo tr…

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg, offers a route to fertilization when sperm are scarce or of poor quality. This overview surveys the developm…

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…

The composition of cat milk supports the rapid early growth of altricial young and changes over the course of lactation. This overview surveys what is known about the fat, protein, and energy content…