ABSTRACT
The first successful artificial insemination in cats was described 40 years ago. However, the insemination
in cats is at present not as commonly performed in daily veterinary practice as the insemination in dogs due
to the practical difficulties in collecting a sperm sample from the tomcat, the small volume of the sperm
obtained, the few possibilities to determine the optimal timing of insemination and the need for ovulation
induction and sedation of the queen. Recently, a new and practical method has been described for sperm
collection, using urethral catheterization after sedation of the tomcat with medetomidine. Sperm can
subsequently be inseminated in the vagina or directly into the uterus by laparotomy or transcervical
catheterization
INTRODUCTION
Up till recently, the reproduction in cats has hardly been studied, despite the fact that the reproductive cycle of the cat is unique in a number of aspects, such as the induced ovulation and the sequence of events in the course of natural mating. In recent decades how- ever, a considerable amount of new information has been published, mainly due to the increased interest in cat reproduction in daily practice and due to the use of the cat as a research model for endangered wild felids and for several human pathologies (Axner and Linde- Forsberg, 2002). The first successful artificial insemi- nation (AI) in cats was described 40 years ago by Sojka et al. (1970). Subsequently, several research groups worldwide published new information al- though AI in cats is at present not as commonly per- formed as AI in dogs in daily veterinary practice. The main reasons to perform an insemination in the cat are (1) if natural mating is impossible due to anatomical, physiological or behavioral problems, (2) the preser- vation (chilled or frozen) and subsequent transport of genetic material of valuable breeding animals and (3) the research and use of information obtained in the do- mestic cat for the conservation of endangered wild fe- lids.