3.2. Reproductive hormone patterns during pregnancy
Female fishing cat (#38) housed with a male became
pregnant following peak estrogens (∼700 ng/g feces; Day
−1) and a presumed estrus (Fig. 7). Natural mating
occurred, followed by consistently elevated progestagens
(mean, 51.2
±
5.2 g/g feces; range, 12.6–141.2 g/g feces;
Fig. 7). Duration of gestation was 70 days based on last
day of peak estrogen to presumed day of parturition (first
detection of kitten vocalizations in the nest-box). During
the pregnant luteal phase, nine fecal estrogen peaks were
measured (mean, 571.4
±
67.6 g/g feces), including one at
the end of gestation and within 1 day of parturition (Fig. 7).