Changes in Serum Amyloid A Level in Domestic Cats during Pregnancy.

Reproduction of endangered species in captivity is an urgent problem for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. For mammals, including felids, assessing and monitoring of pregnancy progression is fundamental for successful breeding. For the first time, changes in the concentrations of serum amyloid A (SAA), the main protein of the acute phase of inflammation in felines, were assessed during pregnancy in a domestic cat. It was found that changes in SAA concentrations in pregnant females are consistent: an increase to the middle of pregnancy (day 30) and a decrease to day 60. After parturition, the SAA concentrations in the blood of domestic cats increase. The litter size significantly affected the dynamic of SAA concentrations during the experiment, in particular, after parturition, the increase in its level was significantly higher in the females that gave birth to larger litters (from four to seven kittens).

[Social play in the development of sibling relations in Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx)].

Social play fulfills an important function in creating and maintaining relations between siblings. However, its relationship with the intralitter social processes is poorly understood. It was noticed that, in Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) litters, sex differences in social play are absent in the first 2-3 months of life. Itwas found that the most intense periods of play behavior (at an age of 9 and 1-2 weeks) coincide with periods of aggression. Gradual change in play interactions, which require close physical contact by play elements with increased motor activity, are described. This reflects the changes in the relevance of certain skills of lynx cubs as they grow older.

[Spatial organization of felids populations and some traits of their reproductive strategies].

In all Felidae species, females are able to mate with several males during the estrus. Promiscuity mating system is the most typical of the solitary living species that have large home ranges. Females are usually widely distributed over the area and males move actively searching for the receptive females and defending them during the estrus period. Mating with few males is usually considered as a possibility to improve the quality of the offspring. In this article, some characteristics of home range use, marking and acoustic activity, traits of physiology which may result in promiscuity mating in felids are considered. An adaptive significance of mating few males is also discussed.