BURMESE CAT CLUB KITTEN DATA SURVEY 2013-2015

PURPOSE OF BCC KITTEN DATA SURVEY To continually monitor the health of the breed – we need a starting point. Not trying to prove or disprove anything. Mainly anecdotal evidence was available Need for some baseline statistics so we can monitor any negative long term changes Average birth weights, litter sizes, no. of C-sections, no. of stillbirths, FCK? kitten mortality - all are useful indicators of the overall health of the breed. Will imported genes make a difference? More data means more reliable overall statistics. INTRODUCTION - Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club Litter Data 2013-2015 Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club Litter Data 2013-2015 Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Average Birth Weights (grams) Average weights overall 2013-15 Male – 88.6g Female – 84.5g Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club Average litter size 2013-2015 Overall average litter size 2013-2015 ≈ 4.4 live kittens per litter Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Litter size by month of birth June is busting out all over! Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Birth weight by month of birth Do more kittens per litter result in lower than average 86.5 g birth weight (m/f combined)? Unclear. Feb, June & Oct show largest litter sizes. Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

% Kittens with FCK by Year 2013-2015 Overall rate 5.97% of kittens Lower than anticipated?? Double checked available stats. Does not include stillbirths. Need more data from breeders Overall % FCK kittens over 3 years = 5.97% Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

Overall % stillborn kittens by Year 2013 - 2015 2014 showed significantly higher rate of stillbirths. Reason not known, evenly spread across all litters. Statistical blip?? Not known. 2015 reduced Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

C – section rates per year 2013 - 2015 Variable rates. Overall rate better, inexperienced breeders? Cautious vets? OVERALL C-SECTION RATE OVER 3 YEARS - 11.13% Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club

HOW BURMESE BREEDERS CAN CONTRIBUTE Weigh kittens at birth (in grams please!) – note any with FCK, stillbirths, bad hernias, other serious faults etc Weigh kittens again at 12 weeks Fill in both data survey forms – post or email to Mrs Dell (both together if sent anonymously) Anonymous data is fine. Breeder’s name or Prefix are not required and completely optional Reluctance to divulge information about poor litters can sway statistics – important that we receive this data to get more accurate statistics We are NOT concerned with individual breeders but the OVERALL breed health. Burmese Cat Club Kitten Data Survey Copyright Burmese Cat Club