Have you got any other figures for queens you've bred this many litters from? I only have four litters from my girls because I noticed this very trend some time ago with my own cats and others. It's one of those things I can't really show evidence for any longer because I decided to quit while I was ahead (for want of a better term).

Yes. My first ever queen produced litters of 6 8 9 5, and then I can't remember the exact number of litters she had after that but she certainly produced at least one singleton. One of her daughters started with a litter of 7, at one stage produced 11, and although again I can't remember the exact numbers she certainly produced some more "normal" size litters. And more recently I had a cat who produced small litters, generally 3 or 4, but with a range of 1 to 5.

There is probably breed variation in this, persians are generally thought to have smaller litters. I only ever had one persian and her litters ranged from 2 to 4 as I recall.

Liz

I spayed a gorgeous girl last year who had given me 6 8 7 8. Never a problem and the temptation to let her have just one more litter was huge but I stuck to my self-imposed rule and had her spayed before I could change my mind. As much as anything I reckon she deserves her retirement after such sterling service. Obviously a part of me regrets it but your figures justify it for me so I'm really grateful you posted

Thanks all for your lovely replies, and I'm sure things will feel better soon so hopefully on the lookout for a lovely new queen!