Physiological features of Felis catus sperm of Russian breeding in different seasons of the year

Abstract. The article presents for the first time the results of studies of the physiological characteristics of native and deconserved Felis catus sperm of various breeds of Russian breeding in different seasons of the year. The research was conducted in 2020-2024 in private veterinary clinics of the Moscow region. The study analyzed 116 ejaculates obtained from sexually mature cats aged 2 to 10 years, which belonged to various breeds of Russian breeding. The highest physiological mobility of native sperm was established by us in February (more than 65%), and in December and January it ranged on average from 60 to 62%, which is most favorable for cryopreservation of such a seed. In March, the mobility of freshly obtained sperm was at the level of 59%, and in April it was even lower by 6%. The physiological number of pathological forms of sperm in Felis catus of Russian breeding as a percentage was highest in December (33.2 ±1.2) and July (33.4 ± 1.32). In April, the percentage of pathological sperm forms in Russian-bred cats was at the level of 30.42 ±0.48%, which is 0.97% more than in March, 1.18% more (P<0.05) in June, 1.82% more (P<0.01) than in January and 1.75% more (P<0.01) in February. The lowest sperm motility was about 50% in June and July, which is 15% lower (P<0.001) than in February. The lowest sperm motility after defrosting was observed in April by less than 18%, in June and July it ranged from 28 to 31%. In March and December, sperm motility after defrosting was about 32%, and in January and February it was more than 35 and 37%, respectively. The lowest cryoresistance of sperm with a duration of less than 2 hours was observed in April; the average level of physiological sperm survival from 2 to 3 hours was established in December, March and July; the best physiological viability of sperm after thawing for more than 3 hours was observed in January, February and June.