title: Conservation of feline semen. Part I: cooling and freezing protocols.
abstract: There has been increased interest recently in the conservation of wild felids and preservation of valuable cat breeds. Assisted reproduction, by means of artificial insemination (AI), is an important tool for developing breeding programs for conservation. Optimal use of AI requires accurate data on semen conservation protocols and its long-term storage/survival. In this paper, semen cooling and freezing processes are described, with special emphasis on the results obtained in experiments performed in the domestic cat. Conception rates after AI in wild and domestic cats are also reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Science, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy. gcluvoni@mailserver.unimi.it
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Luvoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kalchschmidt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leoni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002415:Cats / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*