Features of hormonal profile in cats of Russian breeds

In modern felinology, cat owners are increasingly interested in behavior of their pets. Based on the study of testosterone levels, methods for determining the gender temperament of cats were proposed. Estradiol and prolactin levels in combination with testosterone concentrations remain less studied in cats of the Russian selection. The aim of the research was to study the relationship between the level of aggressive behavior and blood concentrations of testosterone, estradiol and prolactin inFelis catus. The experiments were carried out in Omsk, Lugansk, Moscow and the Moscow region in 20152023. The study used 162 mature cats aged 2 to 11 years, which belonged to 9 different Russian breeds. Concentration of hormones in blood serum was determined by the enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) using kits from HEMA (Russia), Sigma (USA), Vector-Best (Russia) on semi-automatic Multiskan FC analyzer (Termo Fisher Scientific; USA). The highest concentration of testosterone was in young cats, which was 16.8 and 35.8 % more (р 0.01) compared to full-aged and old cats, respectively. The highest concentration of estradiol in blood serum of Russian cats was in old animals, which was 4.3 and 33.3% more (р 0.01) compared to full-aged and young males, respectively. The highest concentration of prolactin in blood was in old animals, which was 9.6 and 48.8% more (р 0.001) than in full-aged and young males, respectively. The largest amount of estradiol was detected in female cats with the calmest type of behavior without any aggressive signsin melancholics, which was 66.7% more (р 0.001) than in phlegmatics; 54.8% more (р 0.001) than in animals with average level of aggressive behavior towards animals of the same speciessanguines, and 2.5 times more (р 0.001) in comparison with animals that showed the maximum level of aggressive behavior towards animals and humanscholerics. Therefore, it can be concluded that increase in estradiol level contributes to a calmer behavior ofFelis catusmales in homes.