We collected semen from a male Amur leopard cat using the transrectal electroejaculation method and
investigated the semen qualities for about four years. In addition, the influence of the season on the
spermatogenic function of the Amur leopard cat was investigated with regard to the semen qualities, testicular
volume and serum testosterone level. As a result, we could collect semen with good sperm qualities that would
be useable for artificial insemination. Some seasonality was noted in the testicular volume and serum
testosterone level. We clarified that the semen qualities were favorable before and during the female breeding
season compared with those after the breeding season.
We describe for the first time the diagnosis of Schizophyllum commune infection in a captive cheetah. Eosinophilic plasmacytic conjunctivitis was detected histopathologically in a biopsy specimen. Both a second surgical specimen and drainage fluid from a gingival mass and fistula contained fungal hyphae in giant cells with granulomatous inflammation. Allergic S. commune mycosis was suspected at this point. A monokaryotic isolate was characterized morphologically, and then identified genetically. Treatment with itraconazole and pimaricin was effective.
Equine and human chorionic gonadotropins were administered to two female Amur leopard cats to induce estrus and ovulation during non-breeding season. Fresh
semen collected from male cats was surgically inseminated into the uterine horn of the females. In one animal, two fetal sacs without heartbeats were observed
on abdominal ultrasonography 31 days after insemination, which indicated that embryo death had occurred. In the other animal, fetal heartbeats were detected in
two fetal sacs 29 days after insemination, which confirmed as pregnancy. This animal delivered two newborns 68 days after insemination; the one of the kittens
was assumed to be stillbirth, and the other grew normally. In this study, we successfully obtained a kitten from an Amur leopard cat by artificial breeding for
the first time in Japan.
In this study, cauda epididymal sperm were collected from Amur leopard cats with various causes of death as well as Tsushima leopard cats that underwent castration surgery, and sperm quality was compared with that in domestic cats. A sufficient number of sperm similar to those in domestic cats could be collected from the cauda epididymis of Amur leopard cats. However, in old leopard cats, no or very few cauda epididymal sperm were recovered, although there were no differences in sperm motility and sperm abnormality. There were no significant differences in sperm quality immediately after collection and after freezing-thawing of cauda epididymal sperm compared with corresponding estimates in domestic cats.
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