Help ensure that I won't kill a cat

[Ike Witt]

My roommate, bless her heart, volunteered me to sit her cat while she is out of town (she leaves today and gets back on June 30). I don’t mind looking after Spooky because he is about as good as a cat can get. He is a 12-year-old tabby and is friendly, he comes when you call and is a good companion.
The problem is that my roommate also volunteered me to sit her classmates’ cat (he is going on the same trip to the field). His cat is an 8 year-old female. She has not been fixed. The reason that Keith gave is “She is a purebred. You can’t spay a purebred”. Never mind how dumb that statement is, but she is 8 and if you were going to breed her, wouldn’t you have done so by now?
Anyway, being in close proximity to a male has Ophelia in heat. She is rubbing against everything, more so than cats usually do. But the main problem is that she will not shut up. When I get home from work, that is not that big of a deal. It is a big deal at 3:30 in the morning.
Any advice to help keep her quiet would be appreciated. I can’t get her fixed, although that should have been done years ago. I don’t think that Keith would be happy if I found Ophelia a mate. Cat fajitas are not on the menu just yet. Does peanut butter work? Will the heat stop after a week or two? Please help me keep my sanity.

[Hanna]

The reason that Keith gave is “She is a purebred. You can’t spay a purebred”. Never mind how dumb that statement is, but she is 8 and if you were going to breed her, wouldn’t you have done so by now?

That is plain and simple torture of a cat. You can and should spay purebreds. I think it's mean, how would you feel if you were horny 24/7 and couldn't do anything about it? Cats stay in heat until they are bred, it can last for months I was told.

I feel sorry for you (and for Ophelia) but there isn't anything you can do until she is either bred or spayed. Maybe you can call a vet and see if there is anything available drugwise, but if it isn't your cat that might not be a good choice. I would give the cat's owner a piece of my mind when he gets back, that's for sure.

[Sycorax]

Bos is right. I sympathize. When my young female cat went into heat the first time, she kept me up all night with her caterwauling; God, what a hellacious sound! Next day, to the vet she went. Females don't have to be around males to go into heat, and I wonder how the owner stands it. Please don't try any home remedies on the poor dear -- how about ear plugs until the owner gets back? Then, yes, give him a piece of your mind. He's no cat-lover if he's been letting her go through this for so long.

[Duck Duck Goose]

So you're cat-sitting until June 30?

http://www.peteducation.com/repro/reproincats.htm

How often does a cat come into heat?
A female cat is also unusual in that she basically will keep coming back into heat every 14-21 days or so until she is bred or the amount of daylight decreases (October).

How can I tell if a cat is in heat?
You'll know!!! A cat in heat is very vocal, calling and calling for a male cat. She will roll and roll on the ground and constantly rub against furniture or your leg. She will assume a breeding posture with her head and front legs near the ground and the rump area held high. She will become very affectionate. You may notice her urinating frequently. She will be in heat and accept a male for 3 to 16 days.

http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/health-care.shtml
An intact female cat (a "queen") will go through heat which can be as frequent as every other week, and may last eight to ten days at a time. It may even appear as though she remains in heat constantly. You must keep her confined to prevent breeding, and she will do her best to escape. During her heat, she may "spray" a strong smelling urine just as tomcats do. Many cats will meow loudly for long periods of time. She will twitch her tail to the side and display her vulva. If she becomes pregnant, she will undergo all the risks and expenses associated with pregnancy (extra visits to the vet and extra food). Male cats will try very hard to get at her; there are documented cases, for example, of male cats entering homes through the chimney.
My advice to you is to talk to a vet. I think you're in over your head, and you need some serious professional advice. I don't see anything off-hand on Google about "tranquilizing cats in heat".

Get some professional advice. ;)

[Duck Duck Goose]

Um, not sure I made myself clear. She's not going to stop any time soon. See a vet about possibly tranquilizing her.

The thing about "you can't spay purebred cats" is that many cat fanciers who own purebred cats enjoy thinking of their cats as a sort of walking gene bank, that they're holding these purebred cat genes in trust for future generations. "If all the Persian cats in Europe suddenly died of a rare disease," goes the thinking, "We could use my Ophelia to restock."

Also, with purebred kittens going for $300 and up, many owners of purebreds feel it's a crime to spay a female. It would be like pulling the plug on the potential ATM.

[OldMan]

Sorry Adam, can't help you not kill the cat. I say kill 'em all. I despise cats. There are two of them in my house, thanks to the females I live with. My son and I didn't want cats, my wife and daughter did, so somehow that meant we were outvoted. The first cat was a rescue, an old lady's cat who was going to be put down because she had to move into a place that didn't allow pets, but that cat was a declawed, castrated male who's very aloof and bad-tempered. I would be too if I'd been declawed and castrated. In my daughter's terms, he was a failure as a cat--not cuddly or affectionate or even interesting--so a female kitten turned up one afternoon after a shopping trip by the women in this household. And you should have seen the hissing and spitting and wailing when the wee one showed up.

I despise cats because they're still wild animals pretending to be domesticated. They tear up my flower beds, chase and kill birds (which I like and go to considerable effort to attract) in my yard, barf hairballs up on the carpet, climb the drapes, shit on the floor when their delicate sensibilities are upset, claw the furniture, howl in my face at 5 am because they think just because the sun's up I should get up and feed them...A warning to my neighbours: you can have all the cats you want, but keep them out of my yard. Any critter in my yard that I don't want there is, as far as I'm concerned, a rat, and that's how I'll treat it.

[Rue DeDay]

OldMan, that wasn't nice. It was accurate and true, but it wasn't nice. Why be accurate and true if you can't be nice?

adam yax, wow, you're in a spot. Like you've been told, she in heat and she'll stay in heat. (Cats are so cool that way. At least a dog only goes in heat twice a year for a limited time. A few breeds only go in heat once a year. Of course MY dogs never go into heat. They were surgically altered to suit my needs.)

You could...
[list=A]
"Accidentally" get her knocked up.
Go to the vet and get pills to keep her sedated for a month.
Go to the vet and get her fixed.
Board her somewhere. And leave the kennel bill with the owner.
Buy earplugs, and sleep through your alarm for a month.
Buy earplugs for yourself and everyone in your building. Who wants to listen to a horny cat till the end of June?
Let her play Steve McQueen, your apartment is a German Prison Camp, and your open window is the Barbed Wire Fence.
-or-
Let her play Ginger, your apartment is Mrs. Tweedy's Farm, and your open window is the Barbed Wire Fence. (Same thing)

Every option so far has a fundamental flaw, but hey, you didn't volunteer. You were conscripted. The kennelling option is really the most workable solution. Except for the expense, and how much the kennel staff will HATE you for dumping off a #$%@^&** cat in heat on them for a whole *^^$%$ month!

[AHunter3]

I say introduce the kitty to a nice tomcat. The owner may not thank you for it but the kitty might, and I don't see how the owner deserved a lot of consideration here.

Of course then there's the whole business of unwanted kittens to think of. Hmm...OK this requires further thought...

I don't suppose you could just buy the kitty a vibrator?

[Sigene]

Q-tip

[Duck Duck Goose]

Eh, I wouldn't go for A or C. You'd be liable to a lawsuit if the roommate's friend comes back and decides to be "difficult" about (A) a litter of kittens or (C) a spayed purebred (Oh, no, you pulled the plug on his potential ATM! :eek: )

I saw a Judge Judy show where somebody was suing the woman she'd asked to dog-sit, because the woman gave the dog away to the animal shelter, got fed up with it, I don't remember why.

Second-best option, after "tranquilizers", would be D. But I dunno how that would work, interpersonal relations-wise, to saddle this fellow with a huge kennel bill after you said you'd look after the cat.

You didn't exactly volunteer, but you weren't exactly conscripted, either. You volunteered to look after the roomie's cat, and then she said, "Hey, what about Keith's cat, you could watch her, too," and how could you say no? You didn't know then what you know now, about unspayed females...

There is another option: foist Ophelia off on someone else. :D

[rebelyell]

Don't know if this will help you but during the rainy season when my pets don't want to go outside they get a little stir crazy. The dogs bark at the cat and the cat starts making that siren noise and suddenly the house is way to small to contain all of them (two dogs, ave. weight, 75lbs, 1 cat, 8lbs). I've found that turkey can provide a temporary fix. Not only is it a delicious treat that will have them all begging, the triptophan is a natural sedative that will knock them out just like that Thanksgiving dinner does you. And you thought it was the Lions game.

BTW, turkey works great if you are travelling with your critters.

[Duck Duck Goose]

Three other points:

1. I doubt whether being in close proximity to an altered male cat would have caused Ophelia to go into heat. It's not Spooky's fault, so when Keith gets back and you bust him about his meshugginah feline, don't let him pin the blame on Roomie's Sweetie. A cat's reproductive capacity, AFAIK, isn't dictated by whether there are other cats around. As a matter of fact, since they're solitary in the wild, I would think it wouldn't matter at all.

2. It's extremely likely that she's always like this, and Keith is just so used to it that he doesn't notice anymore. Or else he applauds it as a sign that his potential ATM/gene bank is still alive and well.

3. Since you can't change the cat, try to change your mindset.

[ahem]
In the wild, cats are solitary creatures, coming together only for mating. When a female cat is ready to breed, she needs to attract a mate. In the deep jungle, this can be difficult. So she sprays urine, and she yowls. Ophelia is actually living in the forest, not your living room.

To Ophelia, it isn't about "sex", it's about "pregnancy". She's not "horny", she's "ovulating". She's not requesting an orgasm--she's just looking for a few sperm cells. That's all.

[Myron Van Horowitzski]

Cat biology is not the issue here.
But the main problem is that she will not shut up.

Here's what you do, Adam. Just before you go to bed, fill up the sink with warm water. Gather up Ophelia by the paws and gently dip her in. You sleep while she licks herself dry all night.

When you next see Keith, tell him he ain't doing that poor cat any favors by not spaying her.

[Amp]

Originally posted by AHunter3
I don't suppose you could just buy the kitty a vibrator?

Originally posted by Sigene
Q-tip

Oh man, only on this board.

[Ike Witt]

Thanks for all the replies. I feel the need to point out that I had no idea that Ophelia was not spayed until she was in my apartment. I assumed that most people were responsible enough to get their pets fixed. Yes, I suppose that Keith may see Ophelia as a 4-legged ATM, and it was even suggested that she would be used to pay off his student loans. But, like I said she is 8 years old, and the older she gets the harder it is to carry a litter to full term, so I have been told.

Last Friday I met AFOAF who is a vet. I am trying to get in touch with her to get some advice.

I like the turkey idea, and the water idea isn't bad either. I must say that one of the first things that came to my mind was a "kitty dildo". At this point, duct tape is a viable option. Someone at work suggested catnip, and lots of it to drug her and wear her out.

At the end of June I am considering flying in Bob Barker to let him beat the crap out of Keith.

[even sven]

I believe most vets are equipt with a glass "kitty dildo" that they will use to...ummmm....relieve in heat kittys.

[Sue Duhnym]

Can't you contact this prick?

Tell him that's she's keeping you up and your neighbors have started to complain.

Give him options:
1. You're getting her spayed.
2. You're having her bred with another purebred.
3. Hi Opal!
4. You're kennelling her.

Make HIM choose, because you're going to stick him with the bill when he gets back on whichever he chooses. (Okay breeding will probably be free, they'll just want pick of the litter.)

It is completely unfair for him to have done this to you. Really unfair. Get pissed at him, not the cat...she can't help that her owner is an asshole.

[public service announcement]
Remember to spay and neuter your cats and dogs!
[/psa]

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally posted by even sven I believe most vets are equipt with a glass "kitty dildo" that they will use to...ummmm....relieve in heat kittys.

Yes, they are. Or so I'm told by a vet tech or two. The cat is relieved, and goes out of heat. What this kitty dildo does is fool the queen into ovulating, which ends the heat cycle, for a while.

I agree with just about everyone else, though, this person needs to get Kitty fixed. Even if Kitty is a showcat, she can still be shown as an alter. Used to be that alters couldn't be shown, but now they can.

[moggy]

"kitty dildo"? Huh? I worked at a vet's for 7 years, was a vet tech in training for about 4 years, and I've never heard of that.
You should tell this cat's owner that he is being an irresponsible pet owner. Cats that are not spayed run a greater risk of developing mammary cancer. Also they can develop pyometra, which is basically an infected uterus. If it goes on too long, it can develop into an "open pyometra" which means that it has become so infected that there is a foul-smelling discharge from the vulva. This infection can be potentially life threatening, and I've seen dogs & cats die from it.
Plus if she ever managed to escape she could wind up preggers from any Tom, Dick, or Harry cat out on the street (pardon the pun) and possibly end up getting feline leukemia or other nasty kitty diseases, and having a litter of unwanted, sick kittens to boot.

[OldMan]

Originally posted by Rue DeDay
OldMan, that wasn't nice. It was accurate and true, but it wasn't nice. Why be accurate and true if you can't be nice?


Niceness comes after truth and accuracy. I'd rather be disliked for telling the truth than liked because I'm pretending to be someone I'm not. And the truth is that I hate cats and they consistently behave badly. I dunno why people want animals of any sort in the house. Non-humans should stay outside. So should a lot of humans.

I confess, though, that despite many opportunities I've never actually killed a cat, or even injured one. Usually what I do is fire a pebble from a slingshot to hit the fence close to them. The sudden loud noise always drives them away, and they know now not to enter the yard when I'm in it. I know some people love their cats. I don't understand it, I think they're despicable creatures, but I don't want to cause anyone unnecessary grief either.

[Cervaise]

So, in other words, OldMan, you offered him "advice" you were fully aware he would be totally unable to use, in a thread that specifically asked for a completely different kind of information, simply because you wanted an excuse to express your foaming-at-the-mouth hatred of cats.

Real classy. :rolleyes:

[Duck Duck Goose]

Well, a Google search for "kitty dildo" turns up some mighty interesting stuff [save as web page to work offline...] :D , but not much useful. However, I did find this, under "cats require copulation ovulate".

http://usf.cattery.net/felreprod.html
Ovulation is triggered by copulation or mechanical stimulation of the vagina/cervix. Nerves in the cervix and vagina lead to a pathway in the spinal cord. Stimulation of these nerves causes the brain (specifically the hypothalmus) to release gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) which acts on the pituitary, resulting in release of luteinizing hormone (LH). LH, in turn, acts on the follicles, stimulating ovulation and development of the corpus luteum.
And here's a thought.
Ovulation can also be induced with hormone injections. Injection of GnRH stimulates ovulation by bypassing the neural pathway. The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) has LHlike activity and can be used as well as GnRH or mechanical stimulation to cause ovulation.

Go get her an ovulation-inducing shot.

[mojo filter]

MusicJunkie has an interesting thread on bestiality (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=71196) going in GD,, maybe you could get him to watch the cat.

[OldMan]

Originally posted by Cervaise
So, in other words, OldMan, you offered him "advice" you were fully aware he would be totally unable to use, in a thread that specifically asked for a completely different kind of information, simply because you wanted an excuse to express your foaming-at-the-mouth hatred of cats.



No, not in other words, in your words, which are wrong on two counts. I wasn't offering advice, the first thing I said was that I couldn't help him not kill a cat. I thought I was commiserating with the poor guy, having to deal with one of the more annoying behaviours of cats, with what I thought, given the nature of the SDMB, would be understood as a little hyperbole. Nor can you legitimately accuse me of having a foaming at the mouth hatred of cats. There are, I reiterate, two cats living in my house, and my relationship with them is one of wary mutual dislike, but I've never harmed them. Other people in my house like them, so I tolerate them.

If I really wanted to express a foaming at the mouth hatred of cats, I'd take it to the Pit, which is also where ad hominem attacks on straw men belong.

[Sigene]

I'm serious when I say...

Q-tip.

Call up someone who rasises show cats and ask.

[Rue DeDay]

Originally posted by OldMan
[QUOTE]
Niceness comes after truth and accuracy. I'd rather be disliked for telling the truth than liked because I'm pretending to be someone I'm not.

OldMan, I thought your post was quite appropriate. Since I don't use smilies and, gee, a whole lot of inflection is lost in a written post, sorry the irony didn't show up. The truth and accuracy of your post more than made up for any lack of niceness. Was that actual advice, or were you just relating a relavent story? Poor adam yax was screwed from the get-go on the whole cat-sitting thing. I thought your post illustrated quite well how normal people should not put up with other people letting their pets run amok. (Cats, dogs weasels, goldfish, all intact or not.)

Hmmm... you don't want other people's cats in your yard so you hustle them out. Without actually offing one. And the problem here would be..? (It's more fun to squirt a cat with a garden hose than to shoot a pebble near it. The way they launch straight up into the air, and the expression on their face...priceless.)

Duck Duck Goose, all my sugestions have the fundamental flaw of the possibility of a lawsuit. (Some have a smaller possiblity than others, but if this nut-case leaves his cat intact for 8 years and doesn't breed her, how far out there is he anyway?)

Sigene, how long does the Q-Tip Cure, uh, relieve the tension? I don't doubt at all that it would work, but does it break the heat cycle? If a cat is not actively pregnant, they drop back into heat. A Q-Tip obviously does not get the cat preggers, so how long until biology takes over again? (12 hours would probably be long enough. Diddle the kitty every night before bed. Kinda unpleasent unless that's your cat- or your kink- but it would get you through the Month of Ophelia)

[Ike Witt]

I will be taking the she-demon Ophelia to the vet in the morrow. When I did talk to the vet on Thursday, she did mention the Q-Tip thing. Although she said that she had heard of it, but never tried it. I intend on watching what she does, in case Ophelia goes back into heat. If that doesn't work, I'll be looking to get some kitty tranqs.

Is heat as uncomfortable for the cat as it is for me and the people next door?

[LisaRx]

There is a hormone pill that can be given to dogs that will end their cycle within 24-48 hrs.

Is there no such thing for kitties?

[Ike Witt]

I just dropped off Ophelia at the vet's office. The plan is to wrap her up in a beach towel with her butt hanging out one end. Several times during the course of the day she will be "serviced" with a Q-Tip. The vet says that this should induce ovulation and induce a false pregnancy that will keep her out of heat for 45 days. There are, however, two buts. First, it may take a day or two for the heat to end. Second, it may not work. Third, Opal is a cat does she have any advice?

[seawitch]

A friend of mine had a similar problem with her cat. (Not that she saw it as a problem, mind you.) She owns three cats, a dog, any number of fish - and pays no attention to the yowling from this one particular frustrated feline.

Now, not all that long ago, someone gave this woman a baby rabbit. Adorable as all get-out, and guaranteed to be female. Only as the rabbit grew up, a few short months revealed quite clearly that she was actually a he. And more than interested in doin' what boy bunnies do.

The cat is still in heat most of the time, during which the rabbit takes the opportunity to hump her like mad. Last time I stopped by, they were on display atop the coffee table in the living room. Sort of an animal kingdom Tijuana live sex show, with the added kink of interspecies interaction.

Anyway, you could just buy a rabbit. They're probably cheaper than the vet trip.

Originally posted by adam yax
My roommate...volunteered me to sit her cat... also volunteered me to sit her classmates’ cat...

You do have a big pussy problem!

Now about the cats -
Pay the sire charge and take the purebred to a male purebred.
Your horny cat problem is solved.

Classmate can't complain after you explain the reason,
"Because she's a purebred!"

And don't forget to claim the pick of the litter.

_______
"Due to the death of my husband this mare was not bred this year." Note in a Standard Bred horse auction brochure.