Here’s the deal: My mother has a female cat named Samantha Jo (don’t ask me why. I just call it “cat,” and it responds). SJ is about 6-7 years old, and has never been spayed (she’s an indoor cat, and listening to her wail when she’s in heat can be rather annoying). For some reason, my mother’s just never done it. She’s kept her up to date on her rabies shots, however.
About two weeks ago, SJ was in heat, which is not a fun thing to experience. The cat was acting like the stereotypical “Vietnamese hooker.” Anyway, about a week ago, SJ’s cycle ended (or whatever the hell happens when a cat goes out of heat), and she returned to her normal self.
Now, SJ’s in heat AGAIN. After about a one week hiatus.
Is this normal, or does this mean some other potential problem?
I had my cat spayed when she was about 6 months old, so I’ve never had to deal with this. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Yeah, it’s normal. I’m not a vet, but I’ve owned female cats, and I’ve read up on them a bit. Cats (and rabbits too, by the way) don’t ovulate until they’re stimulated. Usually they are stimulated by actually finding a male and mating, but any vet or vet tech can essentially masturbate the poor lovesick female and bring her out of heat quicker. A queen can and will go into heat every two to three weeks in some cases, unless she’s bred.
Get Kitty to a vet and get her fixed. Even if she’s never interested in going outside, a queen in heat can lose her mind. What’s more, she’ll drive everyone else crazy along with her, as you might have noticed. Getting her fixed will make EVERYONE happier, including Kitty.
Agree with Lynn. Can only add that you are lucky–in some cases it is possible a female won’t come out of heat until they’re stimulated. Get her spayed, problem solved.
What my mother has told me (and she has lived with dozens of cats) is that cats start out going into season every six months or so, then if they don’t get pregnant it’s every four months, then two months, and eventually you get where your family is, which is pretty much continuous heat.
I hadn’t heard of the masturbate the cat way to end heat before, but it does make sense in a weird sort of way. Maybe this is how your cat’s ended her heats before? (found a way to do it herself)
Anyway, I agree with the other posters: the only way to get it to stop is to get the cat spayed.
Cats have a diffent sort of timer on their heat cycles than dogs do. Dogs go into heat about every six months, then go out of heat whether they’re bred or not. Kitties, OTOH, keep cycling in and out until they get bred. Actually, I’m really surprised this hasn’t happened to you guys long before this.
I’ve never heard of the masturbation thing, either. My best suggestion would be to get the cat spayed. Even if your mom can deal with the caterwauling, and the cat never goes outside, being unspayed contributes to her risk of mammary tumors, and leaves her at risk for potentially fatal uterine infections.
alterego, being horny isn’t a bad thing, but a litter of unwanted kittens is a bad thing. We have plenty of feral cats, and a steady supply of domestic kitties being put to sleep in shelters every day. We don’t need any more, thankyouverymuch.
Also, anyone who doesn’t have several hundred dollars for an emergency c-section has no business letting an animal breed. Dystocia is fatal if left untreated, and it’s a heartbreaking thing to have to put an otherwise healthy animal down because the owner can’t afford to treat something that could have easily been prevented.
