# Is my female spayed cat having psychosomatic cycles?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [February 21, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088 "2007-02-21T14:28:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/1 "2007-02-21T14:28:57Z")
My wife and I have noticed that our female siamese attack cat [3 yr old female] demonstrates a series of odd behaviour roughly on a monthly basis. I posted a while back about her redirected agression towards the male siamese, and some other odd behaviour…but we are noticing with increased clearity that she is very clingy and vocal roughly on a monthly basis. She is a very aloof kitty, she keeps to herself mostly, and aside from flopping on the floor when we get home in hopes of a belly rub, she tends to keep to herself. Every month however, she gets very “emotional” and doesn’t leave our side. The after a few days of this she leaves well enough alone and goes back to her unemotional self.
What gives? She is spayed and no longer has to worry about having a cycle each month…whats going on?
---
### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/2 "2007-02-21T14:35:56Z")
It’s possible, although unlikely, that the vet missed a little ovarian tissue and it’s regenerated enough to release enough hormone to trigger estrus. Time for a vet visit.
---
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/3 "2007-02-21T14:55:27Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
It’s possible, although unlikely, that the vet missed a little ovarian tissue and it’s regenerated enough to release enough hormone to trigger estrus. Time for a vet visit.
[/QUOTE]
I agree. She hates the vet, I’ll have to wear my welding gloves.
---
### Author:  [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/4 "2007-02-21T17:17:32Z")
Cats don’t have monthly cycles. If you’ve ever had a sexually mature and functional female cat, you know that after heat is over, you get “the surprise,” usually in the laundry pile in the basement. If that happened every month, humans and cats would never have cohabited.
---
### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/5 "2007-02-21T17:29:42Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse]
Cats don’t have monthly cycles. If you’ve ever had a sexually mature and functional female cat, you know that after heat is over, you get “the surprise,” usually in the laundry pile in the basement. If that happened every month, humans and cats would never have cohabited.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cats do have cycles, although they tend to be more like every two weeks, as long as they don’t mate. They’re not like ferrets, who won’t go out of estrus unless they mate (and who will die if they can’t.)
[http://cats.about.com/od/reproduction/a/heat\_cycles.htm](http://cats.about.com/od/reproduction/a/heat_cycles.htm) :
> [@](#):
>
> These heat cycles may start as early as the fourth or fifth month of a kitten’s life, and will continue until she is either bred or spayed. Heat cycles in cats last from several days to two weeks or longer, and repeat every two to three weeks.
But that’s assuming a fully intact female with a fully intact hormonal system. If there’s just a bit of ovary left, it can take longer for the hormone levels to build to estrus symptom levels.
---
### Author:  [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/6 "2007-02-21T18:55:27Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot]
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Cats do have cycles, although they tend to be more like every two weeks, as long as they don’t mate. They’re not like ferrets, who won’t go out of estrus unless they mate (and who will die if they can’t.)
[/QUOTE]
Well I’ve never seen a cat with cycles like that
> [@](#):
>
> But that’s assuming a fully intact female with a fully intact hormonal system. If there’s just a bit of ovary left, it can take longer for the hormone levels to build to estrus symptom levels.
What piece of ovary? Why would you assume that there’s a piece of ovary left behind in the cat? Is it showing the signs of infection or other effects of a botched operation?
Is there any reason to think that it’s anything other than confirmation bias and data pollution?
---
### Author:  [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/7 "2007-02-21T19:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse]
Cats don’t have monthly cycles. If you’ve ever had a sexually mature and functional female cat, you know that after heat is over, you get “the surprise,” usually in the laundry pile in the basement. If that happened every month, humans and cats would never have cohabited.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve never had an unfixed female cat- can you clue me in to what on earth you’re talking about? I’m honestly baffled.
---
### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/8 "2007-02-21T21:41:15Z")
A queen in heat will generally make sure that everyone in the area knows she’s ready to be bred. She will attempt to seduce anything vaguely male, including the furniture. She will want OUT so that she can receive gentlemen callers. The tomcats who come to her will not act in a gentlemanly like fashion. Much noise and mayhem will ensue, along with penis. The queen will finally come back home, rather ruffled around the edges, generally with scrapes and scratches, and with a definitely satisfied smirk on her face.
---
### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/9 "2007-02-21T23:41:03Z")
[QUOTE=saoirse]
What piece of ovary? Why would you assume that there’s a piece of ovary left behind in the cat?
[/QUOTE]
I’m suggesting that a cat showing signs of a light heat or estrus cycle should be checked out by the vet, that’s all. There are cases where a bit of ovary or an extra ovary is left in and it may cause the symptoms the OP is describing. This is not unheard of, and may cause no other symptoms.
From [here.](http://www.roen.com/060612.html)
> [@](#):
>
> A small piece of an ovary is sometimes inadvertently left behind when a dog or cat is spayed and the symptoms we usually see are similar to a mild heat cycle. It may also happen, though rare, that a dog or cat will be born with an extra ovary, or small bit of ovarian tissue. Either of these would be very unlikely to be spotted during a routine spay. Finally, other glandular tissue in the body that normally doesn’t produce estrogen can sometimes, for some reason, produce estrogen or similar hormones that can cause dogs or cats to act like they’re in heat.
>
> There are two ways to find out if a dog or cat that has supposedly been spayed is still making estrogen. One is a blood test. We have to draw a blood sample, then give an injection that would stimulate ovaries if they were there, and then draw one or two more blood samples a specific time later. The samples are sent to a specialty lab and results come back in a week or two. The other option is exploratory surgery. The surgery is more difficult and more expensive than a routine spay because it is much harder to find a tiny piece of an ovary or make sure it’s not there.
Or it may be that the cat is weird. Cats is weird, no doubt. But this isn’t obscure or strange advice. If the cat had a extra ovary, it could easily have been missed during a routine spay, and pyometra (infected uterine bits) would not be present.
If the OP is concerned, he should take her to the vet, 'sall I’m saying.
---
### Author:  [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)
#### Post date: [February 22, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-female-spayed-cat-having-psychosomatic-cycles/393088/10 "2007-02-22T00:04:49Z")
She’s going to the vet this weekend. It’s been too long since a check up…I’ll wear my welding gloves cuz she’ll put up a hell of a fight. The male on the other hand, he could care less. “_…do what ya want to me doc - just don’t use the anal thermometer…_”