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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Cat in season?

23 replies

CleverQuacks · 20/04/2018 20:25

My cat is about 8 months old. She is not spayed and is an indoor cat. For the last couple of days she has been really fussy: demanding lots of attention which she is unusual for her. Today she has taken to sitting by the patio doors miaowing constantly. It’s a really deep miaow. Not her usual squeaky miaow. I have tried to distract her through play but she just goes straight back to the door. Could this be her first season? She sounds so miserable. Is there anything I can do to help her settle?

OP posts:
thecatneuterer · 20/04/2018 20:39

Yes, you can get her spayed. She should have been done four months ago. Cats can be spayed even while in season. And during this time make sure that every window is completely closed. Cats in season will do anything to get out, including throwing themselves off balconies ten floors up.

CleverQuacks · 20/04/2018 20:49

As she is an indoor cat I do not want to put her through an unnecessary anaesthetic and operation. We already keep all doors and windows closed so that she doesn’t get out. Don’t want to risk her getting lost or pregnant.

OP posts:
BertrandRussell · 20/04/2018 20:51

“She sounds so miserable. Is there anything I can do to help her settle?”

Yes. Get her spayed then let her out.

ElizaDontlittle · 20/04/2018 20:56

She needs to be spayed. The anaesthetic is of minimal risk compared to the risk of pyometra and the utterly ridiculous things they'll do to get out in season... thecatneuterer what have I missed in terms of the risks other than pregnancy, obviously!

CatchingBabies · 20/04/2018 21:12

Leaving a female cat unneutered is far far more dangerous than the risks of anaesthetic and spaying. Cat's are induced ovulaters and as such don't have periods, this means the uterus doesn't clear itself out and each time a cat comes into season the risk of infection, called pyometra, increases. Pyometra is potentially fatal.

On top of this an unspayed female is at increased risk of developing female cancers.

Female cats as well as males can spray urine to scent mark, if she's spayed she has no reason to do this as she's no longer trying to atttact a male by making your house stink. A cat in season is also a good escape artist. You may think she's safe indoors but it takes one split second mistake and she escapes and then you risk her catching feline leukaemia, feline version of HIV and of course pregnancy.

Finally it's just plain cruel to leave her unspayed, can you hear how desperate she sounds in that deep crying sound she is making? That's because her instincts are telling her she absolutely NEEDS to mate, a cat in season usually won't eat, play, sleep well etc. as all they want is to call the male. Not because they enjoy mating or pregnancy, it's actually dangerous and painful for female cats but because they cannot ovulate without mating. She will come into season quicker and quicker if this doesn't happen and can end up where she is basically never out of season and will lose weight and condition rapidly.

Honestly she needs to be spayed, the benefits far far far outweigh the risks!

ClangerTwanger · 20/04/2018 21:19

Just have her spayed OP. It’s a fairly quick procedure and although it will cause her some discomfort for a short while, as others have said, the benefits far outweigh the risks. There’s no chance you can keep her in forever when she’s in heat she will be slippery as hell trying to get out. I tried to keep my cat in when she had a heat cycle and honestly it was the hardest thing! She escaped and I had to take her straight to the vets to get done. They’re also extremely annoying while in heat. God the wailing at night was enough for me! I’m so glad I had both my girls done. They’re both perfectly happy and there’s zero risk of pregnancy and health related to being unspayed isn’t going to be an issue in the future X

CleverQuacks · 20/04/2018 21:28

I didn’t realise all the health risks if she didn’t get spayed. I will read up about it and see if I can get her into the vets.

Even if she is spayed I will not be letting her out. We live right near a very busy road and I won’t risk her getting run over.

OP posts:
BertrandRussell · 20/04/2018 21:33

"We live right near a very busy road and I won’t risk her getting run over."
Well you shouldn't have got a cat then. Or if you insist on getting a cat you should have got one you knew was going to be OK inside-what will you do if she doesn't ever settle?

CatchingBabies · 20/04/2018 21:33

My cats don't go out either and they are perfectly happy like that. Many people have indoor cats but neutering is still important even if they don't go out.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 20/04/2018 21:39

Can you cat proof the garden so she can go out once she’s been spayed? My cat is confined to our small garden but at least he can get some fresh air and potter about.

Fluffycloudland77 · 20/04/2018 21:41

Spay her. They can microchip her while she’s there just incase she does get out.

CleverQuacks · 20/04/2018 21:45

She has been settled and calm with no problems until these last couple of days. I think she is only unsettled because she is in season. I will look into getting her spayed and hopefully she will settle again after that. I know loads of people with indoor cats with no issues.

OP posts:
gamerchick · 20/04/2018 21:50

You need tk neuter her, indoor cat or not. Why you want to put her through the absolute desperate horniness is beyond me.

She’ll be a lot happier once she’s neutered. Usually owners change their minds about spaying after being put through that first season. It’s a hell of a racket.

Not to mention if she does get out then every intact tom in a miles radius could die on roads or get lost just because she’s not neutered.

ElizaDontlittle · 20/04/2018 21:54

Good on you OP for acknowledging the issues you'd not known about. Not always easy to do when you feel defensive.
Plenty of people do have indoor cats - though I took an old cat on when I was in this position.
And thanks CatchingBabies for reminding me why cats are at such high risk of pyometra, so interesting.

Vinorosso74 · 20/04/2018 23:43

Please get her spayed. She will be much happier and no risk of "accidental" pregnancies. A cat on heat will be determined to find a mate so she could well be at high risk of escaping. Kittens are born to cats such as yours who get out just the once. I also recommend you advising the people you know to get their cats done too.
You don't have to let her out after spaying but I would advise getting her microchipped at the same time.

adaline · 21/04/2018 07:43

Yes, get her spayed but there's no need to let her out.

Both of mine are indoor cats (and the male went out in his previous home) and they're just fine. We let them have access to the garden if we're home but neither of them have shown any interest in wanting to be out there.

Allergictoironing · 21/04/2018 08:23

Mine are indoor only, Girlcat is spayed and Boycat neutered, both are microchipped, both get their annual jabs & have an annual Advocate (fleas, ticks, worms etc) just in case - I see other cats who do go out like my neighbour's so I'm not taking any chances in passing anything on. They are also well insured despite being indoors only, as accidents can still happen in the home and they can still get other conditions.

I have flatcats on the windows and netting on the patio doors. Didn't stop the aggressive local entire tom from crashing through the netting last year to try to get in. Luckily mine fled upstairs rather than making a bid for freedom, but however careful you are incidents can occur. They also had a lovely long conversation through the netting with another local cat last night, noses touching and all.

Toddlerteaplease · 21/04/2018 10:47

I'm the same as Allergic, my indoor girls are insured with maximum cover. (And I have needed it) spayed and vaccinated. I'm a bit irregularity flea and worm treatment but they still get it.

thecatneuterer · 21/04/2018 15:50

I'm glad you're having a rethink OP. You clearly want the best for your cat and hopefully you will be convinced that that means her having spayed. I also think it's OK to have an indoor only cat. It's certainly safer.

@ElizaDontlittle There are three main problems we see arising from indoor-only cats not being neutered (well four if you count them getting pregnant when they manage to escape or when a tom manages to break in - which happens surprisingly often - a determined tom smelling a female in heat seems to have super powers).

Anyway, the three problems are:

  1. Pyrometra.
  1. Injuries from trying to escape, including a lot of deaths from throwing themselves off balconies or from high windows.
  1. (and this is probably the most common) a sort of psychosis. The constant coming into heat and not being able to ovulate sends them mad. This manifests itself in sudden extremely aggressive behaviour (I've known a few that managed to put their owners in hospital) and a totally personality change (for the worse). This normally shows itself from about three years old, but can be sooner or later. If the cat is neutered then it will return to it's normal self within a couple of weeks.

The worst case of this I saw was when a family had had to barricade themselves in the living room in fear of the cat, which had already caused extreme injuries to one of it's owners, and it took four of us, being very brave (!) and with a lot of specialist equipment, to catch it. And it was indeed like a thing possessed. After about three weeks she was a sweet loving cat again, but the family had been so traumatised that they didn't want her back. They had also no idea that it was necessary to spay an indoor only cat.

thecatneuterer · 21/04/2018 16:05

And another incident I've previously posted about:

One of my first ever cat rescue jobs was to 'rescue' a woman from her unneutered, four year old female flat cat that had turned 'psycho'.

It was Summer, and a heatwave, and when I got there the woman was wearing boots, a full length coat, a hat and gloves, all to protect herself from the cat that was launching attacks on her. She said to me 'the cat's in there' pointing to her bedroom. I expected her to come in with me to help me catch it, but instead she opened the door, pushed me inside, and slammed the door behind me Grin. I managed to catch when it attacked me and I lifted it up with its teeth clamped round my finger and sort of swung it into a top loading carrier.

After being neutered and given a few tranquilisers the cat reverted back to her sweet, loving self and went home. My finger took longer to recover. In fact I swear it's never been the same since.

ElizaDontlittle · 21/04/2018 16:14

You should write a book, tcn - I love your stories and the way you tell them!

CleverQuacks · 23/04/2018 21:15

Thank you for all the advice. I have spoken with the vet and she is booked in to be spayed on Friday. She is still yowling a lot and has been weeing all over the house which is really not like her so hopefully after she is spayed she will settle back down.

OP posts:
thecatneuterer · 23/04/2018 21:18

That's great. You really are doing the best thing for her ... and for you!!

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