Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The litter tray

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Cat in season, help

32 replies

moolady1977 · 29/01/2019 23:45

So the moocat is in season and my word she is making the loudest noise I have ever heard from a cat, she is seriously pushing her luck doing stuff she has never done before like looking at herself in the mirror, up on the dressing table trying to get in the high cupboards and as I'm in her bedroom it's really getting to me roll on her vets appointment at the end of next month

OP posts:

Fluffycloudland77 · 30/01/2019 06:53

Once heard never forgotten. She’ll be trying to escape, you will need to be extra careful with her.

You might get toms spraying around your doors too.

dementedpixie · 30/01/2019 06:59

Can you get an earlier appointment? What age is she?

thecatneuterer · 30/01/2019 11:16

Definitely get an earlier appointment. And in the meantime make sure all doors and windows are securely closed.

Original poster

moolady1977 · 30/01/2019 11:38

Tried to get an earlier appointment but had no luck with it, all doors and windows are firmly shut, she is 7 months old and a total diva who rules the house ( house cat) she will not be having babies I don't care how clever and devious she tries to be it's a big fat NO

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 30/01/2019 11:41

Could you try a different vet?

princessTiasmum · 30/01/2019 11:48

If the cat is in season vets wont usually spay until after season has finished ,if that is what the vet appointment is for,and any vet that will spay in season, only usually for an emergency will charge more,as its a more risky operation
Just make sure all escape routes are closed, and if you need to answer the door shut her in another room, as they will do anything to get out
Good luck

viccat · 30/01/2019 11:57

She is likely to have at least one more season between this one and the vet appointment at the end of next month...

princessTiasmum · 30/01/2019 12:22

Why cant the vet fit you in sooner?, like as soon as she comes out of season,i know i could ring mine and get in tyhe same day or no longer than 3 says later at the most
She is not bound to have another season before the end of next month,this one might last a long time,it can happen, i have had cats in season for over 2 weeks
As soon as shes finished i would just ring another vet and take her there asap
Has she been in season before this? it would be awful if she got out and pregnant at her age

Lonecatwithkitten · 30/01/2019 17:03

A very large number of cats are spayed in season and carries no greater risk than not in season ( different to dogs). I would say one in three of the cats I spay is in season. Find someone who will do it.

thecatneuterer · 30/01/2019 17:14

Yep, we also pay no attention to whether or not a cat is in season when we spay - without it ever causing problems.

princessTiasmum · 30/01/2019 17:54

Oh ,just saying what i was told by my vet, but it was years ago, maybe ideas about it have changed
I would agree then, find another vet

AnnaMagnani · 30/01/2019 17:57

Try a different vet, get spayed ASAP.

7 months is now old to be spayed. Rescue kittens get spayed as soon as they weigh a kilo! Mine came home with me, already spayed at 8 weeks.

thecatneuterer · 30/01/2019 18:06

Yes absolutely. Four months is the recommended age. Rescues do them as long as they weigh at least 1kg.

Smotheroffive · 30/01/2019 22:47

Oh wow! Interesting reading. In had to really push to get my boy kitten neutered, he was overly invested in his DM! Whilst at times still trying to feed off her!

He was 7 months when I managed to get him in.

How often does a queen come into season then, as half a dozen vets told me half a dozen different things so I never did find out?

Pigpogtastic · 30/01/2019 22:50

Is there a rescue near you with a vet attached? When our rescue kitten was showing signs of being in season before we were expecting it the rescue we got her from spayed her immediately. I phoned them in a panic and they got me to bring her in right away.

thecatneuterer · 31/01/2019 00:06

My understanding of the how often cats come into season question is 'it all depends'. If the cat mates when she is in season then of course her next season won't be until her kittens are weaned and it is also time of year related. However if they don't mate then the cycle of seasons speeds up greatly and they will have lots of them a year.

Smotheroffive · 31/01/2019 00:11

So there's not a clear predictable pattern? Its not twice a year or once a month, but could be?

thecatneuterer · 31/01/2019 00:18

Well there is normally a predictable pattern - cats give birth twice a year - in Spring and late Summer. BUT - if the cat is prevented from mating then the cycle goes a bit haywire and the cat keeps coming into season as, presumably, nature's way of trying to ensure she will get pregnant soon.

Smotheroffive · 31/01/2019 00:26

This is what I'd heard, but but I've also heard that they breed like rats, that they literally will go litter after litter, like half way through feeding a litter they will come into season again and as one litter finish feeding off her she'll produce the next litter! Like they just don't stop for breath!

thecatneuterer · 31/01/2019 00:34

Well yes, they do breed very quickly - but it is generally twice a year. However if the kittens die they seem to come into season straight away again, so can be more then.

Regardless one female cat could be responsible, if all offspring were to survive and reproduce themselves, for an extra 12.000 cats in seven years. I think that's the stats - it's something like that anyway.

Smotheroffive · 31/01/2019 00:40

I was so desperate to know this so I could get mine spayed knowing I wouldn't be harming another litter, just that I got her current litter weaned from her fully for everything to subside, but when they opened her she had four more kits inside that had to be destroyed . This was just 6 weeks after birthing her first litter!

thecatneuterer · 31/01/2019 00:45

We often spay cats as soon as they've given birth. It doesn't do any harm and doesn't stop milk production. Early abortion isn't anything to fret about though. She should of course have been spayed before she ever got pregnant in the first place - or did you take her on already pregnant?

Smotheroffive · 31/01/2019 01:22

No, she was dumped as a tiny one, it was touch and go whether she would make it. I wasn't concerned about it stopping milk production, although its a massive op to have straight after giving birth when all the tissues are so fragile and blood vessels enlarged, easy bleed, etc as well as the disruption to her bonding with her kits and then having kits feeding on a large wound.

we had a wonderful very wanted litter of kittens who all were placed in top homes with very loving families, so the first litter wasn't the issue at all, so I wouldn't have wanted her spayed, I just did want her to go straight into another pregnancy and I was told she wouldn't. I was very upset to discover there was another litter well along the way in there. I think she must've been 4 weeks along, very upsetting. Its why I spoke to so many vets to try to get an answer so I could know what to do, but noone seemed to know.

It wasn't early abortion she was so well along. I'm quite shocked that its normal to put a queen with a litter through an op straight after birthing! . Don't queens ever reject their kittens or have increased op risks from enlarged vessels and fragile membranes?

Smotheroffive · 31/01/2019 01:24

*didn't [want her to go straight into another pregnancy]

If they don't go straight into season [normally] why rush such a big op immediately after birth when it would seem to be unnecessary risk and disruption?

InSightMars · 31/01/2019 02:24

The advice I’ve always had for our local ferals is to spay right after weaning, so, as soon as she starts bringing her litter around to eat the solid food we put down. Vets aren’t in the business of traumatizing animals unnecessarily and cats recovery amazingly quickly from spaying. They also recover amazingly quickly from birthing.

If you think about it they have to in the wild because they have to be fit enough to be able to hunt for food enough to support the incredible amount of calories they expend while nursing. In late pregnancy and while nursing a queen needs up to 3 times the amount of food she normally eats.

As for presenting and calling while in heat, yep, sorry OP, she’ll keep going into heat and making that godawful and unnerving noise until she eitther gets pregnant or she is spayed. She might stop for a few days but if you can get the appointment moved up - do it to save your sanity!

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread