Was anyone else daft enough to take on an unspayed cat?

[JMSA]

Oh, sweet Lord. This is a nightmare. I haven’t slept properly in days due to the constant yowling through the night.
Spay is booked for Tuesday, thank God.
Background: she’s a rescue cat who had a litter not too long ago (before my time, obviously). She and her kittens were given up as very poorly. So she needed recovery time before having an op.

I love her to pieces but I would never take on another unspayed cat. Thankfully she hasn’t been spraying too much, so that’s something. Only on daughter’s bed and the bathroom mat 😁

Thanks for your comments, everyone. She was spayed today and so far so good. Like Bambi on ice in her wee body suit thing (which I opted for in place of the cone), but doing ok. Fast asleep on my lap as I type. Probably not for long though, as she’s not much of a sleeper.
Vet confirmed that unspayed female cats DO spray. Maybe not all, but a good number. Last night it reached a crescendo where she peed on my bed, the sofa, feather cushions, etc. I think it was some kind of last ditch attempt to attract a mate.
I’ve had this wee cat for two months now and I’ll be honest, it has been a challenge. Diarrhoea (now under control with a change to better food) and many toileting accidents. That’s the thing about rescue cats, I suppose, as you don’t really know their background. Maybe it was the norm for her to randomly toilet indoors at her old place. The fact that she was unspayed yet let outside wasn’t a good sign (first litter at a year old, and all given up to the rescue centre as so unwell).
She is lovely and I’m so keen to make it work. I’m trying everything. And in case anyone questions, she has two litter boxes (one open, one hooded) each containing her preferred litter. But my line in the sand will be continued peeing around the house once she has recovered and is allowed outside. Put simply, I wouldn’t be able to deal with that for the next 10+ years and it’s not what I signed up for. I’m hopeful that the spay will sort out some of these unwanted behaviours.

Erm, I wouldn't bank on it. She sounds really unhappy. It wouldn't hurt to limit her access around the house until she is spayed and hopefully calms down. She won't be able to do much jumping around for a couple of weeks so it's a good opportunity to build her a nice warm nesting site, liberally doused in feliway away from your bed and feather cushions for a bit.

Caveat: Have had my cats done when very young but it's the first time I've ever heard of a female weeing everywhere just because they aren't spayed.

Vgood news that the spay went ahead. I can see how the toilet behaviour is a challenge - cat pee stinks. Hopefully she will settle down after her awful start in life. Really all you can do is confine her mostly to the kitchen if it continues, and close all your doors!

My kitten seemed to walk funny in her red bodysuit post op too!
Btw I read that weeing in random places can have various causes such as stress and even undiagnosed kidney stones.

Has the vet done/suggested a KFT, @JMSA ? She might have a UTI/ infection that's dragging on. She has had kittens and the previous owner was clearly an irresponsible douchebag.

We had to delay spaying my cat as she has a heart condition and they weren’t sure if she would cope with the anaesthetic.
She followed my husband round yowling and howling (it’s like she knew he was male even though he was the wrong species) and she weed at every exit point. All curtains, doormats, etc were ruined. My house stank. She never weed outside of her litter tray again after being neutered

Thank you! That is helpful and reassuring to know.

Well, I would certainly hope she’s not really unhappy with us 😳 I’m trying my best to give her a happy home.
She just has a sensitive tummy, which a change of food has largely brought under control.
She was like a woman possessed while unspayed! A ball of hormones. She even made advances towards our elderly male dog! (he’s brilliant with her).
And the female spraying IS a thing, as confirmed by the vet today.

Oh my post crossed with yours. I didn't mean to imply you weren't looking after her, just that she wasn't happy. Because.... cats?

Fingers crossed for you that's all it was and she recovers well [and stops with the soiling]. Every day is a school day as they say and I'm forewarned for the next time we rehome!

We had a female cat that sprayed (would look me straight in the eye and pee up the curtains). She did it because she was stressed by the new kittens we foolishly introduced and did stop when she got used to them. If you need to get anything dry cleaned let them know there is cat pee on it, they can do a special treatment to get rid or the smell. For everything else either an enzyme spray or a strong solution of biological washing powder will get rid of the smell. Really soak things in the solution and leave for as long as possible.

Later she peed all over the place due to dementia. The best solution I found was just to have multiple litter trays (7 at one point) all over the house. Once she was using them we could gradually reduce them back to a manageable number. She literally couldn’t remember where her tray was, so you would not have that problem with a young cat.
I had a foster cat that went on heat, it was absolutely unbearable but she was transformed once she was spayed.

Such a beauty

Have you tried those plug in diffusers that are meant to help reduce feline anxiety?

Oh my goodness everyone, things are going SO well post-surgery. No toileting accidents, she’s sleeping well (she was super lively before) and a normal level of miaowing, with no yowling. Fingers crossed this lasts! Plus, she’s adorable in her little surgical suit 😁 She also eats brilliantly, but nothing new there!
Thanks so much for all of your help and wise words.

Aww love her in her suit, glad she’s doing ok!

Here’s a pic of my menace when she was in her ‘catsuit’ post neuter.