Will spaying change cat behavior?

I took in a stray about a week ago. She's about 7 months old and was being chased around by a bunch of male cats due to her being in heat. I took her home and have her spay appointment scheduled for Wednesday. She is very sweet with people, but she's being a big bully to my neutered male cat (who is twice her size, but pretty timid). She follows me around, but when my male tries to approach me, she chases him off. At night, she sleeps with me, but chases him off if he tries to get on the bed. I can't have my poor cat terrorized forever. Will she stop this behavior post-spay? I've never had a female cat, but may not be able to keep her if this doesn't stop. Any advice?

You've also got the give her time to adjust. Just imagine life when you're being jumped by a bunch of scoundrels all day. She's also in heat still? If so, then I've seen cats in heat terrorize other cats.

Did you do a proper introduction? That might make a difference in her terrorizing your male also.

I'm not surprised at the way she reacts to your male considering her prior experience. Being only 7 months old, a stray, likes people - maybe she had a home, but got away in her first estrus. Glad you found her or she would become another preggy cat out in the streets.
You can do something about her chasing off your male. In my experience, spaying does not really change a cat's personality. She obviously is more dominant than submissive. Your male is the opposite. But she can learn to share you with him. The best way is to make yourself the alpha cat. Do not tolerate her bullying. If your male is chased off the bed, remove her too. Hiss at her if she bullies him. In time, she'll either ignore him or love him the way you do.

I didn't do a proper introduction as it's difficult in a one-bedroom apartment. I may retry it after I take her in to be spayed. She also eats non-stop, maybe two or three times the amount of food my male does. My boyfriend is convinced she's pregnant, I guess we'll find out later this week.

My now 13-mo-old female began life as a feral. Like your baby, she went into heat (at 8 mos) and was a crazy woman with all the boys around. She did get spayed 1 1/2 days after she went into heat. After she was spayed, she was a totally different cat! Before the spay, she would only let me pet her while she was eating. Almost immediately after the spay she became a very loving cat - but I still can't pick her up! I imagine your baby will have a change of heart in her antics after her spay, too. I'm sure her stress level will be much lower - and she'll be very thankful toward you!

I have to say, our girl's personality changed as well after her spay! Before we got her done, she was very aggressive with the other cats (her brothers) and stand-offish with us. They were all ferals we took in off the street and she was always the least trusting of us! She went into her first heat when she was about 6 months old (this is what confirmed to us she was a female - before then she would never let us get close enough to tell...). We immediately got her in and spayed and two months later...my god. Different cat. So sweet and affectionate, playful - generally a joy (the other two are as well, of course!). Your girl has lots of hormones running through her system right now, so she is a bit stressed - her body is crazed, she has been stalked by toms and she is in a new environment. I would see how things go. And, remember, it takes about a month to two months for her body to get rid of all the hormones it has created, so the change might not be immediate.

Oh, and our girl cat eats like a pig. She always has. I call her my vacuum. Your girl might just have a bigger appetite than your resident cat. Or, maybe she is so surprised to have regular meals, she is scarfing. I suppose you will find out which it is in a few days time when she goes in for a spay!

As for the dominance - as previous poster said she is obviously a strong character! Our girl - who is the smallest of the three - is the same. Very much the dominant character, bosses around her brothers and is the boss of the house. It has mellowed quite a bit since her spay, but she is still at the top of the hierarchy.

Good luck with the spay. Keep us updated!

I also took in a stray female who was very aggressive with my dog and my youngest daughter. SHe would sometimes even attack them without any provocation. Once spayed, however, she almost instantly became very loving and sweet.

I think your kitty is a little hormonal and moody right now and she'll mellow out considerably once you fix her. Oh, and she is most likely pregnant given the heat cycle and available toms, but they can still spay her...it's probably very early. Good luck with her!