Kitten in Heat early?

goosegoose

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I adopted two DSH female kittens, and one of them seems to be experiencing Heat symptoms. I'm not 100% sure on how old they are. I think she was born in either March or April.

She whines a lot and sticks her bum out and she's also become very affectionate. She has done this at least three times now. My other kitten seems to be fine. No problems with her so far.
But how soon can I get her spayed, because I never had a cat that got into Heat this soon.

Can you get them spayed as soon as they start showing symptoms?

Thanks for any help.
 

ebrillblaiddes

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Your vet is the best person to tell you if she's mature enough to spay, but even if you need to wait, I can't imagine you'd need to wait more than a month or two--I've heard that spaying can be completely routine as early as four months, and if she's around intact males at all I could see early spaying being less of a risk than early pregnancy.
 

wingss2fly

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When a cat goes into heat, and does not become pregers, she may continue to come into heat until she gets pregers. That's why so many females get booted outta the house, and we have so many unwanted kittens in the world. You should have a go at the vet, and I would bet it's time to have the girls spay.
 

missymotus

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They look older than the 2-3 months you think they are. They look more like 5-6 months.

Kittens can call from 4 months, I've even heard of earlier than that. Some vets will not spay while they are calling, you will have to ask your vet.

Kittens have be spayed and neutered from 2lbs, so long as your girls are over that you should get them both done ASAP.

Careful with your calling girl, they can be very determined and quick in escaping.
 

Willowy

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My kitty Dot went into heat at 16 weeks.....but your kitties look older. Have they lost their baby canine teeth? If so, they're about 5-6 months old. My vet made me wait 10 days after she started calling, but some vets don't mind spaying a cat in active heat. Call your vet to ask how he'd like to do it.
 

catnurse22

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I've seen a cat go into heat as early as 15 wks. So it's certainly a possibility. Your vet should be able to determine an approximate age to help you decide. But in my experience, weight is a more important factor than age. Around 5lbs is a safe weight to spay/neuter.

If you and your veterinarian decide it is time to spay, take every precaution you can. Get pre operative blood work done and also ask them to attempt to place an IV catheter. I say attempt because young cats have tiny tiny TINY veins and it can be impossible to correctly place a catheter. Ask about what pre-anesthetic drugs as well as what type of anesthetic gas they use and do some research. Also ask about their monitoring equipment. Find a vet that has equipment that can digitally measure respiration, heart rate, and oxygen saturation at the least. If you can, tour the treatment area. See how attentive they are to their post-operative patients.

Best of luck to you and your little ones!
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by CatNurse22

Around 5lbs is a safe weight to spay/neuter.
2lbs/1kg is the standard safe paediatric weight to spay/neuter, no need to wait until 5lbs. Many cats are 4-5 months old by that time and already calling.
 

Willowy

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Originally Posted by missymotus

2lbs/1kg is the standard safe paediatric weight to spay/neuter, no need to wait until 5lbs. Many cats are 4-5 months old by that time and already calling.
LOL, Sonja only weighed 6 pounds until she hit middle age and started putting on weight....I doubt whe weighed 5 pounds when she was spayed and she was 5 years old and had had---according to the vet who spayed her---"truckloads of kittens" at that point.

No, I think waiting until a cat gets to 5 pounds will be too late in most cases. Some big males might be 5 pounds at 4 months, but a lot of little females won't be 5 pounds at 8 months, and they'll have certainly gone into heat before that.
 

bookworm

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Cuddlebug was so small and young when she came to my door that when she started to get fat I assumed it was worms causing bloating and thus wound up with kittens a few weeks later. She couldn't possibly have been over six months when she had them, so about 4 months when she had her first heat. It isn't common, but yes they can go into heat that young.

I've never had one spayed younger than six months, but I've seen teensy ones leaving my vets office many times. They do all the work for a few rescues and shelters, and the kittens have all done OK with early surgery, certainly safer than a litter of kittens that young.
 
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goosegoose

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Thanks for all the help. I asked the vet and we have deciding to wait a bit. The vet said to look and see if she's been bleeding or getting her adult teeth and so far I did not notice neither.

Been keeping a close eye on the kitten and so far she's been in heat for about three times only. She has not shown any symptoms for awhile now and neither has the other one.

The kittens also seem to have no desire to go outside and they scatter away whenever someone opens the door. They seem to be afraid of the outdoors. I plan to keep these two kittens as indoor cats. And hopefully they'll not want to go out at all.

Maybe I'll wait until the end of summer. But so far she seems okay and her heat symptoms don't seem to be too bad or occur very often.
I'll be keeping a very close eye on her and so will everyone else in the house. If we have to and if it's safe, we will spay her in the next month or so.
 
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