she continues to caterwaul after spay

Mabel, the senior tabby cat we've been fostering finally got spayed yesterday. Part of the impetus to spay her even though she is older is that she kept going into heat, which seemed to put a real strain on her. She would caterwaul all night long, trilling and singing and coming on to everyone. So when she finally got healthy enough we had her spayed yesterday.

I thought her singing days were over, but last night she started up again! The same come-hither routine as in the past. Could this just be a temporary, post-spay thing? Most cats I deal with are spayed from a young age, so spaying an older cat (we now think she's about 10) is new to me. Has anybody encountered this?

Mabel:

My understanding is that it can take time for the hormones to "die down", so to speak.

The hormones will take a while to get out of her system. although this may be a residual effect of anaesthetic; some cats do wail for a day or two after being put under.

Poor girl! I wonder if she's doing it out of habit now. Also, has her thyroid levels been tested?

Sorry to say it, but I have an almost 5 year old cat that has lived with us for almost 2 years now. She does her "town crier" routine almost every night and several times each and every day. She's been spayed for 3 years, although she had 2 litters before I got her. I don't think it will ever stop for my Brillo, but hope you have better luck.

Did the vet do bloodwork, including thyroid tests, before the spay? If her "singing" keeps up after she's had a few days to recover, you may want to call the vet again and have her thyroid levels tested if they haven't been already. It may also be worth checking her blood pressure, as elevated blood pressure can cause yowling, epecially at night.

Mabel seems to have stopped the concerts after that first night. We did have her thyroid tested as well as full bloodwork before the spay and she was all normal. Guess she wanted one more song

Haha, she was also probably feeling pretty loopy from the anesthetic that night. . . . Glad to hear she's settled down. I'm sure she feels a lot better, too.

I have a 14yr old tabby cat that I rescued from the streets when she was 6 months old.  She was spayed before she was a year old.  She caterwauls ALL night til this very day.