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Hi everyone, I'm Liz and this little black and white poser is 6-year-old Roxy. I'm really glad to have found this site; I've been lurking for a day or two and it'll be my first port of call for cat-related advice. Roxy has been with me for seven months - I took her in when her owners split up. Although she's registered with the vet as having been spayed, she's exhibited all the symptoms of being in heat twice since I've had her. The first time was a week or two after she moved in and she's currently a raging furball of hormonal fury again (thank goodness for earplugs; surely humankind's greatest invention along with Marmite and the wheel). I know that spayed females can sometimes go through a heat cycle if reproductive tissue is left behind during surgery but I found this out myself - during our first appointment at the vet, I was told "Oh, that's odd behaviour for a spayed cat." Erm, yes, thank you Captain Obvious. Roxy has her six monthly health check tomorrow so I'm hoping for a little more enlightenment. She seems a bit calmer this evening, but that may be something to do with the thoroughly professional servicing that she received yesterday from one of the local ruffians on top of next door's shed. If she's still fertile, I guess I'll find out in five or six weeks! Anyway, this is us - I'll look forward to chatting with you.

 

Hey liz and roxy. Gd to have u on the site. Haven't been on here long and everyone is v friendly and welcoming. I know what it's like having a female on heat around!! Our little girl lizzy used to howl for days and kept us up at night! Hope the vet has some answers for u. Would love to c more pics of roxy too

Hi there. How long have you had Lizzy and how old is she? I'll definitely most more photos of Roxy over the next few days, she's very keen to be photographed!

Welcome to TCS, Liz and Roxy! It's great to meet you. 

Hi Liz, nice to have you on The Cat Site.

Has the vet examined Roxy to make sure she really is spayed? They can shave a tiny area of her belly to see if she has a spay scar. If not you can get her spayed now, she won't be pregnant this soon after mating and it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.

I know how noisy female cats in heat can be!

EDIt. Just noticed you're in the UK so it will be a flank scar rather than a belly scar. Still easy enough for the vet to find though. 

Hi Norachan! The vet told me the only way they can be really sure she's been spayed is by opening her up. I wasn't entirely convinced by this; as you said, surely shaving her would reveal a scar, but I figured she'd know better than me so I didn't question it. There's no way I'd put Roxy through surgery unless she absolutely needed it. She's registered as having been spayed so perhaps I'm just being paranoid. She has her health check this morning so I'll talk to the vet again.

Roxy had a much calmer night - she was asleep on top of me for most of it and didn't start yowling for her new boyfriend until around 5am, so that's an improvement!

I'll post again when we're back from the vet.

Is your profile pic of your cat? What a beauty!

 

I guess the only other thing you can do is try to get a copy of her medical records from her original vet. But if she keeps going into heat it's probably safe to say she hasn't been spayed yet. 

The cat in my avatar picture is one of a colony I care for, I have 20 ex-feral and stray cats altogether. Gin kun is the oldest, and The Boss.   

Welcome to The Cat Site.
She may also have developed a hormonal imbalance. I know in humans the doctor can test blood to see if it has X amount of hormones (i.e., to see if you are pre menopausal). Maybe there is a similar test in female cats?

Roxy had a good appointment with the vet. Along with all the usual routine parts of her check up, I spoke to the vet about her recent behaviour. The vet told me that if she hadn't been spayed, her heat cycles would recur much more frequently than they are - every few weeks as opposed to six or seven months apart. She said that it's most likely down to some reproductive tissue having been left behind during her surgery; this will trigger symptoms of heat but she won't conceive a litter. We went through her medical records together; she's been registered with the vet for five years and there's nothing relating to pregnancy, just a couple of eye infections and some minor injuries as a result of scrapping with other cats. She's otherwise in excellent health - the only thing worth noting was a build-up of tartar on her back teeth, so I bought some Purina Pro Plan Dental Care food to take care of it. I'm confident that all is well but, as the vet said, I'll take her back if these heat cycles start to become more regular.

I've just looked out of the window and seen her doing some fence-jumping in the distance! It's all good.

Wow she's gorgeous I love her markings! Gd to hear ur from the UK as am I. Lizzy was 3 when we lost her ( c my post ref neighbour says she killed my cat!) but howled for couple of months after being spayed. Glad all clear at vet. Best wishes

Just read the posts about your neighbour - I don't think I have the words to describe how appalled I am. What a terrible situation for you to endure; some people have swinging bricks where their hearts should be. You're right though, what goes around comes around.

Thank you for your kind words about Roxy, she's my pride and joy! I love that little black diamond at the bottom of her nose! I'm pleased that she's healthy - I can deal with the hormonal outbursts as long as she's otherwise well. She may be all worked up at the moment but she isn't in any distress or discomfort, which is as much as I'd ever ask for. At the moment she's yowling through the window at the black and white tom that she had relations with the other night - he came back earlier for round two!  They seem to fancy the pants off each other! I think I've figured out who he lives with so I'm going to pop over later to ask if he's been neutered.

I'm from sunny Wolverhampton. I live in a neighbourhood where there seem to be more cats than people! Roxy certainly has enough cats to fight with, make friends with, hang round with or mate with, as the mood takes her!

 

@LizAllen I'm concerned.  Your girl is just following her instincts - it does sound like she has retained tissue and it really isn't fun for her.  Do you think you could keep her inside until this is sorted out? 

Sex for a female cat is really no fun..  

Hi Mani,

Thanks for your input. Roxy is thankfully emerging from the hormonal fog.  She has had two calm nights during which she's slept soundly next to me; this morning she hasn't miaowed to go out and doesn't seem to be looking for the tom. She'll stay in for the next couple of days by choice anyway because the weather isn't good. If she experiences any unusual behaviour between now and her next six month check, I'll take her back to the vet for further advice.

Right! As @Mani  said, mating is no fun for the females. Their behavior beforehand appears that they want it and enjoy it but that's nature for you, keep them reproducing, like it or not!

I really hope she is fixed, and HIGHLY doubt according to the tom's behavior that he is neutered.

Funny what you were told about the tissue causing much more frequent so-called heat behavior. I had cared for a kitty named Baby, felv positive, who was constantly going into what she thought was heat, so she was respayed, and the vet told me there was plenty of tissue to remove.

It was the first time I had dealt with this. Heat for a week, off for maybe 2 weeks and right back to it, it drove me nuts, I don't have patience for all that whining, etc.

I'm thinking it does sound as if she were spayed. Hopefully!

There have been a few other threads about cats that were spayed and then went into another heat cycle.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/279940/spayed-cat-in-heat

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268517/heat-behavior-marking-in-twice-spayed-cat

Maybe Roxy's situation is similar?