Kitty has temperature

Hello, peeps!

So here's my worry. We have a six month old kitty and she has her first heat cycle this week. I wanted her to get spayed before her first heat, but my mother insisted on her being older, so it is what it is.

She's been very loud the last few days, but has been eating and drinking just fine, also peeing and pooping in her box, but I check on her tonight and her body is very hot.

She doesn't appear to be in pain, but her whole body is hot enough so that I got confused through a blanked felt as if she peed on me, but it was just her body temperature. Her head, ears and paws are also warm.

I'm worried. She's just a little sweet baby and I want her to get through this heat, and I'm getting her spayed as soon as possible, but I've never felt a kitty be this hot before, at least not from estrus.

I'm not experienced with cats being in heat, but they can have a fever without outwardly showing other symptoms, so I think it would be good to take her in for a quick vet visit. They might be able to give her some medication and some subcutaneous fluids if she needs them to help her feel better, and they'll make sure there's nothing else serious going on.

Convincing mothers is difficult! When you feel she might be more receptive to it, you can print out or refer her to the information from fixatfour.com (meaning spay and neuter at 4 months), just for future cats she may have. Parents tend to trust information that they can see written out in front of them more than just what their child says. Your current kitten will be fine as long as she stays indoors, but of course the younger she is spayed the easier her recovery will be. I hope she feels better soon!

If you have a fast-working thermometer and are comfortable with taking her temperature, you could do that. Once you have an accurate reading, you'll be able to tell if she's running a fever or not.

Here's a clip showing how to take a cat's temperature. If you're not feeling comfortable with that, don't do it and take her to the vet instead.


I am not aware of any dramatic temperature changes during a cat's heat period, so if she is hot and is running a fever, you should get a vet involved.

Let us know how it goes!

We use an ear thermometer. It's accurate enough and not as intimidating as doing a rectal thermometer.

She's out of heat, but still a bit warm. We will be taking her to a vet soon to get spayed and will check on her temperature just in case.

Thank you for all the helpful replies!