In Heat way too much ( I think)

Hi everyone

I have an 8 or 9 month old short hair tabby that is going through an unusual amount of periods of heat. We have 3 other cats, 1 female, 2 male and we dont remember our other female going through this before we got her spayed.

Here's the situation. She started having these symptoms about 3 months ago when she was around 6 months old. For around a week or so at a time (give or take a couple days), she will meow and rub her stomach on the floor with her rear end raised up at the base of the tail. She mainly does this in the middle of the night (which is realllly annoying) and sleeps all day.

After the week or so of those symptoms she will just come out of it all of a sudden and will act normally for another week or so then go right back into the heat. Her eating habits are normal during these periods so I Haven't really worried about her general health. But this has been going on for so long that I'm beginning to worry for her.

Can anyone help me figure out if this is a normal thing for young cats to go through or should I seek medical attention for her? I plan on getting her spayed soon so if this is just heat that she is experienceing then hopefully that would take care of the problem.

What age do female cats normally start going into heat? How long are the periods when they are in heat and how long in between until the next wave? Thanks for any help you guys and gals can give me.

Please just get her spayed now and take care of the problem. That is the simplest of the solutions

Before I got Doku spayed she would go into heat for 3-4 days, and then out of it for a couple weeks. Thankfully she doesn't know how to meow, so she would just quietly trill. Like Hissy said, the only thing to fix this is getting her spayed!

Before Willow got spayed, she went into heat only once, about a month before getting spayed. When we got Buffy, she went into heat about 3 times a month before getting spayed. She probably went into heat every 1-2 weeks, and it got pretty irritating eventually. She can meow LOUD! (and Willow doesn't meow either , but she does do the trilling thing which sounds beautiful. That probably makes me sound strange, lol)

Hate to tell you, spaying is a great idea, but it won't help the "heat" problem. Cats(especially indoor ones) are in continuous heat. my two still go through all the "motion and sounds!, but
they just can't have kittens! So just know that kitty will still
go in heat because of her hormones.--persia

really? my cats don't go into heat anymore, or even show symptoms

Must admit, Rosie was vocal as a kitten and she's never changed?!

Persia,
if your cats are still behaving like they're in heat - calling, rolling, moving their tails to the side & squatting low, I would suggest that you take them to the vet.

The spay surgery in a cat removes the uterus and ovaries - the ovaries produce the hormones. So the spay surgery should stop all of the heat-related hormonal behaviors. It might take a few weeks to stop if the cats were in heat when they were spayed (the hormones take time to dissipate), but they should indeed stop. If they don't, it could be a sign of a problem.

Some cats are just naturally vocal - I have a 10-year-old spayed cat that meows a lot, and does a lot of purring and rolling around. That's just her purrsonality. But behaviors that are specific to the heat cycle (such as posturing to present for breeding) that continue after a spay should be checked out.

Please take a look at these links:Can an animal still go into heat after a spay?

How to tell if your female cat is in heat

Tuxedokitties,
Thanks for your info, but I showed this post to MY BOSS and
He said what rosie said that some cats are more vocal than others.
He spayed my girls himself and also had an associate do her follow-
up. NOTHING was wrong! They both were spayed and stayed that way!
The reason Daisy still acts like that is because she wasn't spayed
until she had delivered 4 litters and her hormones are still in
baby- making mode(she was't spayed until she was 9,because that's when I got her)She even thinks she can nurse my stuffed animals!
Again, thank for the info, but I can assure you that she is WELL
taken care of by MY BOSS of who I assist at a vet hospital and
at his office and we do spays/neuters quiet often!--persia

Thank you, Persia. I'm glad you've had her checked out, and that she's OK. Sometimes hormonal behaviors in a cat can indicate serious problems - I'm very glad that's not the case for your girl.

I did not mean to imply that you do not care for your cat, or that your vet does not know what he's doing, and I'm sorry if I came across that way. I was simply trying to alert you to the possibility that there might be a problem - most cats (indoor or outdoor) do indeed cease true heat behaviors after a spay.

Please see this link:
http://www.snaptx.org/ask_the_vet/sp...rus-after-spay

It has interesting info about "extraovarian" tissue, found in unusual locations.

persia-

Tuxedo is right, it is called ovarian reminiscence syndrome and can cause your cat to still have all the manifestations of a heat cycle without becoming pregnant.

Originally posted by hissy
persia-

Tuxedo is right, it is called ovarian reminiscence syndrome and can cause your cat to still have all the manifestations of a heat cycle without becoming pregnant.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Hissy! I thought of this also and so did my vet,
persia

Without sounding like a numpty, if Rosie is having the symptoms ,despite being spayed, is this worth being concerned about?.

It's just with Rosie being vocal still, and grooming herself down below etc...Susan

If she's doing all of the following:

1) Immediately preceding oestrus, your female cat may become unusually affectionate, and rub her hind quarters against furniture, other cats, and/or her favorite human.
2) The Queen (name for female cats of breeding age) will vocalize loudly. This "calling" may go on for several days, unless she mates.
3) She will assume a mating position: head down, forelegs bent, rear quarters raised to expose the perineum ( this raised posture is called lordosis), with the tail raised and held to the side of the body. Her rear legs will tread rhythmically, as if walking in place.

You might want to set up an appointment to have the vet take a look at her, just to be safe. To me, the mating position is the key - some cats are just meowy and affectionate (I have one of those - she rolls all over, and meows a lot), but if she's assuming the mating position, that's your sign that she's not just being lovey.

Phew, thats a relief!!.

No she's just vocal, but not the sort of sound she made when she was ready to be spayed.

And the affection i get off her is headbutts, and her backside in my face as she walks past.

Originally posted by rosiemac

And the affection i get off her is headbutts, and her backside in my face as she walks past.

Click to expand...

She's just saying "I love you - now sniff my bottom like a good kitty!" She's just a sweetie, that's all.

LOL!!!

I did not get Dori spayed until she was a year old. She began going into heat at 6 months and over time her heat cycles did become more frequent. By the time I had her spayed she was going into heat for approx. 4 days and then would be ok for about 10 days and then would go right back into heat.