Our new kitten is going insane rolling around on the floor and moaning. She is obviously in heat and very uncomfortable. We have kept her entirely in the house these last few months. Besides spaying, or just letting her outdoors (it's cold!) to await a random Tom, is there anything we can do to reduce the intensity of her condition?
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Help: Kitten in heat
- Thread starter rosalia
- Start Date
There is nothing you can do safely at home. I would contact your vet. She can be spayed while in heat although you may be charged an "in-heat" fee for the extra time that it takes. I really hope you were kidding about the Tomcat- that would be a BAD idea
You can try to ease her symptoms a bit by keeping her in a cool, dimly lit room along with her litter, food and water, favorite toys, bed and blankets. Cats are very individual though and this method may not work for you but it is worth a try. It does seem to help my girl a bit.
I feel confident you were just letting your frustration talk when you mention letting her out, but spaying her really is the best way to ensure you (and your cat!) won't have to go through this ever again. Is this something you have already discussed with your vet? Not to be nosey or overly curious, but why are you waiting to have her spayed? Is there a medically necessary reason she can't be spayed? Is money an issue? If it is money, there are many low- or even no-cost spay/neuter clinics all around the country. Perhaps you can find one close to you here:
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html
Best of luck and please come back to let us know how you progress.
~gf~
I feel confident you were just letting your frustration talk when you mention letting her out, but spaying her really is the best way to ensure you (and your cat!) won't have to go through this ever again. Is this something you have already discussed with your vet? Not to be nosey or overly curious, but why are you waiting to have her spayed? Is there a medically necessary reason she can't be spayed? Is money an issue? If it is money, there are many low- or even no-cost spay/neuter clinics all around the country. Perhaps you can find one close to you here:
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html
Best of luck and please come back to let us know how you progress.
~gf~
Yes, please do get her spayed as soon as possible - you're right about it being uncomfortable for her.
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Rosalia, is your cat pedigreed? The reason I ask is that allowing your kitty to become pregnant and to have kittens when she is not isn't considered an ethical thing to do when there are so many homeless kitties in shelters around the world. I don't mean to sound rude or in any other way to offend you, but here at TCS, we don't encourage allowing non-pedigreed cats who are not eligible for participation in a responsible, ethical breeding program to have kittens.
It depends on the cat, but estrus can last up to 10 days or two weeks at a shot.
Unless she is purebred and registered as such with one of the major associations (CFA, TICA), AND you paid for breeding rights for her, then she should be spayed ASAP. Your local shelter is already full of homeless cats and kittens and it would be unfair and irresponsible to add to the population by letting your pet have kittens. Please call the vet today to schedule an appointment to have her spayed.
I have to second what Gaye says...if you are interested in raising kittens, then may I suggest having your cat spayed and offering to foster a pregnant cat for a local shelter or rescue group. It would be healthier for your cat to be spayed and there are so many homeless cats and kittens right now that need homes. Please consider having her spayed.
Katie
also, she will go back into heat every few weeks if not spayed [or pregnant - but i'm not recommending that solution]. Java went into heat, caught me by surprise, at the beginning of June. she already had a spay appointment for about 3 weeks later. she went back out of heat, but was back in again just in time for her spay! i had another cat that kept going back in before i could get her to the vet - that was about 20 years ago, & the vet wouldn't spay if the animal was in heat. she'd go out, i'd make the appointment, & she'd go back in again before the appointment. like to drove me crazy! you should get her spayed as soon as she comes out - repeated heats are bad for cats. and for your mental sanity!
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Well, all these replies come as some surprise! We live in a rural area and I suspect that not a cat in the vicinity is pedigreed. Ours is a cute black and white kitten that we received from a neighbor several months ago. I strongly suspect that all the kittens in this farming country are "adventitious," if I may borrow the word from horticulture, and frequently live outdoors in barns and outbuildings. There are plenty of mice out there, too! May I suggest that our concerns are different from overcrowded urban or suburban areas? I have not seen or heard that there are hordes of unwanted cats hereabouts; in fact, we asked around for quite a while before we found someone who was willing to give us one of their kittens. Our nearest neighbor has about six cute black and grey kittens roaming around their house and weren't willing to part with one when we asked. We may still have this cat spayed but would prefer to raise our own brood like the neighbors. I still would like to thank those who provided information pertaining to my question, and wish you all a Merry Christmas.
if your looking for barn cats you can contact a rescue (from an urban area if you need to
) and they can provide you with some.
i know i'm from the uk and your not but most of our rescues will provide ferals or semi ferals as barn cats and are desperate for home for them.
having a pregnant cat is an amazing experience but you can just as easliy adopt one that is already pregnant and save her and the kittens lives in the process.
i know i'm from the uk and your not but most of our rescues will provide ferals or semi ferals as barn cats and are desperate for home for them.
having a pregnant cat is an amazing experience but you can just as easliy adopt one that is already pregnant and save her and the kittens lives in the process.
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Rosalia -- please don't be offended if I ask -- have you checked with your municipal or county animal control? I know it might involve a drive for you, but if you need other cats, would you consider adopting some from an urban situation where there ARE strays needing homes?
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
I suspect that if you were to contact some shelters/rescues in your state, you would find that there are very high euthanization rates. I know that in my state, the highest euthanization rates for cats are in rural areas where there isn't a lot of spaying/neutering and cats are frequently allowed to roam and become pregnant. I didn't know anything about the overpopulation until I did some research (contacted the dept. of agriculture, contacted rescues and shelters, did research online). I realize you want to have cats of your own....so perhaps you can reach out to these other shelters/rescues and adopt some other kittens or cats. I still recommend having your cat spayed as it will be healthier for her.
Katie
I agree with those who suggested that your nearest shelter or animal control is doubtless overrun with cats and probably euthanizes many each year as a result. In the (very unlikely!) event that there are not enough cats to go around in your area, you can certainly contact rescues out of the area and offer to take a cat or two if you are so inclined. With so many cats who need homes, that is by far the best thing to do.
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Rosalia,
I too live in an rural area. When we first moved her over ten years ago, there was a farmer living on our back road that had adventuresome cats. He had twelve at the time. Four years later, when I went over with a team to help trap these cats, he had 262 total!
I have fourteen at the moment and with the exception of the two latest rescued babies, all are spayed and neutered. Being spayed and neutered does not effect their ability to be good mousers, but if your cats are hunting mice they are also coming into contact with parasites and flea born diseases.
TCS is a pro-spay and neuter community. You are likely to hear this message over and over. If you want kittens, then go to a local animal shelter and ask to sponsor a pregnant mom or take care of a litter of orphaned kittens. Please do not allow your cat to have kittens, it truly does just add to a bad problem and is not safe for your cat either. You have no way of knowing if the Tom she ends up mating with is healthy or genetically sound.
Take it from someone who frequently holds dying kittens in her hands, Pregnancy and birthing of kittens is not really a miracle when it comes to moggies, it is more of a gamble for the momcat, the kittens and for you.
Rose,
We live in the country on a farm and I can understand your point BUT its better to have her spayed. Before I married my husband they never had their barn cats spayed/neutered. We kept 5 adult cats for mice control. Gave away the kittens as they were born.
But I know its not right to keep letting a cat have litter after litter to either die on the roads or caught by roaming animals (hawks, etc.). So one by one I got the males and females spayed and neutered. They do less roaming (especially the males) and are much happier to do mice duty.
If you need extra cats for outside (or inside) patrol, then adopt them and spay/neuter them. They will still earn their keep but you won't have to deal with litter after litter.
Please get your kitten spayed and don't breed her.
We live in the country on a farm and I can understand your point BUT its better to have her spayed. Before I married my husband they never had their barn cats spayed/neutered. We kept 5 adult cats for mice control. Gave away the kittens as they were born.
But I know its not right to keep letting a cat have litter after litter to either die on the roads or caught by roaming animals (hawks, etc.). So one by one I got the males and females spayed and neutered. They do less roaming (especially the males) and are much happier to do mice duty.
If you need extra cats for outside (or inside) patrol, then adopt them and spay/neuter them. They will still earn their keep but you won't have to deal with litter after litter.
Please get your kitten spayed and don't breed her.
Welcome, Rosalia.
You sound like me about 10 years ago. We moved to the country, and I adopted 3 female kittens. I know many people keep cats and just keep letting them have kittens, and that is what I did at first. And yes, the kittens were adorable. But we had some injuries, and some deaths. It was just too much. And although I found homes for the kittens, some of them ended up with "oops" litters, so I began to feel I was adding to an overpopulation problem.
Don't get me wrong, each of my kittens were found a good home, but of course that prevented those friends from rescuing an unwanted cat. After a few litters, we had 2 cats spayed. But Tiger Lily was such a wonderful mommy, and had such sweet kittens, that I planned to allow one more litter. She gave birth to two kittens, and died two days later. Now I know I should have taken her to the vet, but at the time I thought an experienced cat would be fine. Of course her two babies died soon after.
I still love kittens. For years I wanted litters of kittens, and now I am affiliated with a foster group, and foster as many kittens as I want. Foster groups differ, but mine covers all the medical costs, and helps adopt the babies and momma cats out. We just get the fun of raising kittens, without the responsibility of knowing that I chose to allow the pregnancy.
If they do adoption shows at your local petsmart or petco, you could talk to the rescue people there. And yes, they can be a little fanatical-I never kept a cat strictly indoors, until I began rescue. Then again, my oldest cats were about 10. Many many were lost much younger. I hear of people with inside only cats who live to be 20!
Consider your visit to TheCatSite to be a bit of education...much easier and less painful to learn from those who have been there, than to go through it yourself.
Best of luck with your little black and white kitten. I have a 3 week old one in my kitten room now...just a little bundle of joy! And that kitten, with her 4 siblings, will have their first vet visit and shots before they are adopted out. The momcat will be spayed and found a good home, too. Much better than worrying if your baby will tolerate a pregnancy ok!
Don't get me wrong, each of my kittens were found a good home, but of course that prevented those friends from rescuing an unwanted cat. After a few litters, we had 2 cats spayed. But Tiger Lily was such a wonderful mommy, and had such sweet kittens, that I planned to allow one more litter. She gave birth to two kittens, and died two days later. Now I know I should have taken her to the vet, but at the time I thought an experienced cat would be fine. Of course her two babies died soon after.
I still love kittens. For years I wanted litters of kittens, and now I am affiliated with a foster group, and foster as many kittens as I want. Foster groups differ, but mine covers all the medical costs, and helps adopt the babies and momma cats out. We just get the fun of raising kittens, without the responsibility of knowing that I chose to allow the pregnancy.
If they do adoption shows at your local petsmart or petco, you could talk to the rescue people there. And yes, they can be a little fanatical-I never kept a cat strictly indoors, until I began rescue. Then again, my oldest cats were about 10. Many many were lost much younger. I hear of people with inside only cats who live to be 20!
Consider your visit to TheCatSite to be a bit of education...much easier and less painful to learn from those who have been there, than to go through it yourself.
Best of luck with your little black and white kitten. I have a 3 week old one in my kitten room now...just a little bundle of joy! And that kitten, with her 4 siblings, will have their first vet visit and shots before they are adopted out. The momcat will be spayed and found a good home, too. Much better than worrying if your baby will tolerate a pregnancy ok!
