Is she in heat

I think you guys are right to try and let others know about declawing. I would have had my cat declawed if you hadn't told me about all the things that could happen. I am now going to order Soft Paws for Miki.

Originally Posted by momof3rugratz

I think she left because of the dclawing...

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and you know, it really is a shame if she did. We answered her questions and concerns and then went on to discuss more about things she mentioned. It is like if someone came on and said "my cat meowed funny should I be worried? by the way, she is dying but I don't want to discuss that" obviously we would say something...ya know? We are trying to talk her of it in the nicest way possible, we aren't flaming, we aren't being mean, just discussing.

Please to the OP if you left for that reason, don't. We aren't trying to be mean or accuse you of being a horrible person. A lot of people come on here with their minds set on declawing because that is the easiest thing to do. We tell them the alternatives and at least the majority are willing to try if we aren't actually successful in changing their minds. My little sister when she was a toddler, when she got mad she would dig her nails into your arm, really hard and it bled sometimes. Now, we wouldn't de-fingernail a toddler, we just taught her not to do that. Sure it is easier with kids then animals sometimes...

Just try Soft Claws first. Don't put her through the trama of declawing, it may make your life a little easier but it can make hers quite a bit harder.

I did not leave, i was at work. But i understand that it is a painful process, and that it CAN but not always change the personaity of cats.

I have had cats all my life, and we have had cats that after being de-clawed have not changed and then we have had cats that have changed for the better. (very angery aggressive cats that after the claws are removed they are a sweet loving cat)but never from good to bad.

I understand that everyone has their own thoughts on this topice and i will not be able to change your minds or the other way around. I thank you for the facts on this and like i said I AM NOT SURE if i will have it done. That is why i asked for it to be dropped, there is no point going around in circles about this.

It is not that i dont care about my cat, i love her more then my husband. I am thinking about it not only beucase of the scratching around the house (yes she has 3 posts, carborad, carpet, and rope that she uses) but The vet said that he thinks the claws are to big for her hands and are hurting her... he was the one that got me thinking about de-clawing.

I did not want to de-claw her until the vet said something about it. He thinks that it would be better for her her health to be de-clawed.

YAY we didn't lose you!! I was hoping you were just at work or something...

Originally Posted by shadow_kitty

It is not that i dont care about my cat, i love her more then my husband.

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that is great and I completely know what you mean!!

Originally Posted by shadow_kitty

I did not want to de-claw her until the vet said something about it. He thinks that it would be better for her her health to be de-clawed.

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Be careful of this vet, I would be very weary after a comment like that from him/her. See that would be a vet I would stay away from. "Claws are too big for her paws" is a great way to get you to feel bad and let the vet declaw her, which means he makes more money. Cats claws, unless there is a deformity, are not too big for their paws, that is absurd. Just FYI, watch out.

Originally Posted by shadow_kitty

I did not want to de-claw her until the vet said something about it. He thinks that it would be better for her her health to be de-clawed.

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The only time I have ever heard of a reputable vet saying this is in the case of a deformity, usually polydactyl (extra toes).

He said that right now they look to be too big. but he said that she could grow in to them. He said that becuase she really never re-tracts her claws in and the only other times he has seen that is when they are too big. He said that right now it is up to me if i want to de-claw her now or we can wait too see if it gets better with age.

I have used him for all my animals he is great. Knows what he is talking about and even got a second oppion about this before he said anything to me about this.

I did not want to de-claw her until the vet said something about it. He thinks that it would be better for her her health to be de-clawed.

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I'd get a second opinion....why would your vet think it would be better for her health??

Ok...got it....personally I'd wait. I wouldn't want to make a rash decision on declawing.
Katie

I am not sure why he said either they are too big or she is having probmles pulling them back in, i dont want to make a rash choice either thats why i have not done it yet, he said that she could out grow this, that is what i am hoping for. but he is a great vet and i trust him with my life and my animals. he said it is not life threating, but something that i might want to think about

I am glad you are back and hope you will stay.

i never left. i was up late last night cleaning and then am at work now

No, she cant get pregnant if not in heat.

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Oh yes she most certainly can get pregnant if not in heat.

Originally Posted by chrissyferal

The estrus cycle of cats is unusual. Cats are "induced ovulators", which means that their bodies attempt to stay in estrus until they mate. This stimulates ovulation which ends the heat cycle.

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Cats ~are~ induced ovulators but this does not mean that their bodies will attempt to stay in estrus until they are mated. What it does mean is that ovulation is induced by the act of mating itself. And for the record, ovulation does not end the estrus cycle. Spaying does. The estrus cycle in a cat repeats and will never end unless she is spayed.

Queens are seasonally polyestrous, which means they come into heat in certain seasons of the year, and they will cycle multiple times if they are not bred. As previously mentioned, they are also induced ovulators, which means they need to be bred before they will ovulate. Cycling tends to occur most often in the spring and summer in outdoor cats. Cats kept indoors and exposed to artificial lights may cycle year-round.

The stages in a cat's estrus cycle are: anestrus, proestrous, estrus, interfollicular stage, and metestrus. Anestrus is typically seen in the short days of winter. The tom is not attracted to the queen, and vice versa.

Proestrus may last 1-2 days in some queens, but is not consistently seen. During this stage, she may 'call' the tom, roll, and rub on the ground, but she will still not allow the tom to mate with her. The bleeding seen in female dogs during proestrus is not seen in female cats. She may progress from proestrus to estrus in just a few hours.

Estrus lasts about a week, but may be longer or shorter. During this time, the queen will allow the tom to approach her and mate. During estrus, the queen may allow more than one tom to mate with her; it is possible for a litter of kittens to have different fathers (superfecundation).

If she was not bred, she will enter an interfollicular stage (also known as interestrus). She shows no sign of reproductive activity during this stage. This stage may last about 1 week. She then goes into proestrus and estrus again. If she mated and ovulated but did not become pregnant, she goes through a metestrus stage that lasts about 5-7 weeks. During this stage, she does not show signs of reproductive activity. If the mating was successful, she will go through an approximately 63-day pregnancy.

I know she can get pregnant if she is not in heat. they are like us, when ever the act is done you can get pregnant.

Dont worry on friday i am going to get my second deposit back from my apartment ($400 oh yeah!) and the first thing on the list is to get her spayed.

Now, can she be spayed even if she is still in heat? What happens when they do it, and how long would her stay be? ect...

Any info on what happens and the after care would be great

Spaying while in heat is up to the vet...

There is a little higher risk to spay a cat while she is in estrus due to the fact that the reproductive organs are engorged with blood. The best thing to do is speak candidly with your vet and see what he suggests. Some will spay while a cat is in estrus, others won't.

One of my vets in California would even spay in the early stages of pregancy. It was more expensive, of course, but he did offer that, as well as explaining the risks involved. His thoughts on it were that IF your queen managed to get out, and you did not want to have a litter, your intent was to spay anyway, then he would offer this as an option.

My big boy that I just lost, had the same problem with his claws for almost the first two years of his life. Mind you, it was a matter of him growing into those what would end up being huge paws of his (when he spread his paws, they were about 2 inches in diameter). Of course as an adult he was about 2 1/2 feet long from his nose to the base of his tail....so waiting to see just how big your cat will grow would probably be a good idea.

Originally Posted by Sea Witch

One of my vets in California would even spay in the early stages of pregancy. It was more expensive, of course, but he did offer that, as well as explaining the risks involved. His thoughts on it were that IF your queen managed to get out, and you did not want to have a litter, your intent was to spay anyway, then he would offer this as an option.

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My vets will do it too. That is where I take all the pregnant strays I get in. Way back when we took or little Bowie when she escaped and got pregnant to be spayed immediately.

Originally Posted by shadow_kitty

Now, can she be spayed even if she is still in heat? What happens when they do it, and how long would her stay be? ect...

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No, dont do that if itsnt absolute necessary. Much bigger risk for complications. The tissues are much frail during this time. There is even risk of stitches (binding up the arteries feks) not holding because of dissolving tissues.

Im sure about it, I did read a advanced british veterinary handbook for cat-owners. The vet described all the drawbacks in extenso, and said; dont risk to come to vet with cat in heat for spaying. If you are not sure, much better to let her go out, get pregnant, and come to us. MUCH easier to spay a shecat in early pregnancy then when in heat...

Originally Posted by Sea Witch

One of my vets in California would even spay in the early stages of pregancy. It was more expensive, of course, but he did offer that, as well as explaining the risks involved. His thoughts on it were that IF your queen managed to get out, and you did not want to have a litter, your intent was to spay anyway, then he would offer this as an option.

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Spaying early in pregnancy isnt that much more difficult. Vets prefer in any case to do it rather than spay during heat (oerus).
Some dont even charge more.

But spaying late in pregnancy IS more difficult and dangerous. Most vets would not do it if not in dire emergency.
But a very experienced vet who knows about the pregnancy (usually they know if it is late...) can still do it successfully without great risk.

That is sort of awful to the mom who is in heat to make her get pregnant just to fix her. I would wait till she got out of heat.