Hi Simba!
I have recently gotten a 2nd cat, Shelby, who is now 7 months old. I got her fixed last month, but she still seems to be acting like she is in heat. She cries a lot and when she lays in my lap, her front legs are down and her back legs are standing with her butt up. In my experience with cats this was a sign of a female in heat. Is this wrong? I am worried that I got her fixed too soon. Both of my cats do seem to have a lot "sleep" in their eyes, and my older cat, Ripley, does have a little discharge in her left eye. What could be causing this? Janie N :-)

Dear Janie N,
You did not have Shelby fixed too soon, so don’t worry. Six months is right on the money. As for the heat, some cats have been known to have a ‘false heat’ after surgery. However, only one false heat is normal. If heats do recur, it is likely that a small portion of the ovary is still in the abdomen and is causing your kitty go into heat. If this happens, talk to your vet. He/she may recommend exploratory surgery to find the remaining tissue. Keep me posted, Simba

PS
As for your kitties’ sleep and discharge, check out Cat Flu for information on this common condition.

Hi Simba,
Our daughter has a cat that is ~5 months old. It is keeping its butt in the air and wanting to be bred. First how can we control this and what can I give here at home to stop it?

Hi,
Welcome to the world of heats! The only way to control this is to have your cat spayed. There is no home remedy for your kitty's natural instinct to reproduce. Cat’s are constantly ovulating and without spaying you can expect heat cycles every couple of weeks. The instinct is very strong so don’t be surprised if kitty tries to run outside every chance she gets. This is the right age to have her fixed. Best of luck. Simba

Hi, I was looking through for info on cats in heat. Our cat is insane, but after petting her on the head and scratching her ears, she hushed up a bit. This may be of some assistance, although not a total cure, it is a little more bearable....for us.

I believe my kitten is in heat, she is 5-months old, she's very feverish during certain times of the day, but extremely during the late evening hours. This has been going on for three days, she is extremely vocal and seems to be very uncomfortable. She is scheduled to be spayed this month, but during her baby heat is there anything that can be given to the kitten to relieve the pain and discomfort. (i.e. baby aspirin or Tylenol?)

Hi,
Please do not give your kitten aspirin or Tylenol, these drugs (even in small doses) can kill cats. Be aware that aspirin is broken down more slowly in cats than in people, it thus stays in the cat's system longer (days vs. hours). A single aspirin given to a 5-pound cat is equal to a person taking 30 pills. A vet can prescribe aspirin, however, any administration of it must be closely monitored to avoid a fatal overdose. Your best bet for now is to keep your kitty indoors and wait for the heat to subside (a couple of days). Then have kitty spayed as scheduled. Keep me posted. Simba

Hello Simba,
I have a 5-month old Kitten named Mouse. She is a talker by habit...but now she is in heat. My husband and I are having a hard time getting a good night's sleep because she is getting up all hours of the night and is very loud. We couldn't get her an appointment to get fixed until next week. I am wondering about how long cats will stay "in heat" Do we have any hope of sleeping before we get her fixed? Your help would be appreciated. Inga

Dear Inga,
The heat cycle can last anywhere from 3 to 7 days. If not bred or spayed, the heat cycle may return in 2-3 weeks until she is impregnated (these cycles will return soon after she gives birth). There is not much of anything you can do right now. Just be sure that you do not let her outside, since she could be impregnated rather quickly. Simba

Dear Simba!
I visited your site for the first time today and I loved it! I was wondering if you could help me. My parents have giving me the job of finding as much information as I can about kittens (especially neutering), so that I can adopt a kitten.

Do veterinarians neuter female cats if they haven't had a litter? Also is it necessary to have a cat neutered if she is to be a house cat? I had questions about the de-clawing but your site helped me with those! Thank you ever so much for your time!I'm very hopeful that I will be able to adopt the kitten... by the way, if you have ideas for cute names... post them up! It would help a lot of people!!! Thank you! Hopeful

Dear Hopeful,
Thank you for your kind words. I hope this helps you in your kitten research. It is always good to spay female cats and neuter male cats even if they are going to remain at home. The heat cycles can be quite disruptive in the female cats, as they become agitated driven by the instinct to reproduce. Also, both male and female cats will be more likely to run off first chance they get during these periods.

It only takes a brief encounter for a female cat to become pregnant. Your cat will be calmer and happier without these disruptions. As for spaying, yes, vets usually spay female cats prior to their having a litter. The operation is done when the little gal is anywhere from 4-6 months old, although you can start as early as 7 weeks. Keep me posted. Simba

Note: Click on the link for kittynames.com.

Simba,
I have two adorable 12-week old, female kittens, Ripley and Angel. As they are house cats I'm not too worried about them getting pregnant. However, my partner and I don't want them to go into heat before we get them spayed, as it might be traumatic. How old will they be before they go into heat? Thanks for your help. Adam

Dear Adam,
Depending on breed female kittens can become sexually mature as early as 4 months (12 weeks). Most folks have their kittens spayed at the 6-month mark, although you can start as early as 7 weeks. - Your Pal, Simba

Dear Simba
My husband and I live in Abu Dhabi. We have a small family of stray kittens (3 males 1 female) living with their mother under our house. We're not sure how old the kittens are, though we noticed they appeared about 4 weeks ago so we think they might be 7-8 weeks old. The kittens seem to be growing quite well except for the girl, "Pippen" who isn't fast enough at the food dish we put out for them. That said, Pippen is very active stalking and playing with her brothers.

The problem is that there are alot of cats around so we want to get 'ours' fixed. The mother still nurses the kittens occasionally, but they are also eating out of the food dishes we put out for them.

Is it too early to have them neutered and spayed? Even if they are old enough we're worried about Pippen who weighs maybe just over 1 lb. Would it be best to catch the whole family at once? We can't see momma cat letting us take her kittens away without complaining. Steve and Jaimie

Dear Steve and Jaime,
How wonderful you are caring for the family. At 7 weeks the kittens should be ok for alteration though your local vet will let you know if they are too young or delicate (especially Pippen). Now for catching them...

Ideally your local animal care center will be able to lend you a humane trap that you can bait with tuna. Humane traps have a door on one end, which is lifted and set with a small catch. The door is connected to a flat trip-plate at the base of the trap. These trip-plates are set at the back of the trap so that the kittens do not get their tails caught when the door shuts (see picture below).


Set a small plate of tuna inside and line the trap with newspaper. The door will shut as soon as a paw hits the trip plate.

What you will need:

• A large towel to cover the trap after you catch the kittens. Placing the towel over the trap or box will calm the kittens down - expect them to be nervous.
• Gloves, a long sleeve shirt and jeans or sweatpants. Remember, cute as they are they can and will bite / scratch
• Tuna or other smelly yummy food for the trap and for keeping them happy while in confinement

Now about grabbing them all at once. My suggestion is for you to take those that you can. Ideally you will trap momma cat first. Keep her confined while you go and get the little ones. This will prevent later struggles. It will be emotional, but it is for the best. Don't forget that your job is to save the kittens. Keep me posted. Simba

update: Thanks for the advice. We were unable to find a humane trap so we baited a standard cat carrier with tuna instead. It worked like a charm in getting our kittens attention. The day before taking them we set the carrier out near their food dishes so they would get used to it. It seemed to work, although we got just Momma and one male. The cats in the carrier were fine. It was the kittens left behind that are distrustful now even though their Momma and brother are back safe and sound.

Well done! Simba

Hello Readers,
There is a condition called Pyometra that commonly affects unspayed females. It is caused by abnormal hormonal levels following a heat cycle in which the female is not impregnated. The females begins showing symptoms 2-4 months following the cycle.

In Pyometra, hormonal imbalance causes the female's uterus to develop cysts. These cysts have the effect of thickening the lining of the organ. The cysts also contain many cells that produce fluids that are released into the interior of the uterus. What happens is that the accumulation of fluid causes the uterus to experiences an abnormal increase in size and causes liquid to spill out through the cervix into the vagina, although the cervix can close soon afterwards. The result is that bacteria can colonize the area and liquid continues to accumulate. The risk is that the uterus can rupture and spill out the bacterial ooze into the abdominal cavity. Death can occur in as a little as 2 days.

As the owner of an un-spayed female cat, you need to look out for the following types of behavior:

• Excessive licking of the vaginal area.
• Drainage of a white fluid.
• Lethargy & difficulty walking.
• Bloated lower abdomen.

Pyometra is treated through a ovariohysterectomy (spay) that removes the ovaries, oviducts, uterus and all associated blood vessels. The best bet is to prevent this by spaying your female cat as soon as she is ready. You and kitty can then rest easy knowing you are not at risk for this awful malady. Simba

Dear Simba,
I have a purebred cat and was wondering when she should get pregnant for the first time. I would like to give one of her kittens to my mother. Marcus

Dear Marcus,
It is usually best to wait until your cat is physically mature before you breed her. While she may experience her first heat as soon as 5-6 months of age, she will not be in best shape to give birth safely until 12-14 months. Consider adopting a kitten for your mom, there are so many little bundles of joy out there just waiting for a home. Simba