When the cat is in heat, is she fertile and has the hangover? sometimes with a fight first ?? allow her to cover. How does it work, how do you recognize it and what can you do about it to contain the screaming (which can be different per cat).
When does the cat get in heat?
A young cat can be in heat after about five to six months, but certainly within the first year of life. In principle, she has a cycle of on average once a month, but there are periods in the year when you do not get in heat. For example, in the last months of the year she will not be in heat very quickly, while she can start a monthly cycle again from January, February. A heat period can vary from seven days to about twelve days and sometimes heat periods are very close together. If you do not do anything about it, a cat can go into heat until a very old age, but the intensity often decreases.
What do you recognize in heat?
Most people notice it by the sharp screaming (depending on the cat, this can be loud or very modest) from the cat. But there are more things you can recognize it by, such as:
- want to be cited more than average
- raise the abdomen as soon as you start stroking
- sometimes a cat can spray some drops of urine (not all cats do this)
- eating behavior can be very different (often eating less)
- want to give more than average cups
- exhibit restless behavior
If a male cat can come close, it will notice it sooner (by smell) than the owner and a female may be mated unintentionally.
Is it good or bad?
No, in heat is part of nature and giving the cat some extra attention during this period is only good. If you want a litter, which is fine for the cat’s body, make sure the cat is at least one year to one and a half years old. If you want more litters, wait a while before she gets pregnant again. The breeders’ associations also specify a maximum of three litters in two years as a standard.
The cat carries an average of sixty days and has to nurse and train the kittens for about twelve weeks. It takes a lot out of the cat’s body, so she needs to regain her strength and get fit. Good food is therefore important.
What can you do about it?
A temporary solution
A temporary solution if you want to have litters at any time, but not yet, is the pill. Once a week you have to give the cat a pill. Yet there is also a lot of opposition to this temporary solution. The pill could be carcinogenic in the form of breast cancer. The risk of uterine inflammation would also be greater.
Definitive solution
If you don’t want any litters at all, sterilization or neutering is best, but for both the cat and the male, he or she must be fully grown. With sterilization, the cat will just go into heat and be mated, but no kittens will come. During castration, the genitals are removed and the heat disappears and the cat will not be able to be mated (she will not allow it). With some neutered cats you sometimes see that they show a kind of appearance in heat, this cannot hurt. All in all it is a major operation, it usually takes a few days for the cat to return to normal and just like with humans … it remains an operation with all the risks that entails.
It is often advised by the veterinarian to have an older cat that is still in heat sterilized anyway. If in doubt, discuss this with your vet.