Spaying a Cat in Heat
Your cat’s hormones and instincts tell her to mate if she is in heat. She will therefore do whatever it takes to get out of the house and find men to mate with. For this reason, a cat in heat should be safely kept inside to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Unfortunately, having a cat that displays estrous behaviors can be annoying. Cats in heat tend to vocalize excessively. They may obsessively try to escape their homes. Some will even mark areas of the home with urine.
You can speak with your veterinarian about getting her spayed as soon as possible if you don’t think you can handle this behavior for at least a week. While it’s not ideal, it is possible to spay a cat while it’s in heat. However, there are some disadvantages to this.
The blood vessels supplying the reproductive organs and surrounding tissues swell with blood when a cat is in heat. The tissues may be more prone to tearing. All of this results in a longer and more complex surgery than a standard spay. Additionally, the increased cost will result from the additional time and materials required. Some veterinarians would rather not operate on a cat that is in heat, even though there is a slight risk to the animal.
Make sure to seek advice from your veterinarian if your cat has begun her first heat just before her spay procedure and you have planned for it in advance. Delaying the surgery could be more sensible for you, your cat, and the veterinarian.
Having your cat spayed while it’s still in heat may be worth the extra expense, time, and risk if you believe there’s a high chance of it escaping and mating. Talk to your veterinarian for advice.
A few of my clients brought their cats in for surgery after they stopped exhibiting any signs of heat. It took longer for the reproductive system to return to normal in many of those cases, even though the cat was not exhibiting any outward signs of heat, and the uterus was still extremely turgid and engorged during the procedure.
I work as a volunteer for a cat rescue group, and one of our gorgeous calico queens is almost always in heat. Many shoppers at the pet supply store who pass by our rescue are drawn to this cat. Her unpredictable behavior and not having had her spayed prevent her from being a suitable adoptable pet.
I’ve heard that spaying a queen while she’s in heat can result in more surgical complications. Even though she’s in heat, is it still okay to make an appointment with our veterinarian to spay her? Having so many hormones in her system constantly can’t be good for her health. Before adopting out an intact cat, we typically spay and neuter it; all of our other cats have also undergone this procedure. She had at least one semi-feral litter; the kitten she brought in with her was later adopted.
I wouldn’t say that spayed queens experience more surgical complications than non-heated queens. A slightly bloodier and more difficult surgical procedure is required when a cat is in heat because the uterus and cervix enlarge and thicken, and the blood vessels that supply the ovaries and uterus engorge. Nonetheless, I’ve successfully spayed a lot of cats when they were in heat.
So, to me, it doesn’t matter. Any veterinarian who has worked with cats for a while has mastered the art of spaying them at every stage of their reproductive cycle. Spaying a cat should happen as soon as possible, for a variety of reasons, such as to avoid pregnancy or, in this case, to speed up the adoption process.
Spaying Your Cat Before Heat
In the event that the cat is not in heat, a routine, relatively low-risk procedure is an ovariohysterectomy. To keep things easy, you should ideally have your cat spayed before her first heat. .
Most of the time, veterinarians advise spaying kittens by six months of age. This is due to the fact that most female kittens will experience their first heat cycle between six and nine months of age. It’s not common, but some cats can become fertile as early as four months of age. Kittens as young as eight weeks old are preferred to be spayed by many animal shelters and rescue organizations. This prevents accidental pregnancies later on. Speak with your veterinarian about having the procedure done early if you are worried about getting your cat spayed before she has her first heat.
A cat can easily become pregnant once her heat cycle has started. The majority of cat heat cycles last four to seven days. She is likely to go into heat again every few weeks if she does not mate during this heat cycle.
You must now make a choice if your cat does go into heat. Is it better to spay your cat while she is still in heat or should you wait until after her heat?