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Living with a cat in heat can be complicated. In this article we explain how to recognise the symptoms, how long they last, and if your cat’s on heat what you can do to make life better both for her, and for yourself as well.
Heat is a female cat’s fertile period, the part of her reproductive cycle when she tries to get pregnant. You cat will usually have her first heat at 6-9 months, although for some kittens it can be as early as 4 months, or as late as 12, depending on when they were born. This is because generally cats only go in heat during the months with the longest hours of daylight.
Normally, from spring until autumn your cat will go into heat every two or three weeks, although if she lives indoors, she may have unpredictable heat cycles throughout the year due to the artificial light.
A female cat’s reproductive cycle is divided into different stages, which may be longer or shorter depending on each individual cat:
Now that you have the basic information, we’ll explain all the changes you’ll notice in a cat in heat, and what to do if your own cat is in heat.
Although cats don’t bleed when they’re on heat, the signs are pretty clear:
If your cat’s in heat, then what to do to get her (and yourself) through these days is essential information. It’s a question of experimenting to find out what works best for you, but all the advice below will help:
These tips will help to moderate your cat’s behaviour when she’s in heat. But what do you do if you don’t want to have kittens? The best thing to do is to sterilise your cat as soon as possible, as in this way as well as avoiding the inconveniences we’ve mentioned above, and having kittens, you’ll reduce the probability of mammary cancer (by 95% if you do it before her first heat cycle, and by 85% if it’s done between the first and second cycles).
If you do decide to sterilise your kitten, there are specific foods that will help you to keep her healthy at this new stage of her life.
Understanding what it means to have your cat in heat, and what to do to calm her down can help both of you to get through these days in the best way possible. Although as previously mentioned, if you don’t want kittens, sterilisation is the best option.