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View 2 More +Most vets will, at one time or another, be told about a cat that is crying, howling, distressed, and trying to get out of the house. This cat is usually around 6 months old, and these traumatic episodes come and go every month. And if this cat is an unspayed female, we can be pretty confident that she’s in heat.
If your cat is overwhelmed by being in heat, you’ll want to help her feel calm, and we can help you with that.
The Female Feline Reproductive Cycle
Female cats can reach sexual maturity as early as 4 months of age, but it is most commonly closer to 6 months. Unlike dogs that go into heat (estrus) twice a year, cats have a monthly reproductive cycle. Unlike humans, cats do not bleed at the end of their cycle, as they only ovulate if they mate. This means that there are no real physical cues to your cat’s “time of the month,” but there certainly are some behavioral ones!
When a female cat is in heat, hormones flood the body, telling her to get out and find a mate. These hormones also trigger a range of behavioral changes, with some cats being more obviously affected than others.
- Increased affection towards people and other pets
- Rubbing on walls, furniture, toys, or people
- Trying to escape through windows and doors
- Meowing, yowling, and caterwauling
- Agitation
- Aggression
- Reduced appetite
- Hiding away
- Urinating outside the litter box (called scent marking)
The estrus phase can be as short as 2 days but has been known to last 2 to 3 weeks! It is ended either once she has mated or once her hormone levels revert to a resting phase, known as interestrus, for a little over a week before it all starts up again.
A female cat (queen) can become pregnant at any point during the estrus phase, and a single litter of kittens can even have multiple fathers. Once a queen has given birth, she can enter estrus and become pregnant again within just 10 days!
How To Calm a Cat in Heat
1. Prevent the Problem by Spaying Your Cat
The best way to tackle this problem is to spay your cat. Most vets, myself included, recommend spaying cats between the ages of 4to 6 months before they have their first estrus. Unlike with dogs, there is no evidence to suggest that juvenile spaying has any adverse effects.
- Contributing to the feline overpopulation problem
- Your cat may become lost or injured if she succeeds in escaping
- Risks of becoming infected with FIV (feline AIDS) or FeLV (feline leukemia)
- Many cats die on roads in search of mates
- Attracting interested tomcats to your home
- Inbreeding if related cats are housed together
The most important and effective item on our list is the first one. Unless you are a registered breeder, spaying your cat is the safest, kindest, and best thing you can do as a responsible cat owner. However, sometimes our cat’s first heat sneaks up on us, so here are five more ways you can help them out.
2. Give Them as Much or as Little Attention as They Want
If your cat seems nervous or wants to hide away, allow them to do that. Give them space, provide them with some cozy hiding places, and allow them to take as much time as they need.
If your queen is desperately demanding attention, enjoy the affection and give in to those demands! Go with the flow and allow them to tell you what they need.
3. Use Pheromone Diffusers
Products like Feliway are designed to help cats who are stressed or relieve tension in multi-cat households. The pheromones they release are synthetic analogs of those produced by a nursing mother cat and can help your hormonal feline feel more settled.
4. Use Calming Products
In addition to pheromone diffusers, you can also get diffusers and collars, sprays and wipes, or supplements and treats, all containing ingredients that can help your queen through this troubling time.
5. Give Them Space
Particularly if you have children and other pets, it is important that you give your cat somewhere to hide away and be left alone. Some cats can become irritable and even aggressive when in heat, so it’s best to give them space if they need it.
6. Provide Some Tasty Food
If hormones are putting your queen off their food, this is a good excuse to spoil them. Some strong-smelling fish or plain, cooked chicken might be just what they need to feel better.
Can You Spay a Cat in Heat?
Recommendations vary on this one, and ultimately, it’s about weighing up the risks and benefits. When a cat is in estrus, their reproductive organs become more swollen, and blood flow to the area increases, which increases the risk of hemorrhage during surgery. However, even when engorged, the vessels supplying the feline reproductive tract are relatively small, and the mobile nature of feline ovaries makes good visualization and hemostasis easier than in dogs.
If there is a high risk of your cat getting out, it may be better to spay her while in heat than to risk her escaping and getting pregnant or injured. Additionally, with some cats having only a very brief interestrus period, there may be only a small window to get them in for the surgery.
Ultimately, the decision is yours to make, and you should talk to a vet about their recommendations.
If you have a question about your cat's health or behavior, why not Ask a Vet for Free with Catster. Our veterinary team answers reader questions and provides trusted advice to help you better understand your cat.
Final Thoughts
Being in heat can be a stressful time for a cat, but hopefully, we’ve provided you with some way to help your queen feel more settled when she is in estrus. We all love cats here, but we also know that there are millions of cats in the US living in animal shelters or on the streets, so we must avoid adding to the population unnecessarily. Spaying your cat will not only reduce the number of kittens and cats needing homes, but it will also help protect them from the dangers of seeking a mate and the distress of being in estrus.
Talk to a vet about the best time to spay your cat.
Featured Image Credit: iwciagr, Shutterstock
