Conference misery::feline

    Females heat cycles can vary from cat to cat and from season to season. 
    Generally females are in season for 21 days, + or - a few days.  When
    the cycle is completed, and they are out of season, the cycle starts
    right back up again.  Unlike dogs who are in heat only once or twice a
    year, cats are induced ovulators and can be constantly in season until
    bred or spayed. 
    
    Cats start cycling again when the days start getting longer.  I have
    noticed that many of my Birman girls are starting to come back into
    season after having been out since the summer months.  It would be
    atypical, but not impossible, for your girl to already be pregnant,
    especially if you are living on the east coast, or in a cold climate.
    
    How old do think your female was last June?  How old do you think she
    is now?  If the vet was to shave her belly, there is a good chance that
    he may see a surgical scar from a previous spay.
    
    As far as a good cat care book, I would recommend The Cornell Book of
    Cats.  It is very thorough, and covers everything that a cat owner
    would ever need to know.
    
    Jo

       My little "Cookie" is in heat about every 2 months, and it typically
    lasts about a week. There is NO DOUBT about it when she's going through
    it, because she turns into a wanton little harlot who'd seduce a
    bookcase if she thought it'd respond... 
    
       There IS a way to break the heat cycle, that was outlined in a
    recent Cats magazine that we get, but it is a sort of "bizarre" fix
    that I don't believe is appropriate to outline in detail here...maybe
    someone who get's "Cats" magazine would be willing to make copies of
    the article... All I will say is it involves artificial
    stimulation..and alleged to do the trick. 
    
      .1 is right though...there are a lot of variables depending on the
    specific cat. Our recent lost "Miss Meow" NEVER went into heat, and the
    Vet was unable to find any scar indicating that she'd ever been
    spayed..(not 100% sure, but couldn't find a trace of an incision..)
    
    JM

    There is a method of artificially breeding cats to bring them out of
    season, breeders usually call it sterile breeding.  
    
    The problem with it is that the more times you sterile breed a cat, the
    greater her risk of pyometra.  The usual treatment for pyometra is
    spaying.  I used to practice sterile breeding with some of my queens
    when the timing wasn't right for a litter, but after having had three
    cases of pyometra with different queens, and having to spay one of
    them, I stopped using this practice.
    
    And, it isn't a matter of not using a "sterile" enough instrument 
    to do the sterile breeding that causes the pyometra.  Since cats are 
    induced ovulators, when you stimulate them you are causing them to 
    ovulate.  Since cats don't shed the lining of their uterus, there is 
    no way to expell the ovum, and then you have the perfect environment 
    for bacteria to grow.  Most of the bacteria that cause pyometra are
    already present in the cats' body, like E. Coli.
    
    Jo

    Getting back to the original note for a moment, the fact that your cat
    spit up bloody mucous would lead me to believe that she may in fact
    have roundworms or something else going on.  I would get her into the
    vet.
    
    Jo

    I used this "artificial" method on Amelia when she needed to bring
    her out of heat and get her spayed.  What a trip.  I lived in a no
    pets apartment and she was calling her lungs out and I had 4 little
    males posted outside my front door at all hours waiting for Amelia
    to come out and play.  
    
    It's no wonder Amelia has this odd attachment to Q-tips now.  She 
    thinks one of them was her first and only love.  I don't recommend 
    doing this on a regular basis.  This was a one time thing for us and
    she was spayed fairly soon afterward.  I got the proceedure from my
    Home Veterinary book and I was very nervous about doing it.
    
    Jan                                                        

> It's no wonder Amelia has this odd attachment to Q-tips now. 

Hmmm.  And always thought they were for cleaning *ears*.

:-) :-) :-)

Dave

      Re last few...
      I guess that outlined the procedure without becoming obscene...I
    wasn't quite sure how to present it..;-)
      
      We have simply learned to LIVE with Cookie's bi-monthly antics. In
    fact, Julie sez I'm mean...cause I laugh at her when she goes through
    her "I WANNA MAN-CAT!!" routines... What I've done to ease her
    frustration is give her belly-rubs... She'll lie on her back like a
    little slut and absolutely adores having her belly rubbed....she'll lie
    there, chirping, squinting her eyes, for a half-hour or so... 
    
    
      Poor Smokey, our 3-legged neutered male! He gets the "come-on" from
    Cookie, but the poor guy doesn't have the equipment NOR the desire to
    do anything about it. He simply looks very confused when she give him
    the business.. (The dogs all look even MORE puzzled with her attempts
    to seduce them...)
    
      John Mc

    Re:  129.6
    
    The book said to use either a small glass rod or a Q-tip.  Since I 
    don't happen to have any glass rods laying around the house, well...
    Q-tips are soooo versatile, aren't they.
    
    Jan

     Re .8
    
      I bet you DO have a small glass rod...just never thought of it...
    The "Cats" article said that a fever thermometer works great...
    
      I may be more prudish than I thought...I didn't even tell my wife
    about this when I read it....thought she'd think I was some sort of
    pervert...
    
      JM

    Well, since you brought this up John.....
    
    When CC had her first heat we didn't want to breed her so we
    "Helped her out".  It didn't take long before she started following
    us around all the time and "coming on" to Jack and I.
    
    When she had her second heat I got Robileu and wanted to mate
    her to him.  She wanted NOTHING to do with him.  Instead she
    kept pestering Jack and I for the thermometer!
      
    We've created a monster!!  I have one that loves the vibrator 
    (Bumpy-tail) and one that wants the thermometer!
      :^)))))
    

re: .10

Hey, we could start a business selling little cat t-shirts with things like

"10 Reasons Why Thermometers are Better than Male Cats"

:-) :-) :-)

Dave

      Re .11
      And my 'neutered' male, "Smokey", would be one of the first to apply
    for a franchise!!! (Poor Smokey....he has NO idea what's going on...he
    WANTS to help, but doesn't have a CLUE as to how...)
    
      ;-)
    
    
      JM

    
        Talk about frustration, I have an indoor female cat who seems like
     she is always in heat. Well my father's male neutered cat came to 
     stay with us and she was all over him. Boy was she disappointed.
    
    Bill 
    
    

    It's 7:00PM and have been home all day with "THE SLUT".  I can't take
    it any more and did a search for this topic.  We got Mitzi, a 5-month
    old female kitten from a manager at the office.  I was, for once,
    proactive and sent away for the "Friends of Animals" certificate and it
    came in the mail on Saturday.  Well you guessed it, Mitzi the Slut must
    have read it and decided "Oh, no, not before I get in my fun".  
    
    My neutered male is so mad at her he's ready to call the Vice Squad.
    Years ago I had a cat that we took in that was frost-bitten and in the
    process of putting her back together she went into heat - it lasted 10
    days.  My manager, also an animal lover, said that a vet told her that
    the first 'heat' is usually short 2-3 days.  Does anyone know?
    
    She can't even sleep.  She's trying to get the kitchen cabinets to sing
    her song and most of all, she's D R I V I N G  M E  C R A Z Y!
    
    Thanks for any input.  
    
    

    >>My manager, also an animal lover, said that a vet told her that
    >>the first 'heat' is usually short 2-3 days.  Does anyone know?
    
    
    I have never found this to be true with any of my breeding females. 
    Brace yourself, it could be a looooonnnnggg month.
    
    Jo

My dear Kyra has just gone into her first FULL heat.  She did go into a "baby
heat" about two months ago, but it was NOTHING like this!!  She has found
that her favorite spot to sit and howl is in the bath tub.  It echos quite
nicely in there!  And she is as LOVABLE as can be!!  Last night I came home
and the first thing she did was jump up on my shoulder (To those of you who
have seen me and Sweetie at the shows, she's learned this from him).  

Looks like she'll be taking a trip to New York very shortly to find a
boyfriend.  oooooooo!!!  I can't wait!


Holly

     I'd like to swap tips on what I guess you'd call feline PMS -- ways 
to tell your cat it about to come into heat so you can know when to stop
letting her go outside.  Here's what I've noticed:

     'butt sniffing' -- my cats take a heightened interest in sniffing 
each other.  Starts about a week before going into heat.

     When you pick the cat up by the back of the neck, either off the 
ground or just to move it closer to you on the sofa, when it isn't in 
heat, the back will curve so that if the cat were standing, the middle is 
higher.  When they are going to come into heat, the back will curve the 
other way -- so that if they were standing, the middle would be on the 
ground and the back end would be elevated.  Starts about a week before 
going into heat.

     Heightened sensitivity to pressure on the back above the tail.  
My cats are used to being cradled in an upside down position.  But because 
of the way the cat wants to arch her back when coming into heat, the back 
end is pushing into the arm thats cradling her.  That irritates/stimulates 
her and she gets cranky.  The reaction to pulling the tail straight down 
increases, too.  About a week of lead time.


     Question:  when exactly in the progression through these symptoms to 
full blown heat does the cat become fertile?  Mine are sometimes out until 
the day before they start walking around with butts in the air and tails 
bent over.  

     Times when the calendar says they're going to start and I keep them 
in before their schedule, they take longer to come into heat.  Does this 
mean that the stimulation from the boys is an essential factor?

    I don't know anything about pre-heat symptoms but why not just get the
    girls spayed?  Keeping them intact is very stressful for them, not to
    mention the fact that unspayed females have much higher chances of
    contracting uterine cancer.  Spaying is a much healthier option than
    keeping them inside every time they come in season.
    
    Some females have silent heats with no obvious symptoms.  Something
    else to keep in mind.
    
    -Roberta (who is very concerned about the animal overpopulation
    problem)
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    re .17:  
    
    It is true that butt sniffing can sometimes occur about a week before
    heat starts, but the rest of the symptoms you list do not occur a week
    before heat, they occur during heat.
    
    If your cat is arching it's back when you pick it up by the scruff, it
    is in full blown heat.  If the cat is on all fours, low to the ground,
    and has it's tail to the side, it is in full blown heat.  If the cat is
    sensitive to pressure in the tail area, then it is in heat.
    
    Basically, there are no good ways to know when it is about to become
    full blown heat.  Females can accept males at any time during the heat
    cycle and be bred.  The only leeway there is on time depends on how
    long it will take the female to accept the male.  
    
    Also, as far as when a cat becomes fertile during the heat cycle.. Cats
    are induced ovulators, which means that they become fertile the minute
    they accept the male an allow him to penetrate.
    
    If you are truly attempting to prevent pregnancies with your females by
    keeping them inside during heat, I am afraid that you may find yourself
    with a pregnant cat.  The only true way to prevent your cats from becoming
    pregnant will be to either confine them indoors at all times, or have
    them spayed.
    
    Cats can continue to be in season for many days after they have already
    been bred, so by the time you notice the "in season" behaviors and keep
    them in, they could have already been bred and pregnant.
    
    Jo

    re .17:  
    
    It is true that butt sniffing can sometimes occur about a week before
    heat starts, but the rest of the symptoms you list do not occur a week
    before heat, they occur during heat.
    
    If your cat is arching it's back when you pick it up by the scruff, it
    is in full blown heat.  If the cat is on all fours, low to the ground,
    and has it's tail to the side, it is in full blown heat.  If the cat is
    sensitive to pressure in the tail area, then it is in heat.
    
    Basically, there are no good ways to know when it is about to become
    full blown heat.  Females can accept males at any time during the heat
    cycle and be bred.  The only leeway there is on time depends on how
    long it will take the female to accept the male.  
    
    Also, as far as when a cat becomes fertile during the heat cycle.. Cats
    are induced ovulators, which means that they become fertile the minute
    they accept the male an allow him to penetrate.
    
    If you are truly attempting to prevent pregnancies with your females by
    keeping them inside during heat, I am afraid that you may find yourself
    with a pregnant cat.  The only true way to prevent your cats from becoming
    pregnant will be to either confine them indoors at all times, or have
    them spayed.
    
    Cats can continue to be in season for many days after they have already
    been bred, so by the time you notice the "in season" behaviors and keep
    them in, they could have already been bred and pregnant.
    
    Jo