"Spayed" cat in heat

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Agalena - 05 Sep 2003 06:53 GMT

I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
signs of being in heat. The shelter has only the prior owner's word that
she was spayed, but I find it hard to believe some one would have a 10 year
old female cat who wasn't spayed. I've heard that if some ovarian or
uterine tissue was missed during the spay procedure, the cat could still go
into heat although, obviously, not be able to get pregnant. Has anyone had
any experience with this? What can be done to solve this problem? I can
put up with the howling and restlessness, but not with her spraying all over
the house and all the toms in the neighborhood hanging around. Can the
tissue that was left behind be found and removed surgically? Can the estrus
cycle be suppressed pharmacologically? Thanks.

Agalena

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MaryL - 05 Sep 2003 10:41 GMT

> I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
> months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Agalena

Yes, there definitely are people who have 10-year-old cats that have not
been spayed or neutered. I think the obvious answer here is to have your
cat examined by a vet. Incidentally, have you checked to see if an incision
is obvious?

MaryL

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Agalena - 06 Sep 2003 17:24 GMT

> > I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
> > months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> MaryL

Believe me, we've been to the vet! There is no obvious incision, but she
just felt through the fur. Looks like we're going to have to shave a very
uncooperative kitty and check further.

Agalena

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luna - 06 Sep 2003 03:08 GMT

Our female kitty Luna was having the same problems. At first the vet tried
treating her for bladder infections. He said that some cats were just prone
to getting them and it had some of the same "side effects" as coming into
heat. She was given a course of antibiotics numerous times but it kept
coming back every 3 months or so. We asked if it was possible that
something got left behind when she was fixed. Sometimes a very small amount
of tissue can be missed, but is very difficult to find. Our solution has
been kitty birth control. It eases all of the symptoms within a few days.
That includes the howling, restlessness and spraying. It is called
megestrol acetate ovaban and is only available through your vet. We give
her 1/4 tablet (they are about the size of an aspirin whole) a day for 12
days as soon as we start to notice the symptoms. 2-3 days and she's our
little girl again. Check with your vet and see if he thinks that this may
help. Good Luck.

Jeanne

> I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
> months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Agalena

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Agalena - 06 Sep 2003 17:36 GMT

Thanks for the good info. In fact, my kitty did have symptoms of a UTI
about 10 days before the symptoms of estrus appeared. I took her in to the
vet, and she did have white blood cells in her urine so was treated for a
UTI. She stayed at the vet for a week, because as luck would have it, we
were going on vacation just when the symptoms appeared. When we got home,
and I picked her up, she seemed fine for a couple days then the restlessness
and spraying started. I thought it was a relapse of the UTI because she'd
also been throwing up her antibiotics (hairballs). We went back to the vet.
No WBCs in the urine this time, but there were epithelial cells. We started
giving her some hairball medicine which helped with keeping down the
antibiotics, and the vet said to keep her on the antibiotics for a few more
days. Incidentally, she wasn't acting like she was in heat at the vets.
When I brought her home the rubbing, yowling, restlessnes, etc. increased,
and that's when we began to suspect she was in heat. I'm still hoping she
was never actually spayed, but thanks for the good information on "kitty
birth control"! I'm glad to know there's an option available if she was
spayed but they missed some tissue.

> Our female kitty Luna was having the same problems. At first the vet tried
> treating her for bladder infections. He said that some cats were just prone
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
> >
> > Agalena

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Kalyahna - 06 Sep 2003 03:17 GMT

> I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
> months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Agalena

Most shelters are not so foolish as to simply trust what they're told. We
routinely do spay-scar checks on females unless the surrendering owner
brings in the medical papers from the vet to prove the surgery was done. In
an example of, "You learn something new every day," one of our techs pointed
out that most declawed females are also spayed, and if you have an eye for
it, it's generally possible to tell a spayed female from an unspayed female
by the condition of the coat. Something about how calories directed to the
reproductive system before the spay are then directed to hair and skin and
whatnot afterward... which also explains why many altered animals become
glossy and fat.

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Agalena - 06 Sep 2003 17:26 GMT

> > I have a 10 year old supposedly spayed cat that I adopted from a shelter 6
> > months ago. I say "supposedly" spayed because she is definitely showing
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> whatnot afterward... which also explains why many altered animals become
> glossy and fat.

Well, my kitty certainly has the physique of a spayed cat!

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