What age can kittens go into heat for first time??

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  • 1 August, 2012 at 8:20 am #52333
    Pookster
    Participant

    Just wondering what age kittens can go into heat for the first time? We had one kitten in heat before she got spayed (years ago, she scared the hell out of our old neutered male!), so I know what it’s like when they’re IN heat, but can’t remember exactly what age she was (I was only young myself).

    Also, are there any tell-tale signs that they might be approaching that stage? Pooky’s 20 weeks today, but have just noticed that when playing she occasionally does that ‘flat bottom, legs splayed pose’. She’s also completely mental and right now is doing a kind of open mouthed thing…..

    1 August, 2012 at 8:33 am #743027
    Pookster
    Participant

    She could just be having a crazy attack, of course, she is prone to them too, lol!

    1 August, 2012 at 11:18 am #743028
    jcat
    Participant

    It’s safe to spay at four months if the vet is happy with her weight and health. I wouldn’t think she’d be in heat just yet but every cat and kitten is different. I think you will know when she is from the YOWLING!

    1 August, 2012 at 11:25 am #743029
    Pookster
    Participant

    Yeah, I know the yowling and really don’t want to get to that stage!

    My vet has said spay around 6 months (she has always been quite small and light, though filling out now and becoming much more ‘cat-like’ rather than kittenish in appearance)…I suspect she was just having an attack of the mega-crazies, she’s asleep now. Was just acting a bit different to usual, so was just wondering. I thought it would still be a bit early for her to be going into heat (she’s an indoor cat, incidentally, so no worries about her going out and getting into ‘mischief’ prior to spaying).

    1 August, 2012 at 11:28 am #743030
    jcat
    Participant

    I would tend to leave it till 6 months too. Since my Millie has a disability and was so tiny and so developmentally behind her sibs, the vet said leave it till a year in her case. I didn’t really notice a year had gone by until I suddenly wondered why she was miaowing so much and so LOUDLY and so yowlily until I suddenly clicked a year had gone by and she must now be in heat… Certainly once it starts, you are on the phone to the vet pretty quickly…

    1 August, 2012 at 11:45 am #743031
    Pookster
    Participant

    I’ll probably make an appointment for the start of September, or for whenever they feel would be good. Dunno whether they might want to check her weight again before booking her in as she was just heavy enough to get her jags back at 9 & 12 weeks.

    1 August, 2012 at 12:43 pm #743032
    Buttons
    Moderator

    I got all my females spayed at 5 months just be careful some females can go into heat as early as 4 months and a 4 month old kitten that becomes pregnant can have a lot of health issues and if very small might not survive though the birth as they are just to young to be pregnant. I would keep a very close eye on her from 4 months of age if she starts showing tell tale signs of going into heat and she has any access to the outdoors or any intact male cats have her spayed immediately. You say she is small so it would be dangerous for her to become pregnant so early

    1 August, 2012 at 1:04 pm #743033
    Pookster
    Participant

    Hey Buttons, how are things in the Emerald Isle? Cheers for your answer. We live in an upper flat and she has no access to outside (and no randy males could get in), so we’re okay on that front. I may try introducing to outdoors on a leash once she’s ‘done’, not sure yet.

    Are there any telltale signs to look out for before the full-on posturing and yowling kick in? Changes in appetite/behaviour, etc? I was too young to really pick up on this kind of stuff with the family cats we had, so am just keen I take the best possible care of my wee Pooky. If she were to start showing any signs, I would obviously contact the vet straight away to consult with them – as I recall, that yowling is horrendous!! ;0)

    1 August, 2012 at 1:20 pm #743034
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Things are sunny here for a change 🙂 im even getting some washing dried all my outdoor cats are soaking up the sun and loving it!

    Sometimes they don’t howl at all Nutini went into heat at 4 months and like you we could’nt spayed straight away because of her size she became very clingy , she cried a lot but didn’t howl at all. She showed her belly a lot too and started licking herself excessively so i would watch out for the belly show and excessive licking (you know where)

    your sorted though i wouldn’t worry at all if she does go into heat i’d just wait until her weight and size are up.

    With Nutini we had to wait till she was 7 months because she was just so small she is 10 months old now and only weighs 41

    1/2 pounds so you can imagine how small she was at 4 months when she went into heat if she’d have gotten pregnant and went full term she probably wouldn’t have made it. But of course i would have brought her to he vet for saying neither she was pregnant or not.

    Now all my brood are spayed and neutered its a weight off my mind

    1 August, 2012 at 1:30 pm #743035
    Pookster
    Participant

    The crying would be a dead giveaway, she’s not a terribly vocal kitty except when she’s chirruping to tell me of her exciting adventures with balled up paper or saying hello if I’ve been out or she’s been in another room. Or when she gets stuck on top of the curtains. Tube. Not sure how much she weighs now as we don’t have scales, but she’s definitely filling out, you can feel how much heavier and sturdy she’s getting when you pick her up, even though she’s by no means a ‘big girl’ ;0)

    We’ve got the rain again today, the sun we had yesterday must have travelled west to you!

    1 August, 2012 at 1:44 pm #743036
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Well we’ll take it off ye whenever we can our summer had been brutal!! Basically we haven’t had one. Sounds like you have your hands full with your little one 🙂

    1 August, 2012 at 1:55 pm #743037
    Pookster
    Participant

    Ours has been utter pants too. And it’s terrible knowing what rugs to put on the horses. Rain, rain, cold rain, warm rain, no rain but cold wind, warm with a wind, muggy (with and without rain)…pah!

    Yeah, she’s very active in the mornings, so I have to work with one hand and wiggle the feather wand and chuck rolled-up paper with the other – and occasionally leap up to retrieve her from halfway up the curtains. She generally settles down by about 11 a.m. and then just wants some snuggles and a knee to sleep on. I loved our family cats, but having Pooky is a whole different level – we’re with each other virtually all the time and she means the world to me! 🙂 🙂

    1 August, 2012 at 1:56 pm #743038
    Pookster
    Participant

    Your kitty’s face in your avatar always makes me smile, by the way. Such a gentle, inquisitive expression!

    1 August, 2012 at 2:06 pm #743039
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Its amazing how much time they take up isn’t it! It takes me at least half an hour in the morning just to feed them as most of my 6 have special diets especially buttons.

    That is a good photo isn’t it he looks like a clown. If i had to caption it would have to be ” who me??? I didn’t do it”

    He wakes me up every morning with that wet button nose of his and his eyes as big as saucers!!! your fella his as cute as anything ! My Lady MUck that i lost just over a year ago was a tuxedo and looked a little like pooky

    1 August, 2012 at 2:14 pm #743040
    Pookster
    Participant

    Yeah, she’s my wee darling. The nurse at the vet’s is completely besotted with her 🙂 The picture doesn’t show properly the fact that her nose is half pink, half black, and she also has a black splodge under her chin and some black hair under her left eye that look a bit like a tear drop.

    I keep expecting your one in the photo to start chatting to me at any minute: “Hello there, how’s things with you today? Whatcha doin’?”

    1 August, 2012 at 2:36 pm #743041
    Buttons
    Moderator

    Isn’t it mad how you can love such a little thing so much. I must go walk my 3 dogs now all there just finished their dinner so i check in later 🙂

    1 August, 2012 at 3:55 pm #743042
    HuddysMama
    Participant

    There’s a commercial running here that says spay at 4 months.

    1 August, 2012 at 7:10 pm #743043
    Buttons
    Moderator

    0h i forgot to tell you that that open mouth thing cats do is callde the “fhelming reaction” its actually your cat intaking air through their mouth and the object or scent they are interested in the smell gets sucked into the mouth and in to something called the “jacobson organ” that helps fast track the information of the smell to the brain. some people say humans have it but there is no proof of it.

    as far as i know cats, dogs and snakes have this organ that is primeraly used to detect the oposite sex in the species and fertile mates, you will see a lot of cats have the “fhelming reaction” while smelling other cats or cats urine.

    god i do have some ammount of usless information in my head 🙂

    2 August, 2012 at 7:33 am #743044
    Pookster
    Participant

    I’ve heard of that Jacobsen’s Organ thing….Lots of interesting info you have in your head!

    Pooky is utter loonbag again this morning. Oh goody…

    2 August, 2012 at 8:32 am #743045
    Pookster
    Participant

    She is just being WEIRD

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