When do female kittens go into heat?

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  • 8 November, 2008 at 8:25 pm #21911
    boosmama
    Participant

    For the first time anyway? And following that how often do they come into heat? I’ve only had male cats these are my first female ones. My older girls are fixed but my little princess is not, her brother however is! I’m not stupid! But I was entertaining the idea of breeding her with an orange cat (since she is all black), so I never fixed her. So, I’m just wondering when she should be going into heat. She was born in April.

    8 November, 2008 at 8:49 pm #320595
    Kitten Whisperer in Oregon (8/27)
    Participant

    Here is some information about when female cats go into heat:

    http://cats.about.com/od/reproduction/a/heat_cycles.htm

    May I ask why you would want to breed your female? What would become of her kittens? Are you confident you could find them good homes and handle the cost of caring for them until they are old enough to go to good homes? Please think about these things before adding to the pet population. 🙂

    8 November, 2008 at 8:51 pm #320596
    anncetera2
    Participant

    Cats can go into heat as early as 20 weeks of age.

    I’d suggest thinking long & hard before deciding whether or not to breed your cat. In the US, at least, there are millions of cats euthanized every year in shelters and animal control agencies, including probably somewhere not far from where you live.

    8 November, 2008 at 9:02 pm #320597
    LadyValkyrie
    Participant

    I have heard of females going into heat by 4 months of age and without conception ging back into heat again about every 2 to 3 weeks! Most first time litters are small from one to 4 kittens but their are cases of 4 to 8 for a first litter. So unles syou either plan to keep them all, or have homes lined up, I’d be very cautious about breeding!

    8 November, 2008 at 9:13 pm #320598
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Jess…. It could be any day now…. You will definitely know by the yeowling, and the unlady like contortions displayed around the other cats, male or female, it doesn’t matter. She may also have a discharge. I had one that went into heat every other month…it was awful!! I regret to say I put off the “spa” visit for a year and a half….. She was miserable during the episodes, as were we. To make matters worse, the first spay had complications, and had to be redone (by another vet) several months later. Unless you have your heart set on breeding her, I would consider a “spa” visit soon, until waiting for the symptoms to appear….In my opinion…. 🙂 P.S. I also do concur with the above posts from KW, Ann, and LV.

    8 November, 2008 at 9:18 pm #320599
    petpntr
    Participant

    You also need to know what to expect if she goes into heat before you have the opportunity to get her fixed. She will howl constantly and try to get out. It isn’t like an ordinary cat that wants out. A cat in heat is on a mission. She will most likely get out one way or the other despite all efforts to prevent it. Cats can be spayed during heat although some vets will charge a little bit more.

    8 November, 2008 at 11:11 pm #320600
    anncetera2
    Participant

    Agreed with Petpntr! Cats who are in heat become regular Houdinis; they’re desperate to go outside, and will go through flaming doorways in order to meet the tom of their dreams.

    One additional thing; spaying before first heat is usually not problematic, nor is spaying after first heat. But most veterinarians will not spay a cat who’s in heat; there are significantly increased risks of complications, like blood loss. So once she goes into heat, you’re in for a couple weeks of listening to your kitty wail as if you’re torturing her. Not only that… but even with the windows closed, you’ll be drawing the attention of every unaltered male for at least a mile around. That can result in plenty of brawling, caterwauling, and injuries as the males fight it out – all for the lady cat they can’t reach, but they can smell her.

    9 November, 2008 at 3:43 am #320601
    LadyValkyrie
    Participant

    Oh and un fixed females can get um pyrometra?

    here’s a link

    http://www.congocoon.com/Links.html

    9 November, 2008 at 12:55 pm #320602
    sullis
    Participant

    ..Unspayed females also have an increased risk of breast cancer..

    8 July, 2011 at 7:40 pm #320603
    Miikoong
    Participant

    “Cats who are in heat become regular Houdinis; they’re desperate to go outside, and will go through flaming doorways in order to meet the tom of their dreams.”

    False.

    My cat is an indoor cat and when she goes into heat, she never goes near the door. All she does is rub against furniture and goes into a mating position, and is always purring especially around male humans. I’m going to keep her kittens, I got a male 8 week old kitten named Tom.

    8 July, 2011 at 7:49 pm #320604
    Leeny
    Participant

    Mii, you are exceptionally blessed, and your girl is extremely unusual. My Tiger Lily and my feline sister Darlene went into heat when we thought they were too young for it, and the descriptions the others have given are quite accurate for most female cats in heat.

    8 July, 2011 at 10:38 pm #320605
    Kiplings_cat
    Participant

    I remember one poster wrote about their ‘oops’ litter; they planned to spay their cat when they came back from holiday. But they came back to a house reeking of tomcat urine, a male feline squatter, and a pregnant cat.

    My dad’s cat (at the time family cat) Velvet went through one heat cycle. She had the Siamese-type voice and sat on top of the ductwork in the basement rafters to YOWL. The noise resonated through the ducts, all through the house. I swear it sounded exactly like cursing in a foreign language that you can’t understand. At high volume. <<shudder>>

    8 July, 2011 at 10:59 pm #320606
    ChelleM17
    Participant

    It really is terrible… my cat would yowl, as someone else said, like we were torturing her. All. Through. The. Night. We weren’t sure what the matter was with

    8 July, 2011 at 10:59 pm #320607
    ChelleM17
    Participant

    her, as she seemed young to go into heat. She acted so odd we thought she was having a very strange allergic reaction..

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