Cats will get their first heat cycle or estrous when they reach puberty. In general, puberty in cats can occur as early as 4 months. Estrous or heat cycle is the period when a female cat requires mating with a male. Due to the heat cycles, there are maximum chances of your feline being pregnant.
Once your feline undergoes its estrous, she will get her heat cycles again and again. To eliminate this process, your female friend needs to be spayed. However, the real question is, can a spayed cat go into heat?
Well, in most cases, your feline won’t undergo estrous once spayed. However, in some rare conditions, a spayed cat might show signs of heat. Read on to learn everything you need to know about spayed cats and heat cycles.
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Cats and Estrous
Can a spayed female cat still go into heat? Estrous in cats refers to the period when your female cat is sexually receptive. In this period, your feline will go into heat and find a male cat to reproduce. Unlike other felines and animals, they don’t have a vaginal discharge in heat. However, she will show some behavioral changes, such as becoming pretty vocal and unusually affectionate.
In the heat, cats usually spray or urinate in the house to let male felines know that they are receptive. Furthermore, cats also wiggle their backs in heat when they are petted. If your cat is spayed but shows any signs of estrous, you must contact your vet immediately.
Here are some of the most common signs that your cat is in the heat:
- Outdoorsy behavior
- Roll on floor
- Urine marking or frequent urination
- Attention-seeking
- Raising their back in the air
- Rubbing their face on objects
- Vocalizing
- Unusual affection
Causes of Heat in Spayed Cats
Can a cat go into heat after being spayed? Well, in some rare cases, your feline friend can undergo estrous after being spayed. There are several reasons that can cause this problem, such as:
Hormone Exposure
One of the most common reasons for heat in a spayed cat is hormone exposure. We humans use numerous estrogen-containing products – especially creams. If you use these creams, your feline friend might ingest some of these creams by licking your arms or hands.
Can a female cat go into heat after being spayed? A female feline exposed to estrogen-containing products can show the symptoms of heat. However, these symptoms won’t be predictable or feature a hormone cycle. To prevent a cat’s access to estrogen, you should wear gloves or wash your skin before petting your cat.
Adrenal Tumors
Next, we have adrenal tumors. According to many studies, adrenal tumors can create hormones in spayed cats. In this condition, your feline experiences constant symptoms of heat. However, they don’t get proper heat cycles. Unfortunately, treatment of adrenal tumors is quite difficult, but an exploratory surgery might be able to help you out.
Stump Pyometra
After the spaying process, a small part of uterine tissue may remain inside the abdomen. This small stump will stay inactive as long as your female feline friend does not get hormones. However, if there is a circulation of hormones in your cat, this stump will create a Pyometra – a uterus infection.
The common signs of Pyometra include the symptoms of heat in cats. Other than the heat, your feline might develop some clinical signs as well, including the distended abdomen and vaginal discharge. In the case of stump Pyometra, exploratory surgery is a must for your feline.
If you think your spayed cat has a stump of Pyometra, you should visit your vet and follow his instructions.
Ovarian Remnant Syndrome
When a spayed cat shows the symptoms of heat, a cat owner imagines that the vet left something behind. However, that’s not the case for all felines. Some female felines contain additional ovarian tissues. These issues are separate from the abdomen and the main ovary. In the absence of the main ovary, these additional ovarian tissues become active.
Most felines have additional ovarian tissues because of the access length of the ovarian ligament. In the spaying process, the surgeon cut down most parts of the ovarian ligament. However, it is impossible to fully remove this part of the body because some ovarian tissues are invisible to the naked human eye.
If the ovarian tissues of your feline friend touch the walls of the abdominal, the cells might vascularize and attach to each other. As a result, your feline will get ovarian remnant syndrome. This process can take years and can create signs of heat in spayed cats. Once you discover the ovarian remnant syndrome in your feline, surgery is necessary to remove it.
Treatment of Heat in Spayed Cat
Once you know the cause of heat in your spayed cat, the veterinarian will let you know the possible treatments. In most cases, to remove the signs of heat in felines, the treatment involves surgical intervention.
If your feline has adrenal tumors or other disorders related to hormonal changes, the vet will treat these health conditions individually. If the disorder comes with resultant heat symptoms, your cat might need both surgeries as well as chemotherapy.
Other than surgery, there are some hormonal treatments available out there, such as progestogens. However, these treatments are not that common because they have severe side effects, including stump Pyometra and mammary tumors.
In the case of stump Pyometra and ovarian remnant syndrome, the affected tissues should be removed by surgery. Normally, the infected tissues are removed by exploratory laparotomy surgery – a process similar to the ovariohysterectomy.
Final Verdict
Heat cycles are quite common in cats. Even a four months old female cat can undergo estrous. To avoid heat cycles in cats, your feline will need to mate with a male cat or be spayed. Can a spayed cat go in heat? Sometimes even a spayed cat can show the possible signs of heat.
There are several reasons why a spayed cat might show the common signs of heat, including hormone exposure, adrenal tumors, stump Pyometra, and ovarian remnant syndrome. To eliminate the signs of heat, you should visit your vet and follow his instructions.
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