Last Updated on October 9, 2021 by Woody Pet
How can I help my cat in heat? Some ways to calm them down
It is a big part of life for most species of animals and plants (if not everything on blue Earth) Maturity is the stage of life where the living beings start to reproduce and multiply, giving a chance to new generations.
When it comes to cats, it is especially notorious in the way they meow (that can be a little annoying in some cases) and the overall way they behave. They are not the only animals to show some actions when heat is close, but they definitely will make you know.
It can be an interesting time, depending on how you look at it… But can also lead to some headaches if you don’t take any measures. Here are some ways you can tell if your cat (female cat) is actually in heat and not sick and many other ways you can help your cat in heat.
How to know a cat is in heat?
“Wake up and smell the pheromones” said some Donkey in a movie with a green ogre… But as humans we can’t actually do that, right?
There are better ways to know a cat is in heat and they only require observation. You would notice some behaviors that aren’t as normal for your cat to do in normal days.
You will see it rubbing against objects and people more than normal, meowing a lot, moving the tail to a side and raising her pelvis (a female cat that is), rolling in the floor, being restless and being very excited while seeing male cats.
How Can I Help My Cat In Heat – How often?
The thing about female cats that are not spayed (the ones that are sterile and can’t have little kittens) is that they go very often in heat.
The cats can go into heat seasonally, between spring and fall, and they can go in heat several times during the season. Heats can last just a day or extend as far as a week. Then the female cat can be out of the heat period for about one to two weeks and returning into it for another period for about one to three weeks more.
The only things that can stop those periods are: Obviously pregnancy or having her spayed. So, you can help your cat in heat by trying to entertain it during one, but you can’t actually stop nature on the way is doing its thing.
Can you have a cat spayed while in heat?
Yes, absolutely. You can have your female cat spayed while in heat. But the issues that you may encounter can be avoided by just waiting the heat cycle to end.
While a female cat is in heat, her reproductive organs like ovaries enlarge and grow. The way those organs grow is by getting more blood (just like any other mammal reproductive organs) and so, having the spaying during this time can be tricky.
A very experienced vet can do the operation even when the heat cycle is happening, but it could be a very time consuming for the vet and cat, can be more expensive for you and can have more risks that you can ultimately avoid by just waiting the heat cycle to end entirely. Actually, most vets could advise you against it. Patience then?
How to calm a cat in heat?
There are many ways to calm a cat in heat, some of them temporary and some permanent. Both of them start by you identifying your cat as a cat in heat, using some clues like the ones showed above (mostly accomplished by just observing the animal’s behavior).
When you already established your cat is in fact in heat (and not sick), try by giving her a warm cushion to stay on. Heat packs are really good and some electric blankets would give a nice, warm cover for our furry friend.
The most important thing to do, if you want to prevent pregnancy, is definitely protection… By isolating the female cat from male cats. Cover and secure your windows, pet doors and any way for your cat to go outside, if you don’t want to get surprises.
There are many substances that can help with the uneasy state of your cat. Some herbal medicines can work in some cats better than others, so you will need to test them before going overboard and buying too much (try small samples and see how it go). Don’t use human solutions here, the dosages can be too high for our little cats.
Catnip is a very unpredictable plant for cats. They can react in various forms to this plant, from being very high (like definitely drugged), being very energetic or being quite aggressive.
If you have test this before, and saw it can actually calm down you cat, you can actually use it in the heat cycles to get some hours of peace. Not permanent, but this “recreational drug for cats” can do wonders in some of them.
And speaking of pheromones, using a product that can shot pheromones to the ambient like Feliway, can calm them down when the heat cycle closes in. Cleaning the areas they pee on (if for some reason, they pee outside of their box) can also tell them they are in a safe place and stop them from doing that again in the same spot.
The love and support you can give them as an owner can also help them for a little while. They need it after all, doesn’t matter the situation.
How Can I Help My Cat In Heat Conclusion
Cats have a very notorious and loud way to make you know: “Hey human! I’m in heat now!”. They would have our attention by rubbing around you and other objects, meowing a lot and trying (unsuccessfully if in the best of your interests) to escape from your home to have fun with other cats.
There are many ways you can help your cat in heat. Temporary ones try to make your little furry friends comfortable during those weird times, that can repeat quite a lot, and you to recover some of your patience from all those meows.
If you want to make more of a permanent change on this heat cycle, spaying your cat to avoid pregnancy and with that some peace of mind. After all, having lots of little kittens to handle because you did not care about those heat cycles, is definitely a big no-no you need to avoid.