How To Tell If Your Female Cat Is In Heat...

Female cats that are not spayed will eventually come into heat (technically called Oestrus), and the signs are unambiguous, once you know what to look for.

Here are some behavioral symptoms to watch for if you suspect your diva is in heat.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Varies

Here's How:

1. Immediately preceding oestrus, your female cat may become

unusually affectionate by sidling up to stuffed toys, other cats

and /or her favorite human.

2. She may spend excessive time licking her genital area.

Note: Lacking the other behavioral traits or urinary tract

disorder, which can be serious if not treated promptly.

3. The Queen (name for female cats of breeding age) will vocalize loudly.

4. She will assume a mating position: Head down, forelegs bent,

rear quarters raise to expose the position with the tail raise and held

to the side of the body. Her rear legs will tread rhythmically.

5. Queenie may also spray vertical surfaces with a strongly

scented fluid. She will accomplish this by backing up to the

surface and raising her tail high. The tail may quiver, and she may perform the rhythmic treading described in step four.

6. If your female cat does not mate, she will go into oestrus as

often as every two to three weeks, for several months each year,

until she either mates or is spayed.

Tips:

1. Unless she is a qualified pedigreed breeder, your female cat should

be sprayed. It will not only cease the uncomfortable heat

cycles, but prevent certain serious medical problems.

2. Your veterinarian may be able to give your female cat hormones

to stop the oestrus, if spaying is not immediately possible.

2. Female cats as young as four months can go into oestrus.