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I've been searching this site for this topic and tagged on my question to an old thread but I wasn't getting much response. So, I'm starting a new thread, with more detail.
At first, we were bewildered -- she's never been this loud before! But we soon realized she was exhibiting all the behaviors of a cat in heat. The thing is, she is a year and a half, and spayed when she was 8 months old. I adopted her from a co-worker last summer, and she's never done this during the past few months we had her.
Based on some web research, she could have some reproductive tissues left, releasing hormones. But the strange thing is, why now? She's too old to have just reached sexual maturity, isn't she?
I'd rather not subject her to another surgery. But now I don't know. After three days of this, the loud crying is starting to bother me. She also sprayed in some random areas.
The only thing positive out of this, is that she is extremely docile and non-aggressive. For the very first time, I was able to thoroughly brush her, trim all her nails in one sitting. She squirms but does not try to bite me as before.
Still, the noise and behavior is quite unsettling.
What do you all think the best course of action should be? Let her be, or explorative surgery?
Based on some web research, she could have some reproductive tissues left, releasing hormones. But the strange thing is, why now? She's too old to have just reached sexual maturity, isn't she?
There could be some other reason she's yowling.
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I'd rather not subject her to another surgery. But now I don't know. After three days of this, the loud crying is starting to bother me. She also sprayed in some random areas.
What do you all think the best course of action should be? Let her be, or explorative surgery?
I would go with the exploratory surgery. That's just my opinion.
I think I'd first get her tested for hormone levels. If there's any ovarian tissue left, her estrogen will be higher than normal. Although exploratory surgery is an option, if the potentially remaining tissue is still there, it may not be where it's supposed to be and could be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It is a curiosity why now at a year and a half -- but maybe it's not her first, just her first extreme one perhaps brought on by something in her environment ... any possibility of an intact male cat nearby?
Thanks =^..^= and mawipafl. I'll talk to a vet first, of course, before deciding anything. The fact that the remnant ovarian tissue could be anywhere... that's one big reason I'm hesitant for surgery. On the other hand, she keeps spraying her urine in her favorite spots, including the box where I keep grocery bags... gross! And the noise...
As for any sudden environmental change I can think of, it's just sudden drop of temperature. Of course she's a shelter cat for which I am the second owner before she's even two years old. So, she has been through a lot of changes. However, she struck me as a girl who adapts very quickly... She promptly made herself at home as soon as we released her from the carrier after taking her from her first owner.
There is no other cat (male or female) that she could get in contact as she is strict indoor cat since she arrived at our household. There's one very friendly neighborhood cat, however, that both my husband and I like to pet, and when we come home, our cat sniffs our hands and cloths very intently. I wonder if that cat happens to be a male? Could that kind of secondary transfer of scent stimulate this reaction in my cat?
Thanks =^..^= and mawipafl. I'll talk to a vet first, of course, before deciding anything. The fact that the remnant ovarian tissue could be anywhere... that's one big reason I'm hesitant for surgery.
It's almost always on the ovarian stump as the vets called it back in the 70s. They can usually find it and remove it easily. It's not freely floating around in the body.
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On the other hand, she keeps spraying her urine in her favorite spots, including the box where I keep grocery bags... gross! And the noise...
As for any sudden environmental change I can think of, it's just sudden drop of temperature. Of course she's a shelter cat for which I am the second owner before she's even two years old. So, she has been through a lot of changes. However, she struck me as a girl who adapts very quickly... She promptly made herself at home as soon as we released her from the carrier after taking her from her first owner.
The yowling and spraying make me think it's ovarian tissue.
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There is no other cat (male or female) that she could get in contact as she is strict indoor cat since she arrived at our household. There's one very friendly neighborhood cat, however, that both my husband and I like to pet, and when we come home, our cat sniffs our hands and cloths very intently. I wonder if that cat happens to be a male? Could that kind of secondary transfer of scent stimulate this reaction in my cat?
Thanks =^..^= and mawipafl. I'll talk to a vet first, of course, before deciding anything. The fact that the remnant ovarian tissue could be anywhere... that's one big reason I'm hesitant for surgery. On the other hand, she keeps spraying her urine in her favorite spots, including the box where I keep grocery bags... gross! And the noise...
As for any sudden environmental change I can think of, it's just sudden drop of temperature. Of course she's a shelter cat for which I am the second owner before she's even two years old. So, she has been through a lot of changes. However, she struck me as a girl who adapts very quickly... She promptly made herself at home as soon as we released her from the carrier after taking her from her first owner.
There is no other cat (male or female) that she could get in contact as she is strict indoor cat since she arrived at our household. There's one very friendly neighborhood cat, however, that both my husband and I like to pet, and when we come home, our cat sniffs our hands and cloths very intently. I wonder if that cat happens to be a male? Could that kind of secondary transfer of scent stimulate this reaction in my cat?
Secondary transfer of his scent... probably not. But, if that outside cat is an intact male and is doing any spraying/marking around the outside of your home, and your cat's spay wasn't complete as you suspect, then that could be the cause of her behavior. You need to find out if the outside male has been neutered and if he's marking the area. If so, you need to deal with that situation first, and see if it helps your problem.
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I once had a cat that exhibited that behavior a while after she had been spayed. It turned out that she had a third ovary they did not see. It was removed for free.
Agreeing with catdad7x - secondary transfer of scent probably not. But the outside presence of an intact male, even when a person's female cat(s) are indoors only, can cause undesirable behaviors in the indoor cat(s). My cats are indoors-only, but one of them (well, probably more than one) started spraying in corners, and it turns out that it was because there was an outdoor Tom wandering about and spraying our bushes. We never smelled it and didn't know until we saw him do it, and then the light dawned.
However, a wandering outside Tom doesn't explain why your spayed female is in heat (just maybe the intensity of it), and like other posters, it does sound like ovarian tissue left behind. Curious about that, I poked around the 'net, and I'm in no way an expert, but logic tells me that disconnected floating-anywhere tissue wouldn't be producing hormones to instigate estrus. If it is tissue left behind, I'm believing it would be where it's supposed to be, and it's worth talking to the vet about it.
A month later, she has not exhibited those behaviors again (crossing my fingers.) If it was true estrus, the cycle would have repeated by now. I haven't contacted a vet at the time because I was too busy. I will if it happens again, but so far, she's been... normal.
But I think some of the extreme affectionate behaviors remained somehow. She started snuggling with me in the bed whenever I'm trying to go to sleep. She's tolerating being held or petted a lot more than before. Maybe it's purely that she's liking me more. I don't know. It's a lovely feeling anyhow.
Even now, she climbed up on my back (I'm lying on my stomach) and just chilling there. Awww...
Thanks for the update! Maybe it was simply passing from being a "teenager" to being a "young adult". Who knows, but the outcome that she's a snuggler is fabulous!
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