so far we have only had male cats, three males. For them, the issue of sexual maturity was not really a problem. The hangovers were all neutered with about 9 months, so they didn’t even start marking.
Since we have now with Josie for the first time a female cat with us, it was of course clear to us that everything will be different when it comes to sexual maturity.
What happens during in heat?
Before we adopted our cat girl Josie, we also dealt intensively with the topic of in heat. The sexual maturity depends on the breed of the cats and can begin from 6 – 12 month of life. This is often the case with breed cats later, as they usually take longer before they are fully grown.
The in heat, during which the cat is ready to be conception, takes place in various phases, in which the hormone level slowly rises and falls off again at the end. In the first phase it is often the case that the cat seeks closeness and is very needy for cuddly. From this point on, eating becomes a side issue.
In the second phase, things get serious. The cat may get very loud and calls for hangovers to mate. It will also begin to mark with the head and possibly also with urine. At that time, the typical in heat around on the floor occurs. The cat then also presents its back part to us thus signals its willingness to mate. This is also the most strenuous phase for the cat owner.
In the third phase, hormone levels slowly decrease and in heat symptoms decrease slowly. The cat becomes calmer again and approaches the normal state.
The in heat process usually lasts a week in which the female cat goes through the three phases. If the cat runs away in time, it will be covered with high probability and also become pregnant.
How often does a cat roll?
Normally cats roll twice a year. In spring and autumn. If there is no fertilization by a hangover, the in heat cycle is often repeated after 9 days. If the cat is not covered even then, there can be a permanent in heat in which the in heat cycle is constantly repeated. Then, in the worst case, you have a cat that rolls around every six weeks.
If you don’t want to breed with your cat, you should have it neutered in time. The in heat ness is extreme stress for a cat and since it hardly eats in time, it also takes a lot of weight. By castration you can redeem your cat from it. At the same time, it also prevents various diseases.
What was Josie’s roll?
We didn’t really notice the beginning, the first phase of in heat. It wasn’t until she started shouting too loudly and in heat on the floor that it was clear to us that Josie had become in heat. At that time Josie was already 11 months old, which is normal with a BKH cat, since they are only fully grown at about two years old.
With Josie we could see all the behaviors of in heat cats. Her shouting was especially strong when our cat grandpa Emil came in from outside. He was really harassed by her. Since Emil is neutered, he didn’t know what Josie wanted from him and regularly fled.
Josie’s shouting was very annoying, so we tried to distract her and played with her and caressed her a lot. Luna was also able to distract her from playing. But all in all, this time was very exhausting for everyone. And we were happy when it was over and Josie was back to normal. We immediately arranged a catration appointment for Josie at the vet in order to redeem the little one from it.
Josie’s castration
We wanted Josie to at least go through a roll so that she would not be held back in her development and growth. The Josie as a cat is mainly kept in the apartment, this is also no problem. In free-range cats, early castration is also often recommended to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Apart from the fact that Josie doesn’t like driving at all, the actual castration was relatively unproblematic for her. I took her to the vet in the morning and picked her up after a few hours. She then slept and woke up at home. She was a bit shaky for a few more hours, but then quickly recovered. The next day, everyone was like usual.
After 10 days we were still pulling the strings, which took only seconds. The abdominal wound has grown very well, there is hardly anything left to see. Only the belly is of course still bare.
Conclusion
In heat is a really stressful thing for a female cat. The innate instinct or mating instinct is very strong and the cat only wants one more to mate.
In the case of domestic cats, which are also free-range, an early castration is definitely appropriate and one saves the cat and of course also an unwanted pregnancy.
We went through the in heat with our Josie only to give her the opportunity to grow to her full size. The breeder therefore advised us to let Josie go through at least a roll. In any case, we are glad that it is over and that Josie is back as before. However, the same procedure is ahead of us again with Luna.