Cat Who Very Rarely Goes In Heat - Reason?

[cassiopea]

Hello hello! Many thanks for your time in advance!

I have an 8 year old kitty named Morgana who hardly ever goes in heat. At this moment she probably only ever went in heat 5-6 times in total during her lifetime since maturity. It is also fairly short, maybe only lasting a day or two at most. Started a little later in life, about 1 and a half years old to two years. Altogether, it occurs at most about once a year on average.

I am normally diligent in making sure all my kitties are spayed/neutered and everyone equally gets their vaccinations and checkups. All of my kitties are also full time indoor cats. I've just never went ahead with Morgana getting spayed since it occurs so rarely! I figured it would be OK, save a little time, extra discomfort and money (Spaying is very expensive here, on average $270) for their other needs and my vets were fine with it. There are other risks of course like cancer, but not something crazy desperate that needs to be done right this minute.

A bit of her history:
-She was born an only kitten, her mother from a feral background sadly dying soon after the birth. Unknown ailment, it was sudden. Thus raised by yours truly since a tiny little floof bean.
-She is entirely deaf
-Solid white in colour
-Has a history of having a bit of a delicate disposition, with chest and nose infections where she has been treated with antibiotics/medications by the vet. She is still pretty sensitive to sudden changes in weather, like extreme cold or humidity. Regularly keep on top of it. Presumed virus, while ailments like FIV have been ruled out.
-Has some food allergies

Otherwise, everything else from eyes to toilet activities is healthy and normal. Slender, alert, clever and active too.

Anyhoo, I just simply wanted to ask why it is? Delicate health reasons, genetics, nature protection, missing an ovary, a possible lingering unknown breed or color trait etc? I tried looking it up and inquiring but can never find the answer to that specific curiosity of a very scattered version of a kitty lady moment. Can find every other info but not this. Not quite in the mood as often as others, not entirely infertile either!

Thank you again! I hope it is an appropriate question to this special event!

 

[Dr. Phil Bushby]

Hello hello! Many thanks for your time in advance!

I have an 8 year old kitty named Morgana who hardly ever goes in heat. At this moment she probably only ever went in heat 5-6 times in total during her lifetime since maturity. It is also fairly short, maybe only lasting a day or two at most. Started a little later in life, about 1 and a half years old to two years. Altogether, it occurs at most about once a year on average.

I am normally diligent in making sure all my kitties are spayed/neutered and everyone equally gets their vaccinations and checkups. All of my kitties are also full time indoor cats. I've just never went ahead with Morgana getting spayed since it occurs so rarely! I figured it would be OK, save a little time, extra discomfort and money (Spaying is very expensive here, on average $270) for their other needs and my vets were fine with it. There are other risks of course like cancer, but not something crazy desperate that needs to be done right this minute.

A bit of her history:
-She was born an only kitten, her mother from a feral background sadly dying soon after the birth. Unknown ailment, it was sudden. Thus raised by yours truly since a tiny little floof bean.
-She is entirely deaf
-Solid white in colour
-Has a history of having a bit of a delicate disposition, with chest and nose infections where she has been treated with antibiotics/medications by the vet. She is still pretty sensitive to sudden changes in weather, like extreme cold or humidity. Regularly keep on top of it. Presumed virus, while ailments like FIV have been ruled out.
-Has some food allergies

Otherwise, everything else from eyes to toilet activities is healthy and normal. Slender, alert, clever and active too.

Anyhoo, I just simply wanted to ask why it is? Delicate health reasons, genetics, nature protection, missing an ovary, a possible lingering unknown breed or color trait etc? I tried looking it up and inquiring but can never find the answer to that specific curiosity of a very scattered version of a kitty lady moment. Can find every other info but not this. Not quite in the mood as often as others, not entirely infertile either!

Thank you again! I hope it is an appropriate question to this special event!

This is a difficult one. There are tons of reasons why a cat would not have heat cycles or have infrequent cycles. Where do you live. Estrous cycles in cats are totally dependent on the length of daylight. So if you live somewhere the nights are long and the days are short your cat would have very infrequent heat cycles. Cats can also have "silent heat" cycles. Where they actually are in heat, but show no obviously signs of being in heat (no crying, no behavioral changes etc.). There are several medical conditions that could cause this as well. So the question you need to ask yourself, is does she seem otherwise healthy.

Long-term you probably should have her spayed regardless of the limited heat cycles since incidence of pyometra (uterine infection) can be as high as 24% in older intact cats.

 

[cassiopea]

This is a difficult one. There are tons of reasons why a cat would not have heat cycles or have infrequent cycles. Where do you live. Estrous cycles in cats are totally dependent on the length of daylight. So if you live somewhere the nights are long and the days are short your cat would have very infrequent heat cycles. Cats can also have "silent heat" cycles. Where they actually are in heat, but show no obviously signs of being in heat (no crying, no behavioral changes etc.). There are several medical conditions that could cause this as well. So the question you need to ask yourself, is does she seem otherwise healthy.

Long-term you probably should have her spayed regardless of the limited heat cycles since incidence of pyometra (uterine infection) can be as high as 24% in older intact cats.

I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada - about an hour away from Ottawa. So it can be cold here with longer nights and plenty of snow during the winter, but nothing too crazy compared to a place more northern. When she does go in heat it occurs in the summer, for sure.

According to her vets she seems very well aside from the allergies and mentioned chronic ailments. She has had various blood, poop, eyes and ear gunk tests done. One of the only other options would have been an xray scan or ultrasound, which is $500+. More expensive in some other places.

A silent heat cycle is interesting! I hadn't known of it's existence prior.

She was never entirely affectionate to my other kitties, a fairly solitude temperament girl with a tad bossy side (Unless they snuggle together in the winter) will even smack my neutered boys if they try to touch her or play with her.

Now that you also mention the rate of urinary issues and any unknown concerns, I'll seriously set time to getting her done too. All my beloved kitties I've found and adopted from areas like the streets, a couple with past serious ailments like fleas, eye problems and injuries so I devoted a lot of investment to that as well.

Thank you so much for your time and insight, I really appreciate it!