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I'm cat-sitting for some friends while they search for an apartment. Their kitten is staying at my place and integrated with my cats in only four days. (She's a junior diplomat, that one.)
Zuzu is a small, slender tabby and white DSH; her owners haven't yet had the 9-month-old kitten spayed, though they intend to do so as soon as they can. She went into heat a few days after I started caring for her. Her owners left her at my house and have visited her twice since then, and when I asked, they told me her first heat had been nearly silent--she'd just become a little more cuddly.
Well, now she's in heat good and proper, yowling and sticking her butt in the air, uncomfortable and constantly looking for something. Her appetite is off--she doesn't eat much, though she drinks enough water. I don't know if she knows she's looking for a tomcat, but she's definitely uncomfortable. She rolls around on the ground, rubbing against everything; she can't settle into a lap because she just reflexively goes into the "I want to mate" pose whenever anybody touches her. She seems confused and lost more than anything else, though she can be nicely distracted by a laser toy for a little while.
And, yes, I am keeping all windows and doors firmly shut. I have no doubt she would claw her way through a window screen if there were a tom on the other side.
I'm compiling a list of low-cost spay/neuter places here, since they're new to the area. Other than that... Is there anything I can do to help this kitten? She's in heat, she obviously hates it, and there's not much we can do but just wait it out and get her spayed as soon as possible.
I thought I'd ask here because you guys are breeding cats and obviously do need to deal with cats in heat. I've never really done it, myself, because I just always had female cats spayed before they had a chance to really start cycling. But is there anything you can do to make heat cycles a little easier on a kitten? She will start eating properly again when it ends, won't she?
Zuzu is a small, slender tabby and white DSH; her owners haven't yet had the 9-month-old kitten spayed, though they intend to do so as soon as they can. She went into heat a few days after I started caring for her. Her owners left her at my house and have visited her twice since then, and when I asked, they told me her first heat had been nearly silent--she'd just become a little more cuddly.
Well, now she's in heat good and proper, yowling and sticking her butt in the air, uncomfortable and constantly looking for something. Her appetite is off--she doesn't eat much, though she drinks enough water. I don't know if she knows she's looking for a tomcat, but she's definitely uncomfortable. She rolls around on the ground, rubbing against everything; she can't settle into a lap because she just reflexively goes into the "I want to mate" pose whenever anybody touches her. She seems confused and lost more than anything else, though she can be nicely distracted by a laser toy for a little while.
And, yes, I am keeping all windows and doors firmly shut. I have no doubt she would claw her way through a window screen if there were a tom on the other side.
I'm compiling a list of low-cost spay/neuter places here, since they're new to the area. Other than that... Is there anything I can do to help this kitten? She's in heat, she obviously hates it, and there's not much we can do but just wait it out and get her spayed as soon as possible.
I thought I'd ask here because you guys are breeding cats and obviously do need to deal with cats in heat. I've never really done it, myself, because I just always had female cats spayed before they had a chance to really start cycling. But is there anything you can do to make heat cycles a little easier on a kitten? She will start eating properly again when it ends, won't she?
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