Is your queen cat on heat?

One lady rushed to the clinic one morning complaining that her cat was becoming restless and acting strangely for 5 days before she came. She said the cat seems not to be interested to eat like she normally does coupled with the restlessness and excessive noise making. She complained that the whole display has been disturbing them and they wanted to have her checked for any problems or infections.

We did our checks and her parameters were all normal. I tried to inquire further on the nature of the display and restlessness. Does she try to leave the house? Does she display any form of pose? How does the noise she makes sound like? And after she furnished me with all the information I needed, I chuckled and told her that her cat is on heat and calling for a male.

The lady shouted “NO! We don’t want kittens please! We are okay with only her!”

The lady in the story above never kept cats before. She and her family only inherited the cat when the cat strolled into their home and refused to go back. They tried to find the owner of the cat (she was a kitten then) to no avail so they decided to keep her. She was a lovely little kitten then so they had compassion on her and took care of her.

What are the signs your cat may be on heat?

·         When you female cat about 6 months and above is showing too much affection to you and anybody by rubbing their body on yours unusually and on other objects and furniture then she might be on heat.

·         When the cat starts becoming unusually restless and trying to leave the house so desperately.

·         When your cat starts to make some “meow” sound or “howling” as if she is going to talking like a human. She is probably calling out for a ready male cat to come for mating.

·         When your cat pose –both forelimbs flat on the flour with extended tail upwards - especially when touched by the tail then she is most likely on heat. (She is actually posing for mating).

·         Your cat licking her genitals more frequently can be a sign of heat.

·         She might spray urine on vertical objects around the house instead of her litter box. This is a way to mark the environment and spread pheromones to attract the male cat.

·         When your cat moves her tail to one side especially when touched at the back side. (She is trying to give a male easy access for mating).

In conclusion, detecting heat in a queen cat or female cat is mostly by observing the behavior unlike in dogs where you can observe bleeding from the vulva. If your queen cat shows all the signs above or most of them, then she might be on heat.