Is your cat behaving “weird”? Maybe she is in heat!

Some first-time pet owners are surprised by “weird” behavior of their female cats and many are unsure how to read the signs that show that the animal is in heat for the first time.

Below are some of the symptoms that your animal will display when in heat:

The average female cat experiences the first heat cycle around 6 months of age, some even earlier. Heat cycles last about 7 - 10 days, or longer. The frequency of heat cycles may vary. In some cats it occurs every 2 - 3 weeks so that it seems to the owner that “it never stops”. Generally cats are experiencing heat cycles between February - November/December.

If a cat is bred, the heat cycle lasts no longer than 4 days. The heat cycle will occur again between 1 - 6 weeks after giving birth to kittens.

Cats do not mate outside their heat cycle. For a cat that is bred to show aggression towards the male after mating is normal.

Some veterinarians say that cats are in pain while being in heat, some are not so sure about it. All of them - and the cat owner agree though that this is a very stressful, unpleasant time for your cat.

If you intend to breed your animal but think it’s not the right time yet, you can get prescription medicine from your veterinarian to delay/suppress heat cycles. Otherwise, especially for cats that show multiple signs and are in heat quite often, do consider spaying the animal.

Due to hormonal changes the animal might gain weight (increased appetite) after being spayed. This also applies for males. Adjusting the animal’s diet can control the weight gain to a certain degree. Frequent playing with the animal, animating it to exercise more, will also help.