Mother Cat Questions

"Orchid" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:58:32 GMT, "Elle"
wrote:


Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are
spayed.

Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and
'neuter' is the unisex term. Male humans just tend to be more
comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'.



Heh.

"Orchid" wrote
On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:58:32 GMT, "Elle"
wrote:


Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are
spayed.

Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and
'neuter' is the unisex term.

You're right.

I beg your pardon, Phil.

Orchid wrote:
On Tue, 10 May 2005 14:58:32 GMT, "Elle"
wrote:


Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are
spayed.

Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and
'neuter' is the unisex term. Male humans just tend to be more
comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'.

Orchid

Similar to middle aged womens' sensitivity to hearing the word "hysteria" in
the context of "hysterectomy" from a man. ;^)

Orchid wrote:
Actually, males are castrated, females are spayed, and
'neuter' is the unisex term. Male humans just tend to be more
comfortable with 'neuter' than 'castrate'.


Orchid

I remember a Far Side cartoon, a dog is in the car leaving the drive
with his daddy.

As they are pulling off the dog in the car is teasing his neighbor dog,
saying...haha Biff, I'm going to get t u t o r e d , haha!

"Elle" wrote in message
k.net...
"Phil P." wrote
E wrote
snip for brevity
Is there any chance she could have become pregnant in the (I estimate)
six
weeks or so she was nursing her kittens?


Queens can go into estrus anytime between 2 to 8 weeks (avg ~4 wks) from
when she stops lactating and weaning. If she was nursing her kittens
for
6
weeks, I don't think she got pregnant again-- however, it is possible.
If
I
were you, I'd get her neutered very soon and keep her indoors and away
from
intact males until she's neutered.

Thanks, Barry and Phil.

From this cat's antics the last two nights, I think she may very well be
in
heat. But I am kinda clueless on exactly what "in heat" ("in estrus")
means,
other than the cat is looking to get pregnant, so I have to read more.

Estrus- is the actual breeding period when the queen is sexually receptive,
attracts males and allows males to mount. She displays very affectionate
behavior-- rubbing her head and neck against everything in sight,
vocalizing, rolling over on her back and wiggling-- and hunching on her
elbows and raising the pelvis when her back and base of the tail are
stroked. Queens kept indoors under artifical light can cycle (go into
estrus) all year round.

Proestrus- which preceeds estrus, the female will attract males but won't
let them mount. Very similar behavior as estrus but not as intense.

Diestrus- is a short period of sexual inactivity and normal behavior
between two estrus periods. This stage can fool owners into thinking their
cat has entered anestrus..

Anestrus- is the end of the mating and reproduction period. The queen
doesn't attract males and her behavior returns to normal. Its very
difficult to tell the difference between a queen in anestrus and one that
has been neutered without an echo or surgery.


Phil, you mean "spayed," right? Male cats are neutered. Females are
spayed.


Actually, neuter and castrate apply to both sexes- can mean to remove the
ovaries or the testicles.

If you want to be specific, neutering of either sex is called 'gonadectomy'.
'Orchidectomy' or 'orchiectomy' is specific for males; 'ovariectomy' or
'oophorectomy' (removal of the ovaries) and 'hysterectomy' (removal of
uterus), and 'ovariohysterectomy' (removal of the ovaries and uterus) is
specific for females.

I'm so used to hearing "neuter" for both sexes that I rarely use "spay"-
even though "spay & neuter" are the simplest and least confusing terms (one
of the drawbacks of having a retired vet professor for a vet).


I'll talk to the Rescue Org and see what they think about the chances of
her
being pregnant now, as they know a bit more about where she's been
recently.

I seriously doubt she is pregnant again if she's been nursing her kits for
the six weeks.

Best of luck,

Phil