question: is my cat in heat?

just wondering if i can get some advice. i will be taking cat to vet
on tuesday (tomorrow)
as today is a public holiday. but i thought i would post here to get
some opinions in the meanwihle.

i'm not sure if my cat is in heat or not. here's the background: i
have just adopted her 7 days ago, the lady
she was with had her for about 8 months and said she never went into
heat the whole time she was with her,
and she had been going out (outdoor/indoor cat) frequently. we both
then assumed she must
have been sterilised. on the first day i got her i took her for a vet
checkup and the vet said that she
couldn't find any stitches so she must not be sterlised and for me to
make an appointment. i didn
t at the time because i was still convinced she had been sterlised. my
undestanding was that cats
who weren't sterilised and who were outdoor cats were very likely to
become pregnant very easily
(the lady i adopted from lives in a high cat traffic area, she has 8
strays that she has adopted from
the streets). also, i've read that if a cat doesn't get pregnant,
she's just going to keep going into
heat all the time. which has not been the case, according to the lady
i adopted from.

however yesterday arwen started displaying behaviour that *might*
showshes in heat, but i've never
seen a cat in heat first hand before so i'm not sure. shes rolled
around on the floor, and went into
bouts of very loud meowing. after the rolling, i got worried and went
to look up cat behaviour on the internet and that's when it occurred
to me she might be in heat. the thing is, i don't see any white
discharge (from what i've read that's a
symptom) and while there is increased appetite and a lot of face
rubbing on furniture (also symptoms,
based on what i've read online), there is no spraying, and the loud
meowing isn't constant. it goes for
about 5-10 minutes, and the rest of the time she's quiet for a long
time, then starts up again for another
short period. the meowing is like a very loud
rrrooowrrrrooowrrrrroow, almost a yowl (but not a howl).
there's also a lot of face rubbing - but she has done that since she
got here, we thought she was trying
to mark her territory. in fact, its really rather peaceful except
for these occasional short spurts. this whole day from morning to
afternoon she has been very quiet
and sleeping. from what i've read its constant meowing that drives
owners crazy (its just not very constant
from i can tell), cat trying to escape,etc. in fact, i'm torn between

here's my question: is she ill? or is it possible she really is not
sterilised and has gone not being in heat for so
long (8 months plus) and is in heat now? or has she always been in and
out of heat, but because her
symptoms are "quieter" the lady i adopted from missed them (i really
think this is unlikely)?
other than the meowing and face rubbing, a rather big appetite, and
the sudden onset of floor
rolling (this happened once last night, and has not happened once the
whole of today), she seems to be fine.
i've only had her seven days so i don't know the fine points of
abnormal behaviour for her though. if she is
in heat, my husband and i are wondering if she has been in heat these
whole 7 days (face rubbing and
occasional loud meowing was there the moment she got here, but rolling
was yesterday only) and we didn't
realize it. is there such thing as cats having a "quiet" heat?

anyway, tomorrow we are taking her to have her eye looked at again
(infection, had received ointment but not improving) and sterilised if
heat is confirmed.

"RW" wrote in message
om...
just wondering if i can get some advice. i will be taking cat to vet
on tuesday (tomorrow)
as today is a public holiday. but i thought i would post here to get
some opinions in the meanwihle.

i'm not sure if my cat is in heat or not. here's the background: i
have just adopted her 7 days ago, the lady
she was with had her for about 8 months and said she never went into
heat the whole time she was with her,
and she had been going out (outdoor/indoor cat) frequently. we both
then assumed she must
have been sterilised. on the first day i got her i took her for a
vet
checkup and the vet said that she
couldn't find any stitches so she must not be sterlised and for me
to
make an appointment. i didn
t at the time because i was still convinced she had been sterlised.
my
undestanding was that cats
who weren't sterilised and who were outdoor cats were very likely to
become pregnant very easily
(the lady i adopted from lives in a high cat traffic area, she has 8
strays that she has adopted from
the streets). also, i've read that if a cat doesn't get pregnant,
she's just going to keep going into
heat all the time. which has not been the case, according to the
lady
i adopted from.

Hi ,
Have you any idea how old the cat is ?
My cat Kim was a stray and in a bad way when I adopted her and the
vet said she was about 18 months . She couldn't find a scar from
spaying and suggested she be spayed straight away, but as she was in
poor condition I said no. She also said if the Kim wasn't previously
spayed she would more than likely be pregnant or become pregnant, as
this was in July /August . She never became pregnant and I assume she
was spayed as it's rare for cats to be infertile.
Alison

"RW" wrote in message
om...
just wondering if i can get some advice. i will be taking cat to vet
on tuesday (tomorrow)
as today is a public holiday. but i thought i would post here to get
some opinions in the meanwihle.

i'm not sure if my cat is in heat or not. here's the background: i
have just adopted her 7 days ago, the lady
she was with had her for about 8 months and said she never went into
heat the whole time she was with her,
and she had been going out (outdoor/indoor cat) frequently. we both
then assumed she must
have been sterilised. on the first day i got her i took her for a
vet
checkup and the vet said that she
couldn't find any stitches so she must not be sterlised and for me
to
make an appointment. i didn
t at the time because i was still convinced she had been sterlised.
my
undestanding was that cats
who weren't sterilised and who were outdoor cats were very likely to
become pregnant very easily
(the lady i adopted from lives in a high cat traffic area, she has 8
strays that she has adopted from
the streets). also, i've read that if a cat doesn't get pregnant,
she's just going to keep going into
heat all the time. which has not been the case, according to the
lady
i adopted from.

Hi ,
Have you any idea how old the cat is ?
My cat Kim was a stray and in a bad way when I adopted her and the
vet said she was about 18 months . She couldn't find a scar from
spaying and suggested she be spayed straight away, but as she was in
poor condition I said no. She also said if the Kim wasn't previously
spayed she would more than likely be pregnant or become pregnant, as
this was in July /August . She never became pregnant and I assume she
was spayed as it's rare for cats to be infertile.
Alison

"RW" wrote in message
om...

I don't think they can spay here WHILE she is in heat, but I might be
wrong. You might have to just ride this one out and get her spayed
when it is over, but the vet will tell you.

As for telling when she is in heat, it is hard to miss. Rolling
around, yowling, sticking her little butt up in the air and making
little Zsa Zsa Gabor faces at you like "Oooo baby, give it to me" is
what my girl used to do.

"RW" wrote in message
om...

I don't think they can spay here WHILE she is in heat, but I might be
wrong. You might have to just ride this one out and get her spayed
when it is over, but the vet will tell you.

As for telling when she is in heat, it is hard to miss. Rolling
around, yowling, sticking her little butt up in the air and making
little Zsa Zsa Gabor faces at you like "Oooo baby, give it to me" is
what my girl used to do.

Alison" wrote:

Hi ,
Have you any idea how old the cat is ?
My cat Kim was a stray and in a bad way when I adopted her and the
vet said she was about 18 months . She couldn't find a scar from
spaying and suggested she be spayed straight away, but as she was in
poor condition I said no. She also said if the Kim wasn't previously
spayed she would more than likely be pregnant or become pregnant, as
this was in July /August . She never became pregnant and I assume she
was spayed as it's rare for cats to be infertile.

We adopted a stray cat estimated to be about two years old. She was so
emaciated I thought she may have just had kittens somewhere; however when the
vet examined her he said he didn't think she had ever been pregnant. He also
said she had not been spayed; we had her spayed a few days later so obviously
they would have discovered during surgery if she had not been spayed.

It is still a mystery to me how a cat could have been wandering around outdoors
(by her condition she had obviously been outdoors for a while, and was probably
an indoor/outdoor cat) for a long time, reach the age of two or so, be unspayed
and never become pregnant. Although you say infertility is rare, does it sound
as though this may have been the case here?

Alison" wrote:

Hi ,
Have you any idea how old the cat is ?
My cat Kim was a stray and in a bad way when I adopted her and the
vet said she was about 18 months . She couldn't find a scar from
spaying and suggested she be spayed straight away, but as she was in
poor condition I said no. She also said if the Kim wasn't previously
spayed she would more than likely be pregnant or become pregnant, as
this was in July /August . She never became pregnant and I assume she
was spayed as it's rare for cats to be infertile.

We adopted a stray cat estimated to be about two years old. She was so
emaciated I thought she may have just had kittens somewhere; however when the
vet examined her he said he didn't think she had ever been pregnant. He also
said she had not been spayed; we had her spayed a few days later so obviously
they would have discovered during surgery if she had not been spayed.

It is still a mystery to me how a cat could have been wandering around outdoors
(by her condition she had obviously been outdoors for a while, and was probably
an indoor/outdoor cat) for a long time, reach the age of two or so, be unspayed
and never become pregnant. Although you say infertility is rare, does it sound
as though this may have been the case here?

"Mary" wrote in message .com...
"RW" wrote in message
om...

I don't think they can spay here WHILE she is in heat, but I might be
wrong. You might have to just ride this one out and get her spayed
when it is over, but the vet will tell you.

As for telling when she is in heat, it is hard to miss. Rolling
around, yowling, sticking her little butt up in the air and making
little Zsa Zsa Gabor faces at you like "Oooo baby, give it to me" is
what my girl used to do.


OK i'm going to vet in an hour's time, but as an update, she acted
perfectly normal the whole of yesterday. i.e. NO meowing at all, no
rolling (this means the rolling only happened once, the night before),
no treading, raised butt. in fact, yesterday she was the *quietest*
she has been in the whole 7 (now 8) days she has been here! also she
seems to have eaten less.. so maybe she is ill now... she really can't
possibly be in heat now (i think, but i'm quite sure), as i'm looking
at her. she's just perfectly calm, walking around the apartment.

to those who asked how old she is, at the first vet appointment the
vet estimated that she could be up to 3 years old. based on her teeth
condition (lack of plaque) vet said she could be about 1 year, but
because of her temperament (calm, mature) she just seemed like an
older cat to the vet.

"Mary" wrote in message .com...
"RW" wrote in message
om...

I don't think they can spay here WHILE she is in heat, but I might be
wrong. You might have to just ride this one out and get her spayed
when it is over, but the vet will tell you.

As for telling when she is in heat, it is hard to miss. Rolling
around, yowling, sticking her little butt up in the air and making
little Zsa Zsa Gabor faces at you like "Oooo baby, give it to me" is
what my girl used to do.


OK i'm going to vet in an hour's time, but as an update, she acted
perfectly normal the whole of yesterday. i.e. NO meowing at all, no
rolling (this means the rolling only happened once, the night before),
no treading, raised butt. in fact, yesterday she was the *quietest*
she has been in the whole 7 (now 8) days she has been here! also she
seems to have eaten less.. so maybe she is ill now... she really can't
possibly be in heat now (i think, but i'm quite sure), as i'm looking
at her. she's just perfectly calm, walking around the apartment.

to those who asked how old she is, at the first vet appointment the
vet estimated that she could be up to 3 years old. based on her teeth
condition (lack of plaque) vet said she could be about 1 year, but
because of her temperament (calm, mature) she just seemed like an
older cat to the vet.

"RW" wrote in message
om...
"Mary" wrote in message
.com...
"RW" wrote in message
om...


OK i'm going to vet in an hour's time, but as an update, she acted
perfectly normal the whole of yesterday. i.e. NO meowing at all, no
rolling (this means the rolling only happened once, the night
before),
no treading, raised butt. in fact, yesterday she was the *quietest*
she has been in the whole 7 (now 8) days she has been here! also she
seems to have eaten less.. so maybe she is ill now...

oh gosh I hope not.

she really can't
possibly be in heat now (i think, but i'm quite sure), as i'm
looking
at her. she's just perfectly calm, walking around the apartment.

to those who asked how old she is, at the first vet appointment the
vet estimated that she could be up to 3 years old. based on her
teeth
condition (lack of plaque) vet said she could be about 1 year, but
because of her temperament (calm, mature) she just seemed like an
older cat to the vet.

Please let us know how it goes.