A Michael Broad Blog
Superfetation occurs when about 10 percent of cats come into heat when pregnant. This results in a second set of eggs being fertilised before the first litter is born. It is a result of the breeding capabilities of the domestic cat. Normally pregnancy suppresses the sexual physiology of the female. However, female cats sometimes …
No, cats do not stay in heat after they get pregnant. The more technical word for “heat” is oestrus (estrus in America) which is the period of sexual receptivity. During oestrus the queen (unspayed female cat) seeks out males and allows mating. Mating is necessary for ovulation to occur in the female cat. This …
Is this female cat’s actions a vestigial female mating behavior? By that I mean an instinctive but not complete form of female cat in heat behavior provoked by her human companion’s friendly advances. I have asked if the cat is unspayed. It is not a full cat-in-heat position but she does turn her back …
The question in the title is a roundabout way of asking if female cats have periods. As female cats come into heat in cycles (the estrus cycle) we have to make sure we understand what a human period (cycle) means in terms of menstruation and ask if cats have the same thing. Women obviously …
When a female cat is ‘in season’ she is ready to mate (in heat) and this readiness is dependent upon the season (i.e. winter, spring, summer and fall). Queens (intact females) vary at which age they first go into heat. Puberty in male and female cats usually starts at between 6-9 months. However, cats …
Because she behaves like a queen towards courtiers, the people who attend the court of a monarch. When a female cat is on heat – a period called ‘estrus’ and the time during which she is receptive – she lords it over the toms who gather around her like a circle of courtiers. They …
The literature that I’m reading provides me with conflicting information. My book on cat health problems (which is the best book on the market1) tells me that the best time to spray a female cat is at 5 to 7 months of age before she goes into her first heat. This implies that female …
Female cats who have not been spayed are fertile and sexually active all their lives. Therefore they do not go through the menopause. That is the short answer. Dr Bruce Fogle makes an interesting point about this. He says that domestic cats compared to their wild card ancestor are living over twice as long …
