No, properly spayed cats do not go into heat and do not have the urge to mate. The surgery is called ovariohysterectomy. The surgery removes the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. The spaying operation prevents the queen from coming into oestrous (estrus). Because it prevents the queen coming into oestrous it prevents the oestrous cycle and the oestrous cycle is better known as the heat cycle. The operation eliminates the problems of cystic ovaries, false pregnancies, irregular heat cycles, frequency of breast tumours and uterine infections.
Going into heat after the operation
My research indicates that sometimes the spaying operation may not have been completed properly. Perhaps a veterinarian did not completely remove the ovaries. This may result in a female cat going into heat after the ovariohysterectomy.
Also, if the operation is carried out when a cat is in heat it will not stop the cycle; the cycle will complete. An older female cat, spayed after she has experienced several litters may go into heat as a learned behaviour. However, this would appear to be a false form of behaviour. It would not be oestrous in a functional sense. Another possibility is that if a spayed cat appears to have gone into heat it may be that she is acting “weirdly” because of something she has ingested such as medicines or catnip. It is suggested that under these circumstances she may be searching for something or wanting something. This is a reference to the behaviour female cat in heat when they look as if they are searching for something i.e. a mate.
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Spaying needs to be done
In the world that humans have created female cats need to be spayed and tom cats need to be neutered to keep down numbers. Some cat owners think that their female cat needs to have a litter of kittens before they are a rounded and complete individual. They do not need to have kittens to be psychologically fulfilled. If these people realised that it would resolve a lot of the unwanted cat population problems. The spaying operation does not change a female cat’s personality except perhaps to improve it by making her less irritable at certain times. Veterinarians would probably universally say that a spayed female is a better cat companion because she can focus on her human caretaker exclusively.
Some people might believe that spaying a female cat makes them lazy and fat. It may slow down their metabolism. However, it does come down to feeding your cat less and encouraging exercise. Also a queen is usually spayed when she enters adulthood which is when she needs to come off a high-calorie kitten food. If she doesn’t she may put on weight and the cat owner may blame the surgery. The best time to spay female is at 5 to 7 months of age before she goes into her first heat.
Sources: Care.com, VCA Hospitals, Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handook.
My cat is spayed but she is in heat 2 times now.