Spayed cat in heat? (Formerly the Feline Cystitis thread!)

loveisdivine

HI,

Our cat Ripley has been diagnosed with stress related cystitis. She has been put on Metacam once a day for 5 days and also Cystaid for a week.

Obviously we are trying to help her stay calm and relaxed, we have 2 feliway diffusers in the house and I have the spray which I sometimes mist around the room.

She is somewhat better after starting the meds yesterday, but she is still clearly in some discomfort, anyone have any tips of stuff we can do to try and ease the discomfort? Would a heat pad perhaps help? She's very restless during the day but thankfully last night she actually slept properly for the first time in 2 weeks!

Alun

It should settle down quite quickly once the Metacam starts working in my experience.

If she's prone to it, then it might be a good idea to keep her on the Cystaid permanently. It's not a medicine as such, and can do them no harm if taken long term, but if you do do that, buy it over the Internet from VetUK or some similar site, much, much cheaper than the vet. We had to do that with one of our cats.

SillyMangoX

My Dude is prone to cystitis too because of being incontinant, for a while it was down to stress as well. I found daily metacam at the first sign of discomfort, making sure he drinks plenty (adding water to wet food, using the water fountain and providing cat milk) helped it clear faster, and I used pet remedy rather than feliway. It's based on herbs like valerian and found waaaay more of an immediate effect. I had the plug in diffuser plugged in beside me and even found myself getting more chilled out

loveisdivine

If I get the rescue remedy spray, do you think it will be ok to use it in the same room as the flyway diffuser or will it be too much? I'm cautious of removing the flyway just incase it makes things worse, but I'd like to try the pet remedy too.

Good idea with the cat milk, I wouldn't usually bother with it but it could be great for getting extra fluids into her.

SillyMangoX

loveisdivine wrote: »

If I get the rescue remedy spray, do you think it will be ok to use it in the same room as the flyway diffuser or will it be too much? I'm cautious of removing the flyway just incase it makes things worse, but I'd like to try the pet remedy too.

Good idea with the cat milk, I wouldn't usually bother with it but it could be great for getting extra fluids into her.

I wouldn't say it would do any harm, I put the spray on their beds in the sitting room and they're glued to them for the night! Also use it in carriers and crates when we're going to shows and it makes the whole thing much less stressful. They're based on different ingredients so I can't see using the two doing much harm!

loveisdivine

Boy we are really struggling. She's been up since 1am yowling.

I'm gonna ring the vet today as her appetite has practically doubled since starting the mess and she is being weirdly affectionate. More so than she's ever been in her life. Rubbing on us, rolling onto her back when we stroke her. It's just odd.

Couldn't get the pet remedy spray last night and no joy getting her to drink the cat milk so far.

loveisdivine

Ok, are we going crazy or does anyone else think this looks like she's presenting?



I'm starting to wonder if this is some kind of false heat. She was spayed 5 months ago.

loveisdivine

Here's another video I just took, it shows the behaviour much better.

She is rubbing against literally everything and rolling around with her belly up. Every time you touch her she sticks her bum up.

https://vimeo.com/161002671

janmaree

I know it's very rare but I have heard of female cats having to be spayed again. I can't give you details but if you take her back to the Vet and show him your recordings, he will be able to sort it out. Good luck.

SillyMangoX

I used to think peach was always coming into false heats as she used to meow around the place, presenting at us, rolling around etc. Turns out it was her anal glands! Might be worth looking into?

Alun

Both of ours were like that for a couple of years after they were spayed. It wore off in time though.

loveisdivine

She had her anal glands emptied last week, before the cystitis diagnosis.

We took her back to the vets on Friday and they kept her in over the weekend. They called on Saturday to say they had noticed she had some back pain. Which is odd because we hadn't noticed anything like that.

They're not convinced about her being in heat.

I've to ring this morning for an update.

It's really confusing and stressful at the minute because nobody can seem to put their finger on what's actually wrong.

Monday it was anal glands, Wednesday it was cystitis, Saturday it's back pain. God knows what it will be when I ring this morning.

loveisdivine

OK, spoke to the vet.

They are quite concerned about the back pain. Apparently she hasn't responded well to the anti-inflammatory or pain relief and she is still in quite a bit of pain in her lumbar area.

So she's getting a FeLV & FIV test, after that she will be X-Ray'd and then if nothing comes from those they will do a test for toxoplasmosis.

She won't be coming home today anyway

janmaree

It's very difficult for you, I know and my heart goes out to you. At least she's in the right hands and they are obviously being very thorough. I wish you and Ripley all the luck in the world and I hope that you'll be back with the "all clear" very soon. J.

loveisdivine

We just want our happy, crazy, meowing cat back.

loveisdivine

Just to update you, Ripley has been home with us since Tuesday. She is much better No yowling at all, she's calm and happy in herself. She's also back to sleeping at night which is brilliant! She's improving everyday.

No more problems with the litter tray or spraying either which is good.

She's on antibiotics at the minute, as they suspect it's toxoplasmosis. Should get the results of the test today or tomorrow to confirm either way.

I'm not totally convinced yet that she wasn't in heat. We are still keeping the diary and it will be interesting to see what happens in a couple of weeks time, particularly if the toxo test is negative.

But for the meantime things are good

loveisdivine

I know at this point it's basically me just updating this thread, but I'm gonna keep doing it!

The toxo test came back normal so she doesn't have it. So basically after nearly €600 worth of vet fee's we still have no idea what's going on.

She started to get a little restless and slightly more vocal over the weekend. She woke us up at 1 am and 3 am on Saturday and Sunday night meowing. It wasn't the ridiculously loud yowling though.

I'm still of the opinion that this could be Ovarian Remnant Syndrome and to be honest, I'm fully expecting her behaviour to become worse over the next week and then for the full on "in heat" behaviours to start up again, like the presenting and spraying.

I've left a message with the vet to give me a call as I want to at least discuss the possibility of it again. I wan't to know that if what I have described above does happen, then they will at least explore the idea. They dismissed it quite easily this time round, but after so many tests and x-rays etc that have all come back negative, I think it's the most sensible course of action.

SillyMangoX

Do they happen to be the same vets that spayed her? Because I've heard of vets who just dismiss it because they know they can't have done wrong in their own mind - might be worth a second opinion?

loveisdivine

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Do they happen to be the same vets that spayed her? Because I've heard of vets who just dismiss it because they know they can't have done wrong in their own mind - might be worth a second opinion?

Yes they are. I'd like to think they wouldn't do that as they are a good vets with a very good reputation, but obviously it can happen.

Part of the reason I want to have a quick chat with the vet again is to judge her reaction to it.

I've also already looked for a place I can take her for a second opinion if the symptoms persist and the current vets won't investigate it more.

It's so frustrating, we feel like we're just waiting now to see if it comes on again. Hopefully if it is going to happen again it happens sooner rather than later.

loveisdivine

Well, I think she's starting to come into heat again.

For the last 2 days she's been more vocal, spending all her time in the window calling. No interest in playing or napping on my husbands lap (usually a part of her regular daily routine) waking us up at all hours crying.

Last night was a new one too, it was about 2 am and she had woken us up crying and then we heard from the garden another cat calling back to her! Obviously she wouldn't have been able to hear the cat, but I can only imagine it was her calling that drew this cat to the garden as we've never heard one yowling in the garden at night before.

When I spoke to the vets last week they did say there is a test they can do if we want them too, so I'm gonna wait till she's fully in heat and then take her in.

I really, really hope this is the answer. If it's not I don't know what we arr going to do. We cannot live like this, having a week or 2 of decent sleep and then back to only a few hours a night and her constant calling. It's stressful for her too, she usually loves to play and cuddle but when she's like this it's like all she can think about is sitting in the window and calling, if we close the door to that room she will scratch at the door or just sit outside and call louder.

janmaree

You really have been up against it lately, you have my sympathy. It sounds like a good plan as you describe it and if I were in your shoes, I would have the test done too, you've certainly given it plenty of time to resolve but there's a limit to your endurance and the stress on your poor cat. I wish you luck and hope that you'll continue to update us because we all get a chance to learn that way! I've only heard of this in cats before, never had any of mine go through it but years ago, we had a sweet elderly dog who put herself through phantom pregnancies from time to time. Poor old thing. Animals, they keep us on our toes and guessing, don't they?!! J.

loveisdivine

Thanks for replying, it helps to k now people are still hanging in there with us!

My husband text me to say she's been calling non stop all day. So I've left a message for the vet to see when we can do the test. I don't want to do it to early and the test not be conclusive, but I also don't want to miss the window of opportunity.

Keep your fingers crossed for us anyway.

beanie.

Please do keep updating this, I really want to know the outcome.

Hope ye find a very easy to treat cause soon.

kathleen37

Goodness, I do hope you get her sorted. Must be awful for all of you! Please do come back with updates. I have no advice to offer unfortunately.

loveisdivine

Our 2.30am wake up call!

https://vimeo.com/166934712

This continued until I left for work at 8.20am. She paused briefly for about 30 minutes and I managed to doze off but was back at it soon enough.

When husband left for work at 3am he said there was another cat in the garden again.

Over the last 24 hours her vocalisation has increased dramatically and she's started doing the same aggressive yell she was doing the last time so I'm hoping by Friday she will be in the peak of her heat cycle. It seems to be taking a little longer this time round but I'm still confident it's heat.

She's also been rubbing her scent over things much more obsessively than usual so we're definitely getting there!

P.S it has been mentioned that maybe she's making this noise because she wants out of our room at night, however we've tried opening the door and letting her have access to other parts of the house and it makes no difference, she just paces from room to room yelling. Plus, when she isn't in heat she always sleeps through the night and you don't hear a peep from her so I know it's definitely not the room.

Irish Stones

You said you are keeping a diary of these events. How often does she start making noises and rolling and rubbing? How long do these periods last?
Do you think they match the heat pattern?
Is the cat visiting your garden a male?
Have a second opinion from a different vet, ask for an ultrasound scan, it's the only way to understand whether a "fragment" of ovaries is still in its place.
Keep in mind that if she's in heat and there's a male cat around your house, she could try to escape through a window or an open door.

loveisdivine

At the minute it kinda goes like this,

4-5 days of peaceful, contented, happy, playful cat that sleeps through the night.

Then we get about a week to 10 days of increased vocals, but nothing too extreme, slightly restless at night, no physical symptom such as presenting/rolling around.

Then about 3 days of extreme vocals that just go on for hours on end, restlessness and constantly pacing around, not wanting to sleep, then the next 2 ish days are the same but include the more physical behaviours like presenting herself (front down with rear raised, tail moved to the side), rolling around on everything, rubbing on everything and being extremely affectionate. She also starts urinating more and licking her genital area a lot during this time. Oh and last time she also sprayed up against things twice.

From what I've read online I think they match. One article listed the symptoms and she was displaying every single one.

Not sure if it's male, we've only seen it at night.

I've found ap lace I can go for a second opinion if needs be. The course of action at the minute, as agreed with the current vet, is to wait for her to be in the peak of her heat (which I hope will happen before Friday) then we take her in and they do a blood test to establish a base line and they give her a hormone injection to induce ovulation. Then after a week she goes back for a second blood test and if there is still a fragment then the hormone injection will have caused it to give off certain hormones and they will show in the second blood test.

I've done a fair bit of googling and this seems like a fairly widely accepted procedure to diagnose ovarian remnant syndrome.

Edit - also just wanted to add that we have tried to keep her usual routine throughout all of this so we no that it's not some change at home that's causing it. Fed at the same times, same daily routines and we always play with her a good bit every night before bed. Obviously when she really starts to get bad she has no interest in playing but we still at least try.

Irish Stones

loveisdivine wrote: »

presenting herself (front down with rear raised, tail moved to the side), rolling around on everything, rubbing on everything and being extremely affectionate. She also starts urinating more and licking her genital area a lot during this time. Oh and last time she also sprayed up against things twice.

From what I've read online I think they match. One article listed the symptoms and she was displaying every single one.

Yes, these last ones are clear signs of heat. One of my two cats arrived home when she was about 8 months old and was in heat. She was really silent and quiet, but showing me her rear with the tail to a side was her distinctive symptom.

The procedure that the vets will follow is probably the best one, but it sounds a little long. If I understand it well, it will take over a week to make the situation clear. Then, I think, they will have to have an ultrasound scan to see (if visible) where the fragment is.

It's a bit rare, but it can actually happen... I'm so sorry for you and for your beautiful cat

loveisdivine

Boy we are really struggling at the minute. Since Thursday evening she's been showing full blown signs, she's constantly raising her rear, rolling around, calling and just generally all of the in heat behaviours.

We took her to the vet on friday for the first blood test and the hormone injection.

It was a nightmare getting the bloods, we had to leave the room and she screamed the place down and it took ages. They've already said they're going to have to sedate her next week to take the second set of bloods.

I feel awful for her at the minute, we're not getting more than 3 or 4 hours of sleep at night and she's clearly feeling it bad.

Here's a few videos from the last 24 hours, if you have time I'd really appreciate anyone having a look, particularly if you've seen cats in heat before, I'd love your opinion. To be honest, there's really no doubt in my mind now that she is in heat.

The vets are still being pretty neutral about it all, I feel like they're just doing this test to satisfy us, not cos they believe she is in heat. They brought up the back pain thing again and while I don't doubt she had some pain last time, I really don't see what it has to do with the current situation.

Hopefully the test will come back and show for sure that she is in heat and then they won't be able to skirt around it anymore.

https://vimeo.com/167534369#t=20s

https://vimeo.com/167534455

https://vimeo.com/167534732

fathead82

She looks like she's in heat.everything from the calling, presenting and paddling with her back legs. She also doesn't seem to mind when your petting her back, so why do the vets think she has back pain? I hope they will cover the cost of all the tests if it is proven that she is in heat and needs to be neutered again.

intheclouds

I'd be taking the cat and the videos to a completely different vet for a second opinion.

Someone who doesn't know any of the background and gives an opinion based on what is presented.

loveisdivine

Thanks, we're gonna wait and see what happens when the test results come back. I'm hoping when presented with hard proof then they will stop skirting around it and just get on with helping her, but if they don't we will definitely be going for a second opinion. I've seen there's a place on the northside of Dublin that only sees cats so hopefully they might have some experience with it.

janmaree

Just checking in, wondering how things are going.........can't type too well just now, got my fingers crossed!:)

loveisdivine

Well she's had the test done. They took the second set of bloods yesterday and sent it all straight off. They said hormone testing takes a bit longer than some of the more routine ones so to call them next Friday, or they'll call if they hear sooner.

Thankfully the vet seemed a bit more responsive this time, she agreed that it certainly sounded like heat.

So now more waiting! We should get the next week of so of peace anyway

loveisdivine

Kicking myself as I left my phone upstairs while we were out in the garden and missed a call from the vets! They left a voicemail saying they have the results and to call them back to go through them, but by the time I saw it they were closed

Oh well, at least I'll have some solid news in the morning!

loveisdivine

Results are in and she tested positive for Ovarian Remnant Syndrome! So there's definitely something still in there. The vets are going to reimburse us the cost of the test and will also perform the laporotomy to find the piece for free

Obviously it's never a good thing when your pet is sick, particularly when it's going to involve a surgery, but I'm just so glad to finally have an answer and a solution!

Have to wait for her to be in heat again before they do the surgery, as it will make it easier to find the piece, so probably another 10 days or so.

Thanks for staying on board everyone!

morgana

Thanks for the update . At least finally it is confirmed what you knew already :P. Cat people know their cats and vets seem to be slow to acknowledge that.
Anyhow, hopefully all we be sorted soon and the poor thing (and you !) wont have to suffer through any more heats!

intheclouds

Oh poor puss!!!

Well its great that they have discovered it - I hope puss is ok with her surgery. They are tough little boogers.

janmaree

Phew, answers at last! You and Ripley have had a right old time of it but at least there is an end in sight now and peace will soon reign again in your house! Thanks for all the news along the way, we can't do much to help but we can root for you! Good on the vets too, it's an unusual enough situation but it does happen - they did drag it out for you but at least they're doing something about the bill!!! Happy days.

loveisdivine

Frustratingly we are still waiting for her to come into heat again. It's been 3 weeks since the last one finished and we would have expected it to start up again by now.

It's typical that now it's confirmed and the vets are on board, it's not happening the same as before

I'd really hoped we would be on our way to better days by now but now I don't know what to think.

In the last 24 hours she's started behaving quite erratically, attacking her tail like she doesn't realise it's her own tail. Her skin keeps rippling and twitching and she's biting at herself a lot, plus darting around like crazy. It lasts a few minutes then stops.

I'm hoping it's just some bizarre behaviour caused by the remnant but I honestly don't know what to think anymore.

janmaree

Sorry to hear that the waiting is still ongoing for you but it has to be worth riding it out till she comes round again, it's not like you're still guessing as to the cause at this stage. I doubt very much that there's an expiry date on the Vet's offer because nothing will change the test results and the situation has to be rectified. Easy to say but if I were in your shoes, I'd just be watching, listening and then starting the car once you spot the first sign that you have definitely seen before. I'll be hanging in there with you anyway, for what it's worth!

loveisdivine

Oh I know, I want to wait until its the right time so they have the best shot of getting it. It's just a little disheartening is all. She's waking me up at 3am every day yelling, but then is quiet the rest of the day. I just want it to all be over, it's been an exhausting few months! She's not the same cat these days either, very little interest in playing except for at 4am

Thanks for hanging around, it really helps to come here and share when it's all getting a bit much.

Husband text to say she's being quite noisy so far today so hopefully it'll start soon. The last time it was only about 10 days between the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next so it's well due at this point.

loveisdivine

There is one thing actually that might be causing the delay. I read that they tend to start coming into heat when there are at least 10 hours of daylight each day. Now I know I might be clutching at straws here but for the last week or 2 we have kept the blind in our room (where she spends most of her time) closed for most of the day to stop the heat getting in as much, it's an attic room and gets quite hot so we try and keep it shady.

Maybe the lack of sunlight is messing her cycle around a bit.

janmaree

Interesting thought, however if it's really hot in there I think I'd keep on doing what you're doing because overheating and coming into heat must be a special form of hell! Speaking as one who dislikes the heat, of course!

the beer revolu

loveisdivine wrote: »

In the last 24 hours she's started behaving quite erratically, attacking her tail like she doesn't realise it's her own tail. Her skin keeps rippling and twitching and she's biting at herself a lot, plus darting around like crazy. It lasts a few minutes then stops.

I'm hoping it's just some bizarre behaviour caused by the remnant but I honestly don't know what to think anymore.

That sounds like a cat with fleas

loveisdivine

Yeah we did think about fleas, she hasn't been outside for well over a week though so not sure how she would have picked them up. Thankfully she hasn't done any of that stuff again since yesterday morning. She's happy to be petted too, all over her back, so don't think her skin is too itchy or anything. She had her flea/worm treatment recently enough but we're keeping an eye on her, thankfully her white fur comes in handy for this!

Last night was a really bad one. No more than about 3 hours of sleep, she just kept yowling. Then she went and pee'd in her play tunnel, so I had to get up and clean that up at half 2. That's the second time in 24 hours that she's pee'd out of her tray. We really can't let that become a habit because it's not our house, if my mother in law were to find out she'd totally flip.

To be honest I don't know how much more either of us can take. We just desperately want this to be over. It's really starting to take a toll on our everyday well being and on hers too.

janmaree

Here I am, sticking my beak in again but I came across the mention of an implant treatment for this syndrome and wondered if there had been any mention of it instead of surgery? I'll try to include the portion of the article in case you haven't already come across it in your search for information!

"Treatment
Surgical removal of the remnant ovarian tissue is the treatment method of choice, ideally when the cat is in estrus.

A practical alternative is the use of a suprelorin implant, which effectively suppresses estrus behavior for 1 - 2 years.

Other forms of medical treatment of ORS are not recommended generally. Progestogens, such as megestrol acetate have been used to suppress estrus in cats but can induce diabetes mellitus, severe mammary hyperplasia or neoplasia and adrenocortical atrophy. One suggestion is that administration of prednisolone (2.2 mg/kg PO 2 24 hr for 5 days, then tapered by halving the dose every 5 days) results in permanent cessation of oestrus within 3 to 5 days, presumably by suppression of the adrenal axis. If exploratory surgery is negative or it the owner declines surgical exploration, this is a viable treatment option.

If prednisolone is unsuccessful at suppressing oestrus behaviour, owners may elect to live with the behaviour or use antihistamine-based medications such as cyproheptadine (Periactin®) or dexchlorpheniramine (Polaramine®), whose sedative effects tend to mask over oestrus symptoms."


Source: http://vetbook.org/wiki/cat/index.php?title=Ovarian_remnant_syndrome

Meant to say good luck too! J.

loveisdivine

Thanks Janmaree, it's definitely something to bear in mind if the surgery doesn't work out.

I spoke to the vets this afternoon and they suspect she's coming to the end of her spring season and that's why it's taking longer. They said if she doesn't go into full heat again in he next 2 weeks they will just do the surgery anyway, otherwise we'd have to wait til the autumn season.

Whilst it's easier to find it while she's in heat, they are confident they will find it either way.

Feel a bit better now. Just need some sleep. It's mad what a lack of sleep can do to your rationale.

loveisdivine

It feels like our cat problems are just never ending. We have her booked in for the second spay next Friday, which is good. But over the weekend she seemed to get quite constipated and seemed to be in a good bit of discomfort when trying to poop. She'd come flying out of the litter box and any small poop she managed to do would come flying out with her.

We took her to the vets yesterday and they've given us some liquid paraffin. We've also added some pumpkin to her food and have been giving her some of the hairball malt paste stuff.

None of it seems to be working yet though. We're now finding poop and pee around the house. She's waking up around 3am, crying for 3 or 4 hours then finally going back to sleep around 7, when I have to then get up for work.

I honestly feel like giving up. The stress from her heat behaviour and constant noise was bad enough but now we have to deal with piss and sh*t everywhere too? None of this is her fault, but it's not ours either and I just feel completely defeated by it all.

We do everything we can to keep her happy and satisfied. We play with her every night, take her outside, keep to a regular feeding schedule, keep her litter tray clean, give her lots of toys and none of it makes a blind bit of difference.

I never expected life with a cat to be this hard. We've only had her 10 months and the last 3 of those have been dreadful.

Nody

Get Psyllis husk powder (can be bought in any normal apothecary over the counter for stomach problems) and sprinkle a very tiny amount (1/8th of a teaspoon) on her food (a normal spoon or two is what you'd use for a human as reference). The additional fibre should help with getting things moving through properly and bulk it up better once it comes out.

loveisdivine

Thanks Nody.

I know I'm being a bit of a drama queen. It just gets exhausting.