Any vets on the board?

[bsmart]

I feel a little crude asking this...well, here it goes. This evening, my female cat Lulu has apparently started her first esterus or "heat" cycle, so on Monday, off to the vet she goes for spaying. All of my cats are indoor cats only. I have one male cat, whom we named Otis. He is about 4 years old and was neutered--or so we thought when he was a couple of months old. Well this evening, he has been trying to mate with our little Lulu, pinning her down and biting the back of her neck and then all of the other feline mating behaviors thrown in there. My question is, is this normal? Have any of you with cats seen this before? I would call my vet, but its Saturday and after hours. I even tried to call a 24 emergency clinic, and the UGA vet clinic but cannot seem to get anyone on the phone without a long wait.

Sorry for such an unpleasant conversation, but it's quite interesting.

 

[Jdarg]

Just get ol' Lulu spayed on Monday and you will be OK. There are few things more annoying than cats in heat. (Don't make me list the few )

 

[bsmart]

Just get ol' Lulu spayed on Monday and you will be OK. There are few things more annoying than cats in heat. (Don't make me list the few )

 

[Bob]

You're setting me up for my Vietnam joke.

 

[BeachDreamer]

We raised dairy goats for a while, and I don't know how different cats would be, but if one doe was in heat, many of the animals around her would "flirt", including fixed males and even other does. They sense that she is in heat, and it pulls out their primitive reactions. I wouldn't worry about it, as long as there is not an intact male within reach.

 

[Miss Kitty]

We raised dairy goats for a while, and I don't know how different cats would be, but if one doe was in heat, many of the animals around her would "flirt", including fixed males and even other does. They sense that she is in heat, and it pulls out their primitive reactions. I wouldn't worry about it, as long as there is not an intact male within reach.

MEN!!!!

 

[BeachDreamer]

MEN!!!!

Yeah, they can't help but do what they do, even without their parts!

 

[ShallowsNole]

Sharing my home is a male cat, a female cat, and a female dog, all sterilized, and they all still hump stuff. The parts necessary for repro are gone, but the brain and the instincts are fully intact. I'd guess your male cat's behavior is normal.

May want to keep your young female isolated after her surgery, though. She will feel like hell, and may still slightly carry the scent of being in heat. OR, worse yet, the scent of the vets office.

 

[Cil]

Agree with the others' advice.
Also, dogs will hump as a dominance display (AFAIK, this is strictly canine behavior, I don't think kitties so this.)

 

[JB]

Male cats can still exhibit tomcat behavior even after neutering. We have a nine-year-old neutered male who still acts like he wants to spray. He gets up against objects and aims his quivering rear end towards them. Fortunately, nothing comes out. He also loves to get on blankets and other soft items, start making bread until it morphs into humping.

As others have said, your best bet is to go ahead and spay the female. However, I'm not sure it's a good idea to do this while she is in heat. I would let her current cycle run its course, then get her spayed.