Question:
I adopted a 1-1/2-year-old calico cat from a shelter. She needed to be spayed. I chose to take her to a "state of the art" vet hospital instead of the shelter. The day after she was spayed, she went into "heat" -- she rolls, meows, etc. The vet performed an ultrasound, which showed nothing. He suggested exploratory surgery with no guarantee this could be corrected.I have had many female spayed cats, and nothing like this has ever occurred before. The cat meows all hours of the night, and I lose many hours of sleep. What do you think?.
S.K., Albany, NY Jan 28, 2007
Answer:
Both cats and dogs, after being spayed properly, do sometimes go into heat. Fortunately, this is extremely rare.The reason most often given is that a remnant of so-called aberrant ovarian tissue (possibly a microscopic fragment that separated from one of the ovaries during early embryonic development) became activated after the ovaries were removed. This is because the pituitary gland sends out more ovarian stimulatory hormones as a reaction to the neuroendocrine feedback system being disrupted by spaying.This tissue sometimes becomes cystic and so may be easily found and removed surgically. Alternatively, treatment with progesterone, which bears some risk, may help subdue your cat for some time.
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