Ma how long does the heat of the cat last? Anyone who has a cat knows it well: meows, rubs, restlessness, urine almost everywhere. In short, the cat’s heat period is a troubled period both for the cats and for the other inhabitants of the house.
In this period, what happens to the cats, both physically and behaviorally? And finally, how can we humans behave to best accompany the felines in their vital path, but certainly not without travails?
Let’s start from a common base, namely the reaching sexual maturity (and, therefore, the beginning of the possibility of going into heat).
At what age do cats go into heat?
In both cases, whether they are male or female, they reach sexual maturity very early, around 6 months.
It is certainly not a standard rule, but it is an average that has been calculated on the basis of everyone’s needs: there are, in fact, some cats that can anticipate heat at 4 months and others, especially purebred ones, who can delay it up to 18 months.
However, in principle, we can say that within the first year and a half of life all cats, male or female, purebred or foundlings, are fully capable of mating and reproducing.
But how long does the cat’s heat last?
To answer this question it is important to make a preliminary distinction: in fact, we need to ask ourselves how long the heat of the male cat lasts and how long that of the female.
For each of the two, in fact, the period is variable and does not necessarily coincide with the times of the year.
How long does the cat’s heat last?
From this point, therefore, it is possible to calculate how long the heat of the cat lasts. Generally, the frequency of heat in females reaches higher peaks during spring and decreases considerably in summer, to resume during autumn and winter.
In a year, therefore, the cats cross different periods of estruseven if they concentrate more during the hot season, i.e. the period in which their reproductive cycle reaches its maximum activity.
Proestrus
Here the duration varies according to the phase in which the kitten is: in fact, the ovulation cycle begins in the proestrus, the cat seeks the pampering of the master but does not yet show receptiveness. This period lasts 1 to 2 days.
boss
In the outside, however, the female is sexually receptive: the period lasts from 3 to 14 dayseven if an average duration of one week is calculated, and in most cases ovulation is induced in the cat during sexual intercourse.
Do interestrous
Thus begins the phase do interestrous: if there is no ovulation, it is the period between two heat cycles and it can last from 3 days to 2 weeks. Alternatively, there is the dexterouswhere the cat ovulates but has not become pregnant and the uterus may be preparing for a “false pregnancy” lasting about a month.
Anestrous
Finally, there is l’anestrousthe period of sexual rest, which lasts between 45 and 90 daysusually between October and December.
Male cat in heat: how long does it last?
If the heat period of the female is so complicated, with the male you go on the quiet: the male cat, in fact, shows in all twelve months behaviors of heat:
Generally, even for the male the heat frequency reaches higher peaks during spring and decreases significantly in summer. For resumes during the fall and winter.
What can be done during heat periods of cats?
Our contribution must be aimed at the well-being and help of the cat, whether male or female.
In the first case, to prevent the cat from running away or getting hurt, it is advisable to keep doors and windows tightly closed, providing the cat with a space in which to “vent” his anxiety and possibly calming him down with natural or vet-recommended solutions.
In the case of the female, on the other hand, it is a good thing to indulge her search for pampering and attention, but also in her case, avoiding that she goes too far from home.
Or there are always good grandmother’s remedies for a cat in heat.
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Article reviewed by:
Francesco Reina
Veterinary assistant