Puberty in cats is age. The smell of the cat in the apartment. Is it worth spaying a cat?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Kittens enter puberty from seven to nine months. But depending on the conditions of detention, the characteristics of the breed and external factors, puberty in cats may occur earlier or later.

Factors affecting puberty

Cats and cats reach puberty at different ages. Puberty in cats occurs later than in cats, which matures with the first estrus, starting at 5-6 months. But the timing of puberty can vary. It depends on certain factors:

1. Belonging to the breed. Representatives of eastern breeds: Siamese, Thais, Orientals, Burmese and St. Petersburg Sphynxes - belong to the category of early maturity.
2. The structure of the skeleton. Fine-boned cats and cats enter puberty earlier than their powerful counterparts.
3. Seasons. Kittens born in winter or spring enter puberty in spring or summer, and later litters delay puberty.
4. Containment conditions. Compliancethe mode and quality of feeding, as well as comfort and convenience, accelerate the maturation of the pet.
5. Features of the habitat. Surrounded by adults (in a nursery or pride), young felines mature earlier than their peers from city apartments.
6. Genetic predisposition.

When a pet is overfeeding and overweight, puberty in cats is delayed and may occur by one and a half or two years.

Manifestations of puberty

Behavior at the onset of puberty varies between cats and cats. In females, this period is accompanied by secretions from the genitals - estrus. External signs of approaching estrus are manifested in an increased desire to fawn, rub against legs and furniture, and when approached, the cat's behavior becomes more defiant: it begins to meow invitingly, rolls on the floor, and takes its tail to the side, demonstrating sexual desire.

Puberty in cats is accompanied by more aggressive behavior. The mustachioed begins to meow loudly, attracting females, marking the territory, and his urine during this period has a sharp, unpleasant odor. The nature of the cat also changes - it can peel off furniture and walls, show increased playfulness, and its games are similar to scenes of hunting for a victim.

With the onset of puberty, the owner must decide whether he wants offspring or not. If the owner is aimed at breeding cats, then you need to find out if the pet has a breedingvalue, and select a candidate for mating. All events can be held in clubs of cat lovers or take advice from a trusted cattery or from an experienced breeder. And it should also be understood that puberty and the physiological maturity of a pet differ in terms: the latter comes closer to the age of one.

If no one is going to knit a cat or a cat, then the right decision would be castration or sterilization. This will be more humane to the animal and safer than drug regulation of estrus.

Best time to mate

Everyone has heard how the March cats begin to sing with the beginning of spring, but not everyone thinks about why this happens. But the fact is that March is the best time to conceive future offspring, and it is at this time that sex hormones begin to rage, because all summer and autumn are ahead for the successful feeding of babies: the weather is warm, you do not need to go far for food and leave the cubs unattended for a long time. Although in the conditions of the city, March cats can continue to sing both in summer and in autumn, because it is warm and cozy in the basements, and there is enough food in the garbage chutes to live on.

The intensity and loudness of the screams of cats during the mating period directly depends on the number of rivals in a given territory. The more competitors, the more heart-rendingly the mustaches meow, hiss and growl, proving their superiority over the ladies and trying to win back the territory from rivals. Such duels can go on for days, which cannot but irritate the apartmentinhabitants. And when cats find their cats and can satisfy the need to mate, the screams stop.

Causes of cat screams

At home, cats do not have the opportunity to freely mate and there is an accumulation of testosterone (male sex hormone), the excess of which leads to rutting - the cat yells at night, becomes aggressive, marks corners and desperately tries to find a cat to mate, therefore and screams, haunting the owners.

If a cat and a cat live in the same apartment, have reached childbearing age and can mate, or the cat is spayed and the cat is neutered, and the night screams continue, then the owners should visit the veterinarian. Cat screams can be caused by hepatic or renal colic, which is accompanied by urolithiasis. The development of the disease contributes to an unbalanced diet, as a result of which stones form in the genitourinary canals. And when an adult cat goes to the litter box when he needs it, he feels a sharp cutting pain and starts screaming heart-rendingly.

Ways to prevent cat cry

If the cat is he althy and lives alone in an apartment, then you can prevent cat cries by following the advice of experienced breeders:

• castrate a pet - in the absence of testicles, testosterone is not produced, which means there is no sexual hunting;
• tie a cat with a cat;
• give your pet more exercise;
• keep you awake during the day - it suppresses the instincts of the nocturnal predator;
• to arrange active games with the cat so that he sleeps at night,like a baby;
• monitor your pet's nutrition - the cat must receive selected foods and meat so as not to feel a deficiency of nutrients. The mustachioed begins to be lazy, and the hunting instincts become dull.

Some cats are talking breeds and will require communication. Do not ignore such conversations, and then the animal will be more calm and satisfied. If the option of obtaining offspring is considered, then you should have a pet pair. A cat and a cat in the same apartment will not let each other get bored and save the owner from heart-rending screams during the festivities.

If reproduction is not included in the plans of the owner, then you need to think about castration.

Castration and indications for surgery

To castrate a cat means to deprive him of the gonads, that is, to completely remove the testicles through surgical intervention. Together with the gonads, the cat loses the ability to reproduce offspring, testosterone stops being produced.

The best time for castration of a cat is its sexual maturity and readiness for reproduction - from eight months to one and a half years. The readiness of a cat for mating can be determined by the smell, because during this period the animal begins to mark the territory. The operation itself is quite simple, does not threaten the pet's he alth and does not require special postoperative care. But before the procedure, you should decide where to castrate the cat, undergo an examination and pass the necessary tests, including anesthesia tolerance.

You can castrate a cat for several reasons:

1. Medical indications - for injuries, pathologies, orchitis.
2. Reduce aggressiveness during estrus.
3. To eliminate or prevent bad smell from a cat in an apartment, because a cat without gonads will not mark its territory.

Experts recommend castrating those cats that will live in city apartments and will not be able to walk outside and satisfy their sexual needs. Often this applies to thoroughbred animals from which they do not plan to have offspring. Such a procedure will help the owners avoid the consequences of a rampage of hormones: the appearance of a cat's smell, shoots and pet attacks. It is also useful for the animal itself: the cat will not suffer from unsatisfied sexual desire and will avoid the development of prostatitis, prostate tumor and adenoma of the prianal glands.

If the cat has the opportunity to move freely and meet its needs, then castration is undesirable, because the animal becomes passive and will not be able to fully defend itself. And this can lead to injuries from yard relatives during walks.

Operation location

You can castrate your pet both in the veterinary clinic and at home. The second option is more preferable, because the animal will avoid additional stress from transportation and contact with sick animals.

It is important that the veterinarian has experience in conductingsimilar operations and a set of necessary tools. Do not trust unqualified specialists - such a step may adversely affect the he alth of your pet or lead to his death.

If in-home neutering is not available, then the clinic should be contacted.

Maintenance and nutrition of the cat after the operation

Within two days after the procedure, the animal needs to create the most comfortable conditions. It should be identified in a warm safe place and lay a soft bedding. You should not place the rookery on a hill, because after anesthesia the animal's coordination is disturbed and the cat may fall and get injured.

As for feeding, it is forbidden to feed the animal twelve hours before the operation and a day after the procedure. Starting from the second day, they begin to give the pet food in small portions.

It should also be borne in mind that neutered cats tend to become obese and develop urolithiasis, so animals should not be overfed and limited in fresh water. The best option would be to use a balanced diet for neutered cats.

Similar actions are permissible in relation to cats - they can also be sterilized, that is, deprive of childbearing function. But when making such decisions, it is necessary to think through everything carefully, because it will be impossible to correct the situation.