Expert: Ali - 1/19/2009

Question
QUESTION: i have a 9 month old black kitten called sooty and i want to ask you for advice becouse she is on her periods and she keeps squeaking so she must be in quite a bit of pain but we dont know what to do.except keep her relaxed and im 13 so you may have to explain it
please and thank you

ANSWER: Zoe,

Since you describe Sooty as having her period I have to ask a few questions. It sounds like you love Sooty very much and you want to help keep her as healthy and happy as usual. I am a bit confused about your description so I have to make sure I understand what's going on.

Is your kitten having any blood coming from her bum or her private parts?

Has Sooty ever been allowed to go outside for any length of time?

Has Sooty ever had kittens?

Does Sooty have any bad or strange smells coming from her that she usually doesn't?

Once I have the answers to these questions I can offer more information.

If Sooty isn't bleeding from her back end, doesn't have any bad or unusual smells, she's never had babies and she's been kept indoors, but she hasn't been spayed there's a pretty good chance that I will be able to tell you what's happening. If you find that lately Sooty's has been really cuddly, spending a lot of time rubbing up against people/furniture, she's been meowing more than she usually does and she's been spending time laying down on the floor with her bum up in the air and rolling around on the floor she just might be having a normal estrus or heat cycle. Female cats go through puberty somewhere around 5-8 months, sometimes earlier, sometimes later. When female cats are becoming teenagers their body goes through some chemical changes in their brains that allows them to start having a heat cycle. Cats don't get periods like women do. In a cat's case they become able to have kittens when they go through puberty and a heat cycle is a normal way for a female cat to tell all of the male cats that she is old enough to have kittens. Since there are so many homeless pets in animal shelters, rescue groups and pounds I try to discourage anybody letting their pet have babies. The best way to do this is to keep cats that have gone through puberty indoors away from cats of the opposite gender. The best way to keep Sooty and other pets as healthy and happy as possible while stopping them from having any babies is to keep them indoors until they have been spayed or neutered. It's very important to speak with your mom or dad about having your pets spayed and neutered because these operations help pets to stay healthy and live longer lives. Having pets spayed or neutered early in life prevents them from getting certain infections or tumors later on. I would be more than happy to help you and your mom or dad find out what's happening with Sooty. There are even some places that will do Sooty's operation for free or in exchange for volunteer work, just in case you haven't saved up enough allowance to take care of Sooty and have the vet do her operation.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you the last large paragraph explained everything  because we don't want her to get pregnant because she is too young and shes too small.but i wanted to ask you why dose she still squeak??.the last time i had a kitten i was 2 years old.shes still healthy :)
please and thank you

Answer
Zoe,

It's perfectly normal for a female cat to be more talkative during her heat cycle, that is one of several ways that she communicates with male cats that haven't been neutered. Extra meowing, body language and scent are all important parts of communication that female cats in heat send to male cats that haven't been neutered. Sooty isn't in pain, she's trying to attract male cats so that she can breed and have kittens. I would strongly suggest that you have Sooty spayed. Spaying Sooty will prevent any babies from being born which means that she will be healthier throughout her life and she won't add to the huge number of cats and kittens who don't have homes. Many people believe that female cats have to have at least one litter of kittens before they are spayed, this isn't true. It's not necessary for cats to have one or more litters of kittens before being spayed so if you would like to meet kittens who don't have homes and would like to be cuddled and played with your local animal shelter or rescue organization would be a good place to start. As I mentioned in my last answer spaying and neutering pets is a very important responsibility, it helps to keep our pets healthier and happier during their lives. I have a fairly long list of pet related charities that can help you with the cost of Sooty's spay surgery if you don't have enough money saved up from your allowance to have Sooty spayed by your vet so that she stays as healthy as she can be physically and mentally.

There are too many homeless cats and kittens that are in need of a second chance at life. Sometimes these cats and kittens just need someone to love them and help them get comfortable with living in a loving family's home, you can talk to your mom or dad about becoming a foster family for cats and kittens in need. This would mean that you would get the chance to play with and care for several young kittens and adult cats until they grow strong and healthy enough to move into their special forever home. I think that you just might enjoy helping cats and kittens to be happy and healthy until their new family comes along. You have certainly taken on the responsibility of finding out what Sooty needs and you are mature enough to ask important questions about what your kitty needs so maybe mom and dad will be willing to try out fostering a kitten or two until they are strong enough and grown up enough to go into a good home. Being a foster caregiver to homeless cats and kittens can be a lot of fun and you can learn an awful lot. Who knows? You might just have a great time while helping to give special cats and kittens the chance that they need to go into a home where they are loved by people as much as Sooty is loved by you.

There are so many homeless cats and kittens in the world who need love, attention and a permanent home. If you want to watch kittens grow up you may want to talk to your mom or dad about visiting the local animal shelter to play with the cats and kittens or even provide a foster home where young kittens can grow strong and healthy enough to be adopted into new forever families. I am willing to provide your family with the names of animal shelters and rescue organizations in your area, if your parents are comfortable allowing you to give the name of the city that you live in. It's very important that you talk to your mom or dad before providing any information like this to anyone on the Internet so that you are safe from people that might hurt you, so if you are interested in volunteering your time to an animal shelter in your area and you have gotten mom or dad's permission to ask me about organizations in your area I would be more than happy to help you find places that might need people to come in and cuddle, play with or help take care of cats and kittens that aren't as lucky as Sooty and her older kitty sister.