Is it safe for my female cat to be spayed during heat?

Question

I have an appointment for spaying my female cat tomorrow morning. However, I just got in from work and noticed she began a heat cycle just tonight. This is the third time she's on heat and I had scheduled this appointment for 2 weeks now. Is it safe for her to be spayed during heat? I am concerned for her safety and health more than anything. Please I need some help. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi! I had a little sweetheart that liked to do this to me too! Everytime I made the appointment she would make sure her cycle started just the day or two before. Enough was enough and she got spayed anyway.

When your cat goes into her heat cycle all the organs that the vet needs to work with and remove are engorged with blood - hoping that they are all getting ready to make babies. This makes the surgery difficult as the patient is more likely to bleed more than normal during surgery. Ultimately means more clamps and more ligating but, it can be done and it can be done safely. The surgery may take a bit longer but it is not outrageous. Your kitty should come through it fine! I had delayed the spaying of my CH girl to 15 months old because she would not stop going in or out of heat. The Doc and I did her surgery and she popped wide awake after the gas was off and started sitting up in her recovery kennel. With some pain meds for her next couple of nights & wrapped up in her kennel she went home and got babied all night long. She was pretty well back to her snarly self the next day. I worried like crazy and I was going to be with her....not just a bit over protective. :)

I can send you a standardiazed protocol for anesthesia if you wish. It is from a Vet who works at University Davis in California. Nothing is 100% safe but, a good vet and she should be fine. IF you don't understand something make sure to ask as many times as you need to. You need to be comfortable with what is going on with your baby and it is the doctor and the staff that needs to make you that way.

This is why vets normally tell people to have it done around 6 months avoiding the whole heat thing in the first place. Sometimes it is unavoidable though due to illness or whatever so the situation will always come up.

ADDITIONAL: So .... did surgery happen? Every thing is fine I hope?

Answer 2

Spaying A Cat In Heat

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Is it safe for my female cat to be spayed during heat?
I have an appointment for spaying my female cat tomorrow morning. However, I just got in from work and noticed she began a heat cycle just tonight. This is the third time she's on heat and I had scheduled this appointment for 2 weeks now. Is it safe for her to be spayed during heat? I am...

Answer 4

It's safer to get them spayed when they aren't in heat,,,but not very realistic. She will just keep going in heat over and over until spayed or pregnant, so it's hard with cats to catch the time between heats. Most vets don't hesitate to spay a cat while it's in heat the same way they hesitate to spay a dog in heat. It's actually pretty common.

Answer 5

There should be no problem because I once had a cat spayed while she was in heat and possibly pregnant. The vet did it anyway. It really shouldn't matter and it does bother me when some vets tell you to bring the cat back later. That means you will have to put up with her caterwauling, strange tomcats in the yard, and her excessively affectionate behavior because the vet doesn't want to do it at that time. I also had a four month old cat spayed before she ever went into heat. I can remember a time when that was considered too young and she would need to wait until she had her first heat.

Answer 6

It is not quite as safe as waiting until she is out of heat, because the blood supply to her ovaries and uterus is greatly increased when animals are in heat. The charge for the spay will be increased because of this (more work for the vet). You can go ahead with it if you want to, especially if she is a fast cycler (in and out of heat every two weeks), because you may not catch her out of heat long enough for it to matter. However, the ideal time is about a week after the signs of heat have stopped; by then, the blood vessels are back down to their normal size, and there is less risk of serious bleeding. Until you've seen the inside of a cat or dog in heat, and out of heat, you can't believe how much difference there is in the size of the blood vessels. It's pretty remarkable.

Cats and dogs are spayed during heat, though any veterinarian would tell you they would prefer not to if they have a choice. Sometimes the owner wants it despite the increased cost and slightly increased risk.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

I have had over 30 cats. Mostly females. My vets have never accepted a cat that was in heat.

Answer 8

Talk to your vet tomorrow, if she is just going in it should not be too bad.
They spend a week 'going in', a week 'in heat' and a week 'going out' of heat. If she is in the third week of her heat and going out, it should be okay.
Either way, it is much better than her getting pregnant!!
What I have heard it does to them is it just takes a bit longer for them to recover, because of the swelling and such that they have form being in heat.
But, ask the vet, they will have a much better idea of what's going on!!!

Answer 9

No, the operation is more complicated and risky.
Her internal female parts are swollen,.. most vets would opt to wait a month after heat before spaying.

Answer 10

It's safe, but a lot of vets won't do it. It's messier, but it's safe. There's more blood and I guess it could be harder to see what you're doing, but the surgery's the same. We did it all the time at the shelter, and my vet would do it, but a lot won't. You'll just have to check with them.