Are there any remedies to ease the discomfort of Estrus?

by Donna Greiner
(Riverside NJ)

Hello, cat lovers...I want to know if there are any natural remedies, etc, to ease the discomfort of Estrus.

My cat, Smores seems to be more uncomfortable than usual....her appetite decreases, she's more sensitive to touch. I know spaying her would certainly help...not able to do that YET. She is kept totally indoors, as the founder of this website knows, I rescued her in October. She is/was feral, but with patience and love, is a total snuggle bug, my best pet friend.I believe her to be just 1 year old, since she was born outside...don't know her exact age.

I am concerned that spaying might return her to old non-trust issues. Ferals are definitely a different animal, pardon the pun. Do cats get cramps as human females do??? Thank you for your input.

Fellow cat fancier,
Donna Greiner

RESPONSE:

Donna,

I totally empathize with your feral kitty situation. You may recall that I went through a similar situation with our “Chanel #5” (named for being the 5th cat to enter the house). She bounced off the walls in total panic when we lured her into the house with food. A pathetic little waif who weighed only 2 ½ pounds but was a starving 6 months old kitty.

We immediately took her to the vet and agreed to get her spayed when she had some weight gain. We kept her segregated from the other cats until she gained weight and after a few months her weight was up to 5 pounds and she had bonded with us. We took her to be spayed.

I knew it would be traumatic for her but the alternative was something I didn’t want her to deal with. I never saw her go through estrus and didn’t want to. I had seen it in one of my other beloved cats a few weeks prior to her getting spayed and it didn’t look like fun.

Although they howl and you think they are in great pain, I don’t think they have the same menstrual cramps that humans do…but I’m not a cat. I find that great information on the total process is at Web Md-Cat Estrus.

Additional information about calming your kitty is at How to Calm a Cat in Heat.

You are correct that feral kittens are a different animal. Although Chanel had her spaying done, and has had additional cat visits to the vet over the past years (she’s now 6 years old), she still dives under the sofa if the mailman knocks on the door or the UPS/FedEx people arrive.

We even had an issue a year ago when she was 5 years old and took her to the vet for her annual check-up. Since she is the one cat where I haven’t been able to clip claws…I had the vet do it. She wouldn’t come near me for 3 weeks and hid under the sofa…but she came out to eat when I was in bed. So, there are times when we simply have to make the best choices for our cats even if they are not in agreement with us. Eventually, they get over the trauma or the feeling of betrayal…you just have to be patient and keep loving them. They will test you but you are their “safe refuge” and they do know that.

My suggestion is to get her spayed as soon as you can. She may distrust you for a period of time but you will have done what is best for her. She’ll return to being your snuggle bunny…stronger than before but she’ll make you wait. I don’t think it’s intentional but feral kitties are more alert to changes in their environment, strangers and changes that we impose upon them. However, you will be doing her a great service to eliminate this estrus from her life.

I hope some of our readers (such as Josie) will offer additional information about their experiences that will help you.