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AFTER SPAYING BEHAVIOUR.

15:16:34

Question
hi,my 1year female tabby is very very uniquely close to me.i sent her for sterilization 3-4mnths ago & lately,she has been very 'noisy' for attention or she wants to roam outdoors!On the 4th night,i heard her getting into loud fights but i cant make out if its with a male or female cat...To my disbelief,i actually saw a wet patch at her shoulder & she smells 'fishy' when she came home that night!Is this normal?Can a sterilized female cat still mate?I wasnt informed of this so i desparately NEED YOUR ADVISE!!!!

Answer
Hi there.  A spayed female can still mate.  The idea is to remove the ovaries, along with the uterus, which would take away her desire to mate.  But sometimes a piece of ovarian tissue can be left behind.  This is called an incomplete spay.  The leftover ovarian tissue is enough to cause her to go into estrus - the time when she becomes noisy and needy and is receptive to males.

I'm not sure of the spay procedure in Singapore.  In many areas, the cervix is sewn shut with steel sutures.  This would prevent your cat from becoming pregnant, even if she had an incomplete spay and did mate.  But if the cervix has not been tied off, there is a possibility that she could become pregnant.  But because her uterus was removed in the surgery, any fetuses conceived would implant in other tissues or organs in the abdomen, which would cause a life-threatening situation.

It would be a good idea to consult the vet who performed the surgery and let them know what happened.  Some hormone tests can be run to see if the spay may have been incomplete.  They can also advise you as to their spay procedure and let you know if the cervix is tied off, to see if you have anything to worry about as far as pregnancy.

Do keep an eye out on anything you may suspect to be a bite.  Even those where females have been gripped during mating often become infected, so if you notice any sort of odor, swelling or a discharge, the area should be checked out by a vet.