Cats in heat.

Question
I had Dallas neutered when he was a kitten.  And he has sprayed or urinated in our house many times over his two years of life with us. I took him into our home when he was probably about two months old. So I don't understand why he's doing this. It's horrible. I love him so much and yet I have to keep my room door closed and he's not allowed in there anymore. London, she has sprayed my daughters items, but she's not spayed, so I can understand. But why is Dallas behaving this way. I love him, he's keep in a nice home, has free rein of the home, he's well fed, has his shots up to date, everything I can think of to show him love and care for him. To tell you that for his 1st birthday, I threw him a party!! Lol. I did. Invitations, food, presents, the works. I'd really like to understand why he does this and make it stop. Thank you in advance.



-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have to babies, a male and a female (cats). My London (female) is about 8 months old. She's been acting really strange. These are my first pets. I'm worried about her. I think she's in heat, constantly crying and calling, rolling around like crazy, putting her hips in the air, and her hips tremble alot.

At first we were like, oh poor baby, she's in heat.  I wanted to have her fixed, but my daughter insisted that we not do that. I had Dallas, nuetered when he was 8 months old.  I accepted London, into my family as a companion for Dallas, so they could be mates.  But now someone told me that since he was nuetered that he will not be able to be sexually active. Is that true? I feel horrible about that if it is!!!! I had no idea, I'd have never done that to him. You see both my cats are solely indoor cats.  We do not let them outside.

They have free rein of the house, but outside is a no no. I don't want them out there both cause I fear for their lives and because it's just too crazy outside. They're black cats and people can be evil.

So back to London, my daughter thinks that she's not in heat and that maybe she's constipated. I think she's in heat.  But I will be keeping an eye on her visits to the litter box just in case. I would also like to know if it hurts the cat physically when she's in heat? It looks quite painful.  She's going nuts.

I'd so appreciate your help. I'm not sure how detailed you can be, but please, please feel free to spell it out for me, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm still learning. They're my babies and I try to give them the best care possible. They're like my children. Please help. And thank you so much for being so kind and taking the time to answer our questions!
-----Answer-----
Hello,

You are right, your cat is in heat! These are the classic signs of a cat in heat. Cats in heat are in a great deal of discomfort and will not settle down until either bred or spayed. For the sake of your cat, and for all the unwanted kittens already in the world, please get her spayed right away! It's inhumane to NOT spay her, because all she can think about is mating and she can not and should not do that.

Unspayed females have a very high risk of dying of breast cancer. Spaying your cat will change that risk to very low. Breast cancer in cats is not easily treatable and it is very very aggressive and will kill a cat in a few months. She will also never have to suffer a uterine infection or uterine cancer once her uterus is removed, and she will not be as likely to run away from home in search of a mate.

When neutered, your male cat will have lower hormone levels and he will have a very low or non-existent desire to have a sexual life. He would be capable of it, he still has a penis, but he would not be interested in it much. That's OK he won't miss it!

Just as in female cats, male cats benefit from being neutered - un-neutered male cats often develop testicular cancer and they also get breast cancer although not as often as females. Neutering almost eliminates this risk.

Un-spayed females and un-neutered males will likely start territorial urination around your house, and this will not smell good at all. Male cats spray very strong-smelling marker urine in their territory. Neutered males almost never do this. Un-neutered males also fight with other cats and are in danger of contracting diseases from them.

It is important to remember that cats don't have the same sex lives as humans. Humans have evolved to develop loving relationships - monogamous for the most part. We enjoy sex as a part of this couple bonding. Cats to not enjoy sex in the same way we do - for them, it is more like they are in discomfort until they do it. For the females especially, sex is no fun - they are obviously in pain when it happens. The male cat has a barb on the end of the penis that prevents her from escaping! The hormones drive them to reproduce but for cats it is no more than scratching an itch.

Cats do form close relationships with other cats and have social lives. But these social lives do not revolve around sex, and cats don't fall in love with mates and sty with them like humans and some other species do.

By spaying and neutering your cats, you are not depriving them, but rather relieving them of an urge they cannot fulfill, giving them much better health, and making them better pets to fit into your home.

You can find out more and find coupons for money off spay and neuter services near you at http://www.spayusa.org

also here is some more reading you can do to learn more!

http://www.sniksnak.com/benefits.html
http://www.oregonvma.org/petowners/spayneuter.asp
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html

Also on more general cat are topics here are some resources for you (you said you are still learning and want to find out more...)

http://www.catnutrition.org
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library
http://catnet.stanford.edu/resources.html

Good luck!

Answer
Cats urinate outside the box almost always due to medical problems. Your cat may have a bladder infection, and left untreated this can get very serious and damage the kidneys. Please take him to a vet right away and have him checked. If you are given antibiotics, make sure to give them all.

Here is an article about how to handle this:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/infosheet_litterbox.pdf

If the vet says there is nothing wrong with him medically, I think you should try using the Feliway plug-in diffuser and/or spray. Feliway helps reduce anxiety and inappropriate urination in cats, it mimics relaxing pheromones that cats exude from their cheek glands. Spraying doorways and furniture with Feliway can stop inappropriate urination and calm nervous cats. The plug-in diffuser creates a constant release of Feliway, the spray is best for local and immediate but short-term effect. They work well used together, with the spray used on your bed or area that he is peeing. It is not detectable by humans at all (the spray smells like rubbing alcohol when you first use it, but that quickly evaporates). It is sold in most pet stores and online, for example at www.drsfostersmith.com.

Good luck!