Dear Dr. Robin: We live in the country and have a stray female cat who has had kittens. We think they are about 2 weeks old. We will do our best to find good homes for the babies in a few more weeks, but we will probably have to adopt the mother ourselves.
When is the best time for the mother to have her ovariohysterectomy? We know it cannot be done while she is nursing, but it must be done before she can get pregnant again. We do not let her into the house as we have nice barns where she has taken up residence. What do you recommend?
– S.S.
A: Cats are quite different from dogs in the structure of their heat cycles and pregnancies. Dogs typically have two cycles per year, approximately six months apart. This means that they cannot become pregnant until several months after puppies are born and weaned. Cats, on the other hand, are “seasonally polyestrous,” which means that they have multiple heat cycles (estrus cycles) within a single breeding season and can have multiple litters, one right after the other.
They can easily become pregnant during the time they are nursing a litter. Under the right circumstances, they can literally deliver three litters per year, delivering a litter just as they are weaning the previous litter.
From an evolutionary standpoint, this is an important strategy for survival of the cat species. From a pet overpopulation standpoint, this is a nightmare because a single queen (reproducing female) can potentially add 20 or more kittens to the world during a single breeding season.
We typically schedule the ovariohysterectomy for a breeding cat just at the time kittens are weaned. Kittens can be comfortably weaned at about 6 weeks of age. While there is a small possibility that she could be in an early pregnancy if she lives outside unsupervised, surgery breaks the overpopulation cycle.
As soon as the kittens are no longer nursing, the milk glands will begin to shrink and stop producing milk. No medication is needed to help this process.
Once she has her ovariohysterectomy, an outdoor mother kitty should be kept indoors during her healing process – perhaps a mud room, laundry room, or a tack room in the barn. Her stitches from surgery should come out at about seven to 10 days post-op. Then she can be released to full activity.
The kittens involved should be examined and vaccinated by a veterinarian at 8 and 12 weeks of age, and then they should have their neutering surgery (both males and females) at 14-18 weeks of age.
Dr. Robin Downing will respond to your questions in her weekly column, but cannot answer individually. Send questions to Robin Downing, DVM, P.O. Box 460, Windsor, CO 80550 or drrobin@windsorvet.com.
