Any such thing as a false heat?

[LoveMyCats]

Found 5 yr old cat in Feb, took her to vet to be spayed; but he said she had heart murmur and it was risky. Also, he shaved her but could not tell if she had been operated on earlier - he thought so however.

Nevertheless, in March she appeared in heat, but other cats (all fixed) did not sniff her as I remember cats doing. Now, she appears in heat again.

Is it possible that she is in a false heat? Thanks

[Traci]

What were the symptoms appearing to be in heat? If she was in fact spayed over a year or two ago, she wouldn't exhibit any signs of going into heat.

The only way a 'false' heat cycle could occur is if she was actually spayed, but an incompetent vet left ovarian remnants present during the spay procedure.

[davet]

like traci said, no false heat would show up in a spayed cat...with Pseudocyesis (fals heat) it requires an ovary...now possibly it coul;d have a snipet of ovary left inside but would be unsual and if it was a heat, even the cawstrted males would show some interes....could be cystitis and several other "itisis"

[LoveMyCats]

She crouches down with rear up; and occasionally she cries. She does not do this at night (I remember my cats in heat many years ago wouldn't let me sleep because of their howling).

I'm just amazed that the neutered male cats (five) have no interest in her. Seems like before, all cats would sniff a cat in heat. But it has been many years for me.

From your post, sounds like we need to get her spayed! Thanks.

[Ash]

My cat was left with one ovary and would have false heat cycles and what looked like false pregnancies! She would behave as if pregnant, make nests, hide in there. She developed an abcess (cyst?) on the ovary, a very large one, which was just discovered in time.

Can your vet take an x-ray/ultrasound to determine if there's anything left in her?

[Traci]

Get her to your vet, or one more experienced with felines. It may not be what you're thinking at all, but something else entirely. Your vet can also do bloodwork and urinalysis to check for other problems...since she has a heart murmur, you want to rule out things before subjecting her to unnecessary surgery. If the vet determines surgery is necessary for another condition, you'll want bloodwork done prior, an ECG as well.

[Phoebe's human]

When I got my current cat (Phoebe) a year ago, she was going on 7 years old and had been spayed, I was told. The vet records I got for her didn't include the spaying record.

She had a habit of sticking her rear end up in the air and acting a bit like a cat in heat, but without the distinctive howl. I looked for a scar but couldn't find one.

I finally asked the vet, who found the spaying scar.

I didn't know that she could have been spayed but have some ovarian remnants left inside.

Since then, I learned that the two male cats she was living with before she came to live with me used to mount her from time to time.

I've noticed that she is sticking her rear end up in the air less and less now. I'm wondering if the two tomcats might have just put some ideas in her head, and now the ideas are fading away!

But from what I'm reading in this thread, it sounds as if they wouldn't have even been interested in her if she had been "thoroughly" spayed. Or do I have this wrong?