My beloved 8-year-old cat, Spinx, had closed pyometra in April of of this year. We didn’t know that; we had taken her in for a lump we found near her nipple. The vet said the lump might be breast cancer, but the pyometra was more serious. He said do the surgery for that first and then deal with the lump and that’s what we did. The surgery went well and she came home and within 2 days was back to normal.

A couple of weeks later her breathing changed and she stopped eating drinking and going to the bathroom. When we took her to the vet, he said we had to put her down because she was dying and he said she had cancer all over. Wouldn’t the vet have known that when he did the surgery for the pyometra? I’m heartbroken for the loss of my best friend. Can you give my any information about this?

~Claudia

Siouxsie: We’re terribly sorry for your loss, Claudia, and we’re sorry that your last two weeks with your beloved Spinx were so traumatic. We do have some answers that might set your heart at ease — at least as far as how your vet responded to your cat’s illnesses.

Thomas: First of all, your vet’s priorities were right. Pyometra is a life-threatening medical emergency.

Dahlia: The closed form of pyometra is particularly deadly, because there’s no way for the infectious material to escape from your cat’s uterus. But the fluids keep building up, which can cause the uterus to rupture, spilling all this purulent matter into your cat’s abdomen. Cats that suffer from uterine rupture usually die within 48 hours.

Siouxsie: Another reason why closed pyometra is so dangerous is that an infected cat’s body tries to eliminate the excess fluid and toxins through the kidneys. The kidneys quickly become overwhelmed and the cat goes into uremic poisoning, which can lead to kidney failure.

Thomas: The only effective treatment for pyometra is an emergency spay. Because the spay incision is quite small, and because your vet was so focused on getting the infected uterus out of your cat’s body without rupturing it, we wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t looking for tumors.

Dahlia: Because your cat was so sick, it would have been dangerous for her to be under anesthesia any longer than absolutely necessary. So again, we’re not surprised that your vet didn’t go poking around in your cat’s belly looking for other cancerous growths.

Siouxsie: Now let’s talk a little bit about your cat’s cancer. Mammary cancer is the third most common cancer in female cats. Unfortunately, about 90% of tumors of the mammary glands in cats are cancerous.

Thomas: Mammary cancers are also generally quite aggressive. Tumors spread from the mammary glands to local lymph nodes and then on to the chest, brain, bone, and even spleen.

Dahlia: Treatment for mammary cancer begins with surgery to remove the entire chain of mammary glands on the affected side. The surgery may be followed by chemotherapy if it is indicated.

Siouxsie: If the veterinarian finds that the mammary cancer is already pretty advanced, he or she might do a less radical form of the surgery as a palliative measure, to make the cat as comfortable as possible and prevent tumors from ulcerating through the skin.

Thomas: One of the most common complications of mammary cancer is the spread of the tumor to the chest, which interferes with the cat’s ability to breathe. This is apparently what happened to your sweet Spinx. Because these types of cancers tend to spread to the chest first, it’s possible that there weren’t any tumors in Spinx’s abdomen.

Dahlia: And finally, let’s talk a bit about how to prevent these terrible diseases.

Siouxsie: Early spaying drastically reduces the risk of mammary cancer. Cats spayed before 6 months of age have 91% less risk of developing this disease, and cats spayed before 1 year of age have an 86% risk reduction. Spaying also completely eliminates the risk of pyometra.

Thomas: We’re not saying this to guilt-trip you, Claudia. A lot of people don’t know that spaying has such a dramatic effect on their cat’s long-term health. That’s why we’re mentioning it here.

Dahlia: We hope anyone who wonders why kitties like us (and the people who love us) make such a big deal about the importance of early spaying will take Claudia and Spinx’s story as an object lesson. Although it’s clearly just about a worst-case scenario, would you want to put your cat — and yourself — through even a fraction of this pain if you didn’t have to?

Siouxsie: Finally, although we know that some of you probably have very strong feelings about Claudia’s letter, we’d ask that you not criticize her. We believe she wants to understand what happened so she can prevent this tragic outcome if she adopts another cat in the future. Thank you in advance for your kindness and compassion.

I had my autistic son’s kitten neutered and a few days later he couldn’t move his hind legs very well. I took him to the vet and they thought it was because he was ill and put him on antibiotics. He is almost done with the meds. Is it possible the vet did something wrong in the surgery? Please help. I don’t know what to tell my son about his kitty.

~Corrin

Siouxsie: Although we’re not veterinarians and couldn’t say for sure what happened, our research has indicated a possible explanation.

Thomas: Your kitten may have had a reaction to the anesthetic that was used for his surgery. According to Mike Richards, DVM, at VetInfo For Cats, Ketamine and Xylazine, the two most common drugs used for the first stage of anesthesia, can, in rare instances, cause central nervous system problems.

Dahlia: This happens if the medicine causes the blood pressure to get too low, which causes heart arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) and means that not enough oxygen gets to the brain.

Siouxsie: These symptoms are extremely rare and they happen to the best and most competent vets in the world, so it’s not necessarily an indication that your vet did something wrong.

Thomas: Sometimes surgery can uncover medical problems that weren’t obvious before, such as cardiomyopathy (weakness of the heart muscle), or liver or kidney problems.

Dahlia: Some vets encourage people to have their cats’ blood tested before they’re put under anesthesia. When this testing is done, it can reveal potential liver and kidney issues, but it won’t uncover cardiomyopathy.

Siouxsie: The good news is, because your kitten is so young there’s a very good chance he’ll make a full recovery. It may take weeks or even months, but he should be okay eventually.

Thomas: While your son’s kitten is coping with this disability, make sure he gets plenty of fluids and that he’s eating. If he stops drinking or eating, get him to the vet right away.

Dahlia: So, Corrin, if I were you I’d explain to your son that sometimes the anesthetic makes cats sick and wobbly, and it may take a while for your cat to get better. Encourage your son to be extra-kind and gentle to the kitten while he recovers and to be as helpful as he can. If your son is aware that he’s “different” from other kids, you might be able to use this as a teachable time to help him learn more about compassion and caring.

Siouxsie: We don’t know the level of autism your son has, so we don’t know how capable he is of taking care of the kitten or understanding what the problem is, but Mama has autistic friends who have found that taking care of sick animals has been a profoundly life-changing experience for them.

Thomas: We’d also encourage you to talk to your vet and see if you can get more answers about what the problem is. If your son’s kitten doesn’t make a full recovery with the antibiotics and they continue to assume that he has an infection, you may want to consult another veterinarian.

Dahlia: Good luck, Corrin, and our best wishes for your kitten’s recovery.

I got my cat in January when she was 3 months old. My husband and I thought she was mute cause she wouldn’t meow. When we got her she was spayed already, which concerned me that they didn’t do the surgery the right way, or maybe she was too young. Even to this day, she still can’t meow.  She opens her mouth but nothing comes out. But my other two cats understand her very well. It doesn’t stop her, OR them. She makes up for her silent meows with a lot of LOUD purring. She is the sweetest little kitten I have ever seen, and she does the cutest things. Still, I can’t help but wonder where her voice went!

~Kaisha

Siouxsie: Let us reassure you, Kaisha, that it’s very unlikely there’s anything wrong with your cat.

Thomas: Lots of cats open their mouths and look like they’re meowing, but humans don’t hear any sound. I like to do that to Mama, because she thinks it’s really sweet.

Dahlia: The fact is, our “silent meow” is a real meow, but the noise we make is above the range of human hearing.

Siouxsie: Cats can hear sounds as high-pitched at 65,000 cycles per second. The only animals whose hearing is more acute than that are bats and moths! Humans, on the other hand, can only hear up to about 20,000 cycles per second. So we can hear lots of sounds that you can’t hear.

Thomas: This helps us a lot when we’re hunting rodents, because mice and shrews and the like make very high-pitched noises. Also, our hearing is so sensitive that we can hear the slightest scuffing of their movements.

Dahlia: We’re not at all surprised that your three cats understand each other so well! Cats communicate mostly by body language, and in fact it’s very rare for cats to meow at each other. Mother cats and kittens meow to one another occasionally, but we adult cats communicate much more subtly … oh, ouch! Thomas, stop it! You’re really annoying me!

Thomas: Oh, come on! I just want to hug you and groom you!

Dahlia: Leave me alone! What part of hisssss don’t you understand? … Dang it, now I’ve got my claw stuck in the blanket! Maaaamaaa! Help!

Siouxsie: Cool it, you two! We’ve got a column to write.

Dahlia: Anyway … so, you see, Kaisha, I told Thomas I didn’t want to play with him by using my body language. When he still didn’t leave me alone, I hissed at him. But when I needed Mama’s help to get my claw un-stuck, I meowed to her because, well, humans are kind of obtuse and need vocal cues.

Siouxsie: We’re quite sure that your kitten’s absent meow is not a result of being spayed at a young age.

Thomas: It’s very common for animal shelters to spay or neuter animals as early as 7 weeks of age so that they’re already “fixed” by the time they’re ready to be adopted. Even vets in private practice are doing more early spay/neuter surgeries.

Dahlia: Some people have raised concerns about whether it’s safe for kittens to be neutered so young. They were particularly concerned about cats’ urinary tract development. Cats — particularly male cats — can be prone to urinary blockages, which are life-threatening emergencies.

Siouxsie: But the Winn Feline Foundation did a long-term survey on cats that were fixed at a young age, and to date, the researchers have found no health risks resulting from early spay/neuter. (If you’re interested, you can read the full report here.)

Thomas: There were no significant differences in urinary tract development in cats that were neutered early.

Dahlia: Cats that were spayed or neutered early tend to be longer and taller than cats who have the surgery at a later date.

Siouxsie: So, Kaisha, we hope we’ve put your mind at ease about your kitten’s missing meow.

Thomas: If she does find her (human-hearing-pitched) meow someday, we’d love to know when it happens.

I have a 14-month-old Siamese, that first came into season in May of this year, and called every three weeks until September. She has now stopped calling. Will she now not come into season again until next spring?

~Catherine

Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

My cat is 1 year old. She is going in to heat. Is there anything I could give her to help with this?

~Windigo

Siouxsie: Catherine, cats are seasonally polyestrus, which means that they have heat cycles until they are bred. However, cats’ mating seasons are influenced by the length of daylight, the temperature, and the presence of other cats.

Thomas: In the northern hemisphere, the mating season usually runs from March through September, whereas in the southern hemisphere cats cycle from October through March.

Dahlia: However, the anestrus period (the time when cats don’t go into heat) can be as short as three months — typically November through January in the northern hemisphere. So your cat could begin calling again in just a couple of months.

Siouxsie: We noticed that you’re a Siamese cat breeder and that you’re fairly new to this work. To help you learn as much as you can about cat anatomy and health issues, we’d recommend that you make sure you have a very good relationship with your vet and that you consider purchasing a book like the Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook by Debra M. Eldredge, DVM; Delbert G. Carlson, DVM; Liisa D. Carlson, DVM; and James M. Giffin, MD.

Thomas: This book will inform you about all aspects of your cat’s health and anatomy in terms easily understood by lay people, and it even has a few tips about cat genetics and breeding issues.

Dahlia: If you can find another reputable breeder to be a mentor, you’ll probably find that very helpful, too.

Siouxsie: Now, on to Windigo’s question …

Thomas: The only thing you’re really going to be able to give your cat to help her stop going into heat, Windigo, is a spay.

Dahlia: We are very firm believers in the importance of spaying and neutering. Every year, millions of unwanted cats and kittens are euthanized in shelters when homes cannot be found for them. Or worse yet, they are abandoned to fend for themselves and subjected to a short, hard, hungry  life, where they will probably die from disease or accident.

Siouxsie: We don’t even like to contemplate such horrible fates. Every day we thank our lucky purrs that we were rescued and spayed or neutered!

Thomas: People often justify not having their cats spayed by saying it’s too expensive. This really isn’t a valid excuse in most developed nations because animal rescue groups offer low-cost spay/neuter clinics, there are organizations all over the US that will help low-income people get their animals spayed or neutered, and some states here in the US actually offer low-cost spay/neuter vouchers.

Dahlia: If you think of the long-term consequences, you’ll find that it’s actually more expensive not to have your cat fixed! You’ll spend more on food, cat litter, vet bills, cleaning up after roaming toms, and lots of other little things. A spay will pay for itself in less than a year. Seriously.

Siouxsie: And spaying your cat will certainly spare you and your neighbors the annoyance of having to deal with a crying, wailing escape artist and the suitors that will come from miles around to woo her and grace your yard with the lovely aroma of tomcat spray.

Thomas: The only people exempt from our injunction to spay or neuter are responsible breeders, as opposed to “backyard breeders” or kitten mills. (Yes, kitten mills do exist, although they don’t get as much publicity as puppy mills.)

Dahlia: Some people have strong negative feelings about the breeding of pedigreed animals, but to them we’d say that whether or not there are responsible breeders, there will always be a demand for purebred cats. We’d rather have that demand satisfied by people who breed cats with knowledge, diligent effort, good vet care, responsibility, and a love for the breed. If only profit-motivated sellers are left, the breeds — and more importantly, the cats themselves — will suffer.

Siouxsie: So, to wrap this up, we’d say to Catherine that you’ve made a huge commitment when you chose to take on being a breeder. We’re delighted that you seem to be doing so responsibly, by learning as much as you can about the breed you’re working with. We hope you can find a mentor in the fancy who can help you get started and learn some things that he or she may have learned the hard way.

Thomas: Windigo, please have your cat spayed as soon as you can. If affordability is an issue for you, check with your local humane society or animal rescue group to see if they offer low-cost spay/neuter clinics or vouchers. If you’re in the US, check the links above to find resources in your area. If you’re outside the US but living in Canada, one of the European countries, or Australia/New Zealand, there are similar organizations. In developing nations, spay/neuter clinics — and veterinarians, for that matter — can be few and far between.

Dahlia: We have readers all over the world, and we’d like to hear from you: If you live outside the US, what resources are available for people who want to get their animals spayed or neutered? Are there any? If so, how did you access those resources?