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 I’m not so sure that cats enjoy the summer season. When the weather warms, many moggies become frisky.
Those that are not desexed go into reproductive mode, while cats that are desexed wonder what all the commotion is all about - but they, too, become embroiled in the season of sensuality.
Hormones, however, cause cats hassles.
Hormone-enhanced cats roam for kilometres, fighting, brawling, spraying and mating. Cat fight abscesses occur, Feline Aids is spread by biting and, of course, thousands of unwanted kittens are born.
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The breeding season
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Cats, unlike dogs, are seasonal breeders. This means that they have a relatively short breeding season, which as the day length increases in late winter and extends through the Spring and Summer months. The breeding season often catches a cat owner unawares.
Cats are breeding machines. There is nothing accidental in their mating rituals. When the hormones hit, the Queens (female cats) actively seek males and they keep seeking them until mated. The males are more than willing, and they will brawl with each other to get their ‘gal’.
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What does this mean for cat owners?
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It means that if you have a female or male cat that is not desexed, you could be in trouble!
Your female cat is likely to show some unusual behaviour when her hormones start. She will yowl at the door to get out at night. She will roll on the ground, become agitated and act most unusually. You are likely to think her need is a brief sojourn outside to go to the toilet and that’s your mistake as she will stay out all night, to return in the morning with a happy, contented but mischievous smile on her face. Nine weeks later there will be a surprise in the laundry basket when she has given birth to a litter of kittens.
What happens with male cats? These boys are going to have a hard time. Their fights over the females are bitter and vicious, and injuries of all kinds are common.
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Cat Fight Abscesses
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Due to the stiletto-like shape of a cat’s canine teeth and the dangerous bacteria that live in and around the cat’s teeth and gums, a bite wound will often result in a Cat Fight Abscess.
When a cat bites, it forces bacteria from its teeth under the skin of its victim. Pus is produced in the wound and this usually erupts from the bite wound like a volcano when the wound has ‘matured’ for a few days.
Cat Fight Abscesses are painful for the cat and when they burst, the smell is awful.
Veterinary treatment is essential. A course of antibiotics will usually clear the infection quickly but your cat may need an anaesthetic or surgery.
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Fighting Cats Spread Feline Aids
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When it fights, an infected cat will also spread Feline AIDS, an auto-immune disease similar in many ways to human AIDS. Feline AIDS is only transmitted by saliva and, therefore, by the bite of a cat. It is not spread by sexual contact. Because they are more aggressive, entire male cats are much more likely to carry the Feline AIDS virus. The virus is also often found in desexed cats allowed to roam extensively.
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Spraying Behaviour - a Summer Problem
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Spraying behaviour is another common problem at this time of year.
Spraying is a normal marking behaviour of entire (non-desexed) male cats and also of female cats when they are in season. It is a form of communication. Desexing a male or female cat is likely to improve the behaviour but spraying is often seen in desexed cats, males and females, too. This often occurs when the cat is anxious, upset or ‘territorially stressed’. I have seen spraying behaviour in cats that are never let out of their house but where, through a window, they can see other cats prowling through the garden or around the house.
Sometimes these roaming cats are devilish. I have seen cases where they will spray through a fly screened door to upset the resident cat within. I know of a case where a roaming cat entered through a cat door, chased the resident cat off its sleeping owner’s bed and then sprayed on the owner’s face as she was waking up to the melee!
Lastly, non-cat owners get justifiably angry about their gardens being used as “no-man’s-land” - an arena used by the neighbourhood moggies for their calamitous clashes. The noise, the odour around the garden beds that the cats may be using as a latrine, and the stench of urine spray are intolerable for most non-cat owners.
The solution is to ensure your cat is desexed. Your veterinarian will help you with this but you should also see your vet for advice if your cat has a cat fight abscess or is spraying.
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Dr Cam Day BVSc BSc MACVSc is a veterinary surgeon, an animal behaviour consultant and media presenter. In 1995 he qualified as a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in the discipline of Animal Behaviour and is one of only 15 veterinarians with this qualification in Australia. He works full time in animal behaviour management in Queensland, consulting with dog, cat and bird owners on a daily basis as well as appearing on air as Brisbane’s radio Pet Vet, and writing for various magazines.
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