How to prevent unwanted pregnancy in cats

Life is not easy for owners of intact female cats. In our series about female cats, we already talked about how hard it is to calm a female cat when she is in heat, but a much bigger concern is avoiding unwanted pregnancy.

Even if you keep a cat for breeding purposes, it’s not the best option to mate her every time she comes into heat; therefore, it’s necessary to know about the best contraception methods for cats.

In this article, you will learn several ways to prevent unwanted pregnancy in cats.

• Spay your cat. It’s the most effective way to avoid pregnancy in cats. Forever. If you are planning to breed your cat, this solution is, of course, out of the question for you. If, however, you do not plan to use your cat for breeding purposes, there are very few excuses not to spay her. Some say that spaying is unnatural, but do you know what is natural? Mating is. But do you want that? Also, being constantly in heat is very tiresome and unnatural for a cat. Spaying not only helps to avoid pregnancy in cats, but doing so also settles hormonal activity and calms your cat down, and it reduces the risk of certain diseases such as mammary and uterine tumors. You can find more information about spaying cats here.
• Keep your cat indoors starting from the day you notice initial heat symptoms. If you have a male cat at home, you will also need to keep the two cats separated. We know it may not be as easy as it sounds. Both cats will need a lot of your attention and exercise to get through this. The hardest part is knowing when you should keep your pets separated. Most commonly, cats go into heat in 21-day intervals. They stay in heat for up to 10 days, and then they go into a phase named inter-estrus for up to 14 days. Some cats may show great differences in behavior during those two phases, while others may appear to be in heat almost all the time.
• Visit a vet to induce ovulation. Cats are so-called induced ovulators, which means that ovulation occurs after their vagina is stimulated during intercourse. The good thing about ovulation is that it stops the heat cycle for 35 to 40 days, during which your cat won’t be able to become pregnant. You don’t want to let your cat mate, but your cat’s vagina can be stimulated artificially in the veterinary clinic. Please note: There are many manuals on the Internet showing how to do this at home. Don’t try it.
• Visit a vet for hormonal therapy. There are several ways to alter your cat’s hormonal activity artificially. Most commonly, hormones named prostaglandin and estrogen are used to stop the heat cycle and avoid unwanted pregnancy in cats. If you choose to try them, definitely visit your veterinarian first. Most of the hormonal drugs used for cats are intended to be used in the long term, and strictly following the instructions is crucial for your cat’s health. The use of hormonal therapies is risky because these medications can have very negative side effects and commonly lead to pyometra (uterine infection) and tumors in cats.

If you can’t spay your cat, the best suggestion to prevent pregnancy is to keep your cat separate from male cats and not to intervene with her hormonal cycle artificially; the latter can affect your cat’s overall health and, particularly important for show cats, the health of her reproductive system.

On the contrary, if you do not plan to breed your cat, spay her. There is no better way to avoid pregnancy in cats. Do you think that medical intervention in her hormonal cycles or constant meowing are better solutions than spaying her and letting her live a peaceful life?

In the next article of our series about female cats you will find out what are the signs of pregnancy in cats. Just in case.