Kitten acting strangely- please help.

rosie383

I am asking on behalf of a friend who has a 12 week old female kitten. She has had it for only just over a week and it has been acting 'normally' until today.
However, today she won't let anyone touch her, is running about like a crazy thing (swinging on curtains etc!) and has urinated on the kitchen floor, and seems to be licking around her private parts.
Does this seem like a sign that she is going into season? If so, how long does it last? And what is the earliest she can be spayed? The vet says 6 months. Any help would be appreciated.

gettingready

12 weeks is too young to go into season.

Perhaps now the kitty feels settled and tries to simply be a a kitty.

My lot were quiet for the first few days, now they swing on curtains (and the dog's tail) and they too had a few accidents around the flat - got 4 kittens and 4 cat litter trays and still found few little pressies behind the telly and my desk.....

Is she the only kitten your friend has?

My lot have each other to play with and the dog to look after them...

I also leave ots of toys (small balls, toy mice etc) and the floor for them to "find" and amuse themselves with)

hethmar

Your friend needs to speak to the vet. It could be anything but not I wouldnt think going into season at that very tender age.

gettingready

Oh sorry, the vet is of course right - around 6 months is the right age to have a kitten neutered. Although my lot will have to be done a bit earlier as it turns out I have 2 boys and 2 girls and do not want to take any chances.... The boys will be done first as it is a simpler procedure with male kittens, then the girls....

rosie383

Is it expensive to get them neutered? I think you get help on benefits, but my friend isn't.

gettingready

My vet charges around £70 (depending if male or female) per cat to be neutered.

Also, there is a cost of microchip and vaccinations - that came to around £75 per cat.

Does the kitten go out? Is it already microchipped/vaccinated?

And add flea treatment/worming of course...

Vet fees depend on where you live, diferent vets will have different prices...

hethmar

Depending on where she lives, the CPL and RSPCA sometimes provide free or low cost neutering.

rita-rabbit

rosie383 wrote: »

Is it expensive to get them neutered? I think you get help on benefits, but my friend isn't.

sorry I have to ask: but would your friend allow kitten to breed if they decided it was too expensive to get it spayed?:(

gettingready

Hate to sound horrible but did your friend look into costs of keeping a kitten before getting one in the fisrt place?

rosie383

Just an update. No, my friend is not going to let the cat out or let it breed. She will pay to have it neutered. She just wondered how expensive it was so she can budget for it. And I don't think she realised the full costs of getting the cat. I suppose, gone are the days when it didn't cost much for most pets...... now there are jabs, microchipping, neutering, insurance etc. Worth it to have a pet that you love, but quite a big commitment I think.
You should do what I do. We have a 'visiting' cat which lives in the house behind ours. She came over the fence for a visit 9 years ago as a wee kitten and has been coming every day ever since. It suits her owner, as she is a childminder and the cat comes to ours to escape for a wee bit of peace and quiet. We love her to bits, the kids have been able to learn how to be gentle with animals, and I don't have to feed her or clean out her litter tray! She brings me presents of mice or birds every now and again, but her owner says she has never had a gift from her! Personally I would put a collar and bell on her, but as she isn't my cat, I can't do that.

rita-rabbit

yes - used to be much cheaper to own pets. Although I do not pay for insurance - just the additional expensive of flea drops when collars used to do the job fine as well as jabs (in years gone by I didn't bother and pets were fine - there again I lived in an area where there were v few pets & mine were rather anti-social) brings the cost right up. Now however I live in a densely populated area with lots of pets, some of whom are rescue.

Best not to annoy neighbours cat owner. Bell & collar doesn't always work either tbh.