I was just wondering purely out of curiosity why it is bad for a queen to be in call over and over? I read afew threads where breeders have had to spay their girl as she's come in call too quick to mate and also where people havn't bothered spaying and other members think it bad that she has called over and over, and I have always thought I wonder if the cat becomes ill or aggressive etc Purdy is getting spayed after christmas ( dreading it though )

Yes, it is bad for them.
They use up lots of energy when they are in call and eat relatively little, so they really, physically, wear themselves out.

Besides, the risk of breast cancer is much higher when they have not been spayed, and some say that their being in call too often increases that risk even further...

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My little angels at the rainbow bridge

and theres a disease called pyo that can be fatal or cause life long organ damage.............

Okay basically, when a cat calls, it's womb gets ready to have babies (like us women) building up extra blood and lining etc. but when the call isn't finished and the womb isn't used it doesn't get rid of the extra lining in the womb (like us women do) and so for call after call this lining builds up and deteriorates etc and can become septic. This will then fill the womb with pus and it can explode or cause blood poisoning. As cats call every three weeks or so it can happen very quickly - rule of thumb says not to let cats call more than 3 times before mating.

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I always wondered how it could cause this illness and now I know! Thank you!

What about Queens on the cat equivalent of the pill? That stops them call but am I right in thinking it can affect the kittens and the number of kittens the Queen produces?

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http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/ar...e-miserandino/

How long will they call for - if its the first time, and they are young (5 months)?

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I seem to have prolific callers, at 5 months old the calls only lasted 5 or 6 days, but I have three older girls who call for 10 days have 3 days rest then call for 10 days on and on etc. I have mated a girl younger than I ideally wanted as she was on her 8th call by 9 months old and calling up to 11 days at a time. Another girl only had 7 days of October when she wasn't calling. Her last kitten left home on the 29th Oct and she was on her 3rd call at that point. Clearly I won't mate her again yet and have managed to avoid constant calling from her now it's winter by putting her in the (heated) consevatory from 6pm and ensuring the lights are off. She's with the family the rest of the time.

Constant (with little respite) calling can leave them in worse condition than raising a litter of kittens does. I have spayed a girl as she was on her 5th call since her litter was born (they were 12 weeks) and was only having 3 days off to eat between calls. She looked a state and I could not get the weight on her plus it was April so I expected her to call for at least another 6 months.

My OH thinks I made up the theory that girls call every 3 weeks as it's the exception not the rule in my experience. He's not keen on turning the heating off and sitting in the dark though unfortunatly.

Thanks everyone for your replies, I've found the info fascinating, its amazing how much I still have to learn about our feline friends and now when other members mention these things in other threads I'l know what they're talking about

You can put them on Ovarid to stop calls but it doesn't always work and sometimes it can affect their fertility afterwards.

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please look at my website - www.finesthourcats.webs.com - for gorgeous GCCF registered RagaMuffins and Selkirk Rex