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Q.: I have a Russian Blue aged six months.
I've read that RBs are sexually mature at an early age.
How can I tell if she's in a heat? She slipped out of her harness the other day and went into the neighbor's garden.
This has never happened before, but it might happen again.
I wouldn't want her to get pregnant. I don't want to put her on oral contraceptives either until she is more developed.
A.: Unfortunately the first heat of a young female cat may be so weak it may be impossible for the owner to notice it. This does not, unfortunately, mean that it isn't "usable".
That's why you'll have to watch her closely from now on - RBs may mature sexually already from seven-eight months.
But if you haven't planned to breed with her, you should perhaps consider having her neutered already now? It's quite possible even if she is not older than this, provided she is big enough (2½ kg) to cope with being anesthetized.
But if she is meant to have kittens, I actually think it would be best to put her on oral contraceptives now - for if she is used to go for a walk in her harness, it would be a pity if she were to be kept indoors all of a sudden (which would be the only alternative).
The subject of oral contraceptives for cats and their possible side effects is undergoing intense research these years, and the latest news is that several studies indicate that you get the lowest risk of problems by starting the cat on contraceptives before it even has the time to go into its first heat.
P.S. A fully developed heat leaves nobody in doubt: the cat sounds like several babies in agony, it will rub constantly against everybody and everything, lift its behind and stamp its hind legs, almost if you only look at it etc.
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