Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

  • Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!

Why is my spayed cat still in heat? Does she need another surgery?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Bobtail | Female | spayed | 2 years and 10 months old | 8 lbs

My cat was spayed in May, but she has gone into heat multiple times in the three months since I adopted her. I was wondering if this is something that will happen for the rest of her life or if they possibly missed tissue and I need to get her respayed?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 1st, 2020

I would have Phlily seen by a vet for this. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes an ovarian remnant can be left behind, causing the cat to continue going into heat. I recommend an exploratory surgery.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 31st, 2022

    Since your vet was unable to identify a uterus and ovaries during surgery, it does sound as though Francine was spayed. However, some cats can develop tiny additional pieces of ovarian tissue, which is enough to produce hormonal influences. We call this ovarian remnant syndrome, where previously spayed cats exhibit signs of estrus (heat) due to these hormones. You can ask your vet about running some blood tests to check her hormone levels. After that, it’s a matter of exploratory surgery to try to find the ovarian remnant. It can be a frustrating surgery because the piece of tissue can be quite tiny and very difficult to find.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Image profile

    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 9th, 2019

    Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry this happened. Yes, I’m pretty sure she’s going to need to have surgery again. Progesterone long-term is not a good idea in a cat. She’s definitely not going to get pregnant so if you can deal with the behavior, you can just leave her alone. Unfortunately cats will sometimes have ectopic ovarian tissue that’s not in the normal place and that may be why it was missed by the vets at the previous surgeries.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello I have a 2 year and 6 months female cat that’s is spayed. I spayed her a few months ago but her vet told me that the surgery was a bit rare as they could’t find one ovary and so they left it Before the surgery my cat would always roll on the f
Yes, this will be due to the ovary left behind. Because this ovary is still there, it's releases hormones and causing Kitty to have symptoms of heat. Yes, surgery is recommended to find that ovary and remove it.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi dr. How are you? Is it possible for my female cat to be in heat after neuter? Its been like 7 months since the surgery and every thing was good untill 2 days ago . Is that normal?! Thx a lot
IT's not normal but rarely a very small piece of ovary might not have been removed for various reasons (accidentally of course, not intentionally). if this is the case you will have to test it over several months, if this keeps happening your vet will have to do a special blood test to confirm my suspicion. if the test comes back positive your vet will need to do another surgery, look for this little piece of ovary and hopefully find it and remove it, unfortunately this is not always the case and in some cases the vet does not find it. in such a case there is an alternative in a form of hormonal implant that needs to be done once every 6-12 months.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My cat has been spayed but she’s displaying all the signs as if she’s in heat. She’s being extremely affectionate and meowing like crazy, and she’s also peeing everywhere. I’m not sure what to do, and I’d like to get her to stop peeing everywhere.
Hello. It is possible that a little bit of her ovary was left behind when Holly was spayed, or a small piece of the ovary fell back into the abdomen during surgery, vascularized & is now active. Even a tiny remnant can cause a cat to show all the classic signs of heat. If he behavior comes and goes, this is an indication that an ovarian remnant is present. There are some blood tests that can distinguish this, or your veterinarian might try to ultrasound her to try & locate if active ovarian tissue is present. In almost all the cats that we have seen with this behavior ( & most were spayed elsewhere ), we were able to open up a cat's abdomen & find a small piece of ovary still present. Once this was removed, all signs of heat completely disappeared. I do not know if this will stop her peeing, but it will clinically stop her estrus displays. Thanks for contacting Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I have a 1-year-old female who apparently was not fully spayed (ovarian remnant is suspected). She has had 2 heat cycles since I adopted her in October. I have a neutered male cat who responds to her heat behaviors by attempting to mount her. I would
Unfortunately, if your female cat has an ovarian remnant, there is nothing you can do in your house, short of keeping the male and female separated, that would prevent him trying to mount her. the exploratory surgery would be needed to find the remnants and have them removed in order for her to no longer experience heat cycles.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Cat was spayed a month ago and is constantly acting like she’s in heat. She is showing aggression to our other cat(10 year old neutered male). There were not previous issues between them. Took her back to the vet and they treated an infection on part
No you can't live like this forever. What I'm going to mention happens rarely, but there is a chance this is why Rue Rue keeps acting like she is in heat. Sometimes, again rarely, ovarian tissue can be left behind accidentally, causing the cat to act like they are going into heat. I'd have her seen by another vet for a second opinion. Best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi, My cat is 18 months old, she's was spayed over a year ago on 12/16/2016, but as of last night has all of the symptoms of being in heat! Why is this happening? She's been fine for over a year. I can't see my vet until Monday. What could be wrong?
Hi. Poor patches. If she truly is in heat, this could mean that there is still some ovarian tissue present. Your veterinarian may need to do some hormone testing, ultrasound, or even explore the area if he/she feels she is in heat.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello, I have a female cat 6 months old, she started her heat cycle 5 days before her spay appointment. She was spayed while she was in heat, after her surgery she seems very good, but at the night after the surgery she started to cry, rolling and r
The hormones would still be present in the blood stream for some time after surgery so it would be usual for the behaviors to continue for up to 3-5days after surgery. If it has continued longer than this you should contact your vet for a post-surgery recheck to ensure verything is healing well and there is no discomfort causing her behavior
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Training & Behavior
My cat is fixed, but she continues to walk around the house meowing, yowling like I’m giving her a bath. It’s driving me insane! Is there something wrong with her?
Hello, sorry to hear about your kitty. Its difficult to say, some cats may have increased vocalizations because they are hungry, because they are itchy, or because they are intact. Some cats may have remnant ovarian tissue and may continue to show signs in heat. All of these causes can be determined with some routine testing from your veterinarian, including bloodwork, a physical exam, and potentially and ultrasound. If she continues to do this, then you should have your cat checked to make sure she does not have a remnant ovarian tissue that needs to be addressed. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I've had a stray cat now for 2 years. Vet said since she hasn't been pregnant in that time she must be spayed. It still seems like she is going into heat. What should I do? Thanks.
It can be difficult to know if they've been spayed or not if you don't have any medical records. You can request that the vet shave her belly to look for a spay scar, but they can be very faint if she was spayed at a very young age. If she still has signs of heat, then either she hasn't been spayed or there is some ovarian tissue still present inside her. You can have a hormone test (AMH) done to confirm that there still is ovarian tissue and then you know she needs surgery to remove it. Or the vet can just go to surgery to go look for it.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
New Pet
A stray female cat arrived at my house and I began to take care of her, and 8 weeks ago she had a kitten in the house who is also looked after here. A few weeks ago she was spayed and the vet says she recovered well. The past few days she has shown s
Hello and thank you for contacting Boop by Petco. Holly cannot get pregnant, but it looks that she is showing ovarian remnant syndrome. This is when a small piece of ovarian tissue is accidentally left inside the abdomen during neutering. If Holly continues to show heat symptoms, she would need another surgery to remove the remaining ovarian tissue from the abdomen.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

Related Searches

Cat Supplies Cat Food Wet Cat Food Cat Medicine Vaccines and Shots for Cats Cat Toys Cat Training & Behavior Cat Health & Wellness Cat Potty Training Cat Recovery Cones & Surgical Suits Spironolactone Cat Medicine Remedy+Recovery Cat Supplies Vetality Cat Training & Behavior CAT by Dr Lisa Cat Health & Wellness Spironolactone Diuretics for Cats HEALERS Cat Health & Wellness Remedy+Recovery Cat Grooming & Bathing Lantus Cat Medicine Spree Cat Supplies Flora Inc Cat Health & Wellness
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored