How to Quiet a Cat in Heat?

If you have a mature female cat which has not been spayed, it’s going to go into heat on a regular basis. Being in heat means that a female cat is ready to mate. Mature female cats who have not been spayed will go into heat twice a year.

If they do not mate, this will keep repeating itself. If a cat does mate, she will go back into heat after delivering the kittens.

The issue with a female cat in heat is that she is going to be very loud, just downright annoying. A cat in heat will constantly meow and yowl, and this is usually unrelenting. So, how to quiet a cat in heat is what we will talk about today.

Let Them Mate

If you wouldn’t mind having new kittens in the home or you think that you could make a few dollars by selling some cute little kitties, then something you could do to take care of this problem is to actually let the cat mate.

A female cat that is in heat wants nothing more than to mate and to reproduce. Therefore, the easiest way to deal with a cat in heat is to let them do just that. Of course, you may not want a litter of kittens to care for, in which case you will want to move on to the next step.

Spaying

Of course, one of the easiest ways to quiet a cat in heat is to get them spayed which will get rid of this problem altogether. A spayed cat won’t go into heat and does not have the ability to reproduce. However, many people find this to be inhumane and unnecessary, which may very well be true. If this is how you feel about getting a cat spayed, then move on to the next section.

Keep Her Away from Males

Besides spaying female cats or allowing them to mate, the next best option to try and keep them quiet during heat is to keep them away from male cats. A female cat in heat is going to go nuts if she is around a male, especially if that male is also in the mood to get busy.

Isolating the cat in heat from any males will work wonders to calm her down. That said, this may still not be quite enough, in which case the following tips might help too.

Catnip

Catnip is always a fun treat to give cats. Yes, this stuff is very addictive and mind altering too. Simply put, for all intents and purposes, catnip gets cats high. It’s almost like smoking a joint for a human. Whether or not catnip is going to help quiet a cat in heat all depends on the specific cat. Some cats, when they eat catnip, get really calm and peaceful, almost like they had actually smoked a joint.

On the other hand, some cats may become noisier and rambunctious after eating this stuff, what essentially amounts to a drug. So, you can take your chances and see if Catnip helps. It’s a 50/50 shot, so beware that this can go both ways.

Something Warm to Sit on

Many experienced cat owners find that when their cats are in heat, giving them something warm to sit on may calm them down and keep them quiet. A warm towel under a cat’s behind, for one reason or another, seems to calm them down a bit.

Now, there is not much scientific research to back this up, nor does it always work. Just like with the catnip above, there is about a 50/50 shot that this is going to work.

Feliway

Feliway is a synthetic feline pheromone which is shown to have a calming effect on cats. This is kind of like an air freshener which you plug into the wall, which then releases those calming pheromones into the air. What you need to know here is that it does not work right away.

It will take a few weeks to take effect. If you have a loud cat that is in heat now, then it won’t be a quick fix. However, if you have a cat that is not spayed, plugging it in a couple weeks before she goes into heat will help.

Playtime

This is a temporary solution at best, but a bit of play can be distracting. The cat should keep quiet and be distracted for as long as you play with them, but they will probably go right back to meowing and yowling after you are done.

Conclusion

There are also some herbal remedies which may work to soothe a cat in heat, although these are hit and miss as well. The only real solution to quiet a cat in heat is through spaying.