Dear Dr. Walt: I have a 10-year-old female cat who seems to be constantly in heat. She is very disturbing at these times as she becomes very vocal - especially at all hours of the night. Her 'cat calls' are very audible as we live in an open-concept house and she likes to make her 'calls' in the very resonant stairways. Is she too old to be spayed? If not, will spaying eliminate this problem?
A simple answer to the latter question is 'yes' and the former 'no.' Assuming your cat is healthy in all other respects (something that should be ascertained by your veterinarian prior to the procedure), surgery should not pose any significant complications and can actually prevent a number of health issues that unspayed females may be prone to, such as uterine infections. However, the procedure is always safer and easier for both surgeon and pet if done at a young age. Besides, it also would have prevented the decade of unwelcome 'singing' that you have been exposed to, not to mention a potential outdoor misadventure that may have contributed to the pet overpopulation problem. So my response question would be "why has it taken you so long to come to this decision?"
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