Animal News

Birth Control Pills for Cats

How They Work

Mikkel Preisler
By Mikkel Preisler 30. April 2025

There are advantages to giving birth control pills to cats—at least if you want to avoid having kittens in the family. However, there are also disadvantages that mean you should carefully consider how long your cat should be on birth control pills and think about whether there might be alternatives that are relevant for your cat.

What are birth control pills for cats?

The birth control pills that can be prescribed to cats are a synthetic pregnancy hormone that is ingested orally. It is a prescription medication that prevents your cat from going into heat, thereby reducing the risk of pregnancy.

Disadvantages of choosing birth control pills for cats Pregnancy

There are several disadvantages to choosing birth control pills for cats as a contraceptive method. First and foremost, there is no 100% guarantee that your cat will not become pregnant. Additionally, cats have a remarkable ability to spit out their pills as soon as you look away, often failing to swallow them. If you forget just one pill, or administer it a day late, there’s a fairly high chance that your cat could become pregnant.

Side Effects

There are no short-term side effects when your cat is given birth control pills. Nevertheless, it’s not entirely advisable to use birth control pills for cats as a contraceptive method throughout the cat’s life. Primarily, it is observed that a lot of cats develop breast cancer in later age when they have been given birth control pills on a weekly basis for an extended period of their lives.

This can cause disturbances in the uterus, and birth control pills for cats can increase the likelihood of diabetes and metabolic problems.

Our team may have used AI to assist in the creation of this content, which has been reviewed by our editors.