Recent Content by catvas

This is false and emotionally charged. Please only post researched or at least plausible comments. Thank you. From Feral Cats: An Overview, available online: The frequency of FIV, FeLV and other infectious diseases in feral cat populations is similar to or lower than that of owned-cat...

Sorry for the double post.  Also they did the surgery for the same price as a normal neuter/spay.

I live in Ireland, and it was very difficult to find someone, I had to call about 10 vets, and go in to a few to explain what I wanted and why.  All refused for the usual, non-logical reasons.  I finally found one and only one who agreed to give it a try.  They hadn't done it before (none of...

I live in Ireland, and it was very difficult to find someone, I had to call about 10 vets, and go in to a few to explain what I wanted and why.  All refused for the usual, non-logical reasons.  I finally found one and only one who agreed to give it a try.  They hadn't done it before (none of...

It was my understanding that any mating resulted in vaginal abrasions, which is what stimulates ovulation. That would probably suffice for exchange of bodily fluids to pass on infection.  The rate of infection when abrasion does occur would be a good thing to know, but probably not available...

Some sources I found said that FeLV is transmitted "through exchange of bodily fluids---bites, sexual contact, etc.". Which makes sense, I think; why wouldn't it be transmitted sexually if it can be transmitted by other bodily fluids? Some diseases are transmitted very easily by any bodily...

Sorry but this seems like an unsubstantiated claim. Are there studies? What's the percentage likelihood of a sex bite breaking the skin and/or spreading disease? Anyway like I said before it would be nice to know the prevalence of these diseases in the local population, both pet and feral.

Yes, this is true. I think it's difficult to assess quality of life for another species, especially when it's not a case of injury or major medical issues. Mating and interacting with members of the opposite sex is an important part of social life for mammals, and I think removing someone else's...

Just had a quick look and didn't find much on STDs in cats. FIV is mostly transmitted through bites according to the Cornell Feline Health Center but sexual contact is not a major means of spreading FIV. That makes sense because I know of neutered indoor cats who have contracted the disease...

Can you be more specific about what health risks of interacting with strays you're talking about? The ones that I know of are FIV, leukemia, and rabies.  I have no good study-based information on the rates of these diseases in my area, local cat charities practising TNR do not have this...

Ideally, yes. But this is one of the many things I've been unable to find a straight answer about.  It seems generally accepted that a female will go out of head once she mates, but I can't find any specific info on HOW LONG after she mates she goes out of heat. One of the best (and one of the...

Ours isn't very friendly generally, he's not aggressive unless he's out fighting other males, but he's not overly affectionate either.  He likes hanging out with us sometimes indoors, but usually won't come to us when he's outside.  He's very trusting of us inside though, and I'm reassured that...