The IT thing went over like a lead balloon. They aren't allowed near our animals anymore. You would think when we go on a trip living next door you would ask your relatives. I leave instructions that specify they are not allowed in our home.
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Why cat owners refuse to spay-neuter their cats
- Thread starter mysterycat
- Start Date
I'd like to add that the refusal to not S/N puts a burden on all animal shelters and rescues and private citizens who take it upon themselves to do something. Meanwhile the people allowing the breeding of unwanted kittens and puppies seem to get of scott free and are allowed to continue their behavior. At the expense of everyone else.
I loathe the disposable cat idea. It makes me want to treat those people like -they- are disposable. It's kind of like those people who get horses and put them in tiny corrals with barely room to gallop, because it's farm equipment, not an animal, to them...
That's not the only problem too. Pet stores treat all animals like some temporary play thing. I've seen finger-long baby MONITOR LIZARDS in pet stores and these people swear they won't live long or get very big. Then, thirty years and 6 feet later, you have a monster living in your back yard, or worse, you've released it into the local wild to destroy the ecosystem. I was even once brought a pair of very friendly horned mountain dragons that someone thought were iguanas. They found out iguanas got really big and were going to kill them, so their girlfriend brought them to me. It took my three days of research to find out they were adult HMDs and at that point, they were both dying from dehydration, gut parasites, and the female was egg laden. I tragically watched them both die in my hands. Beautiful lizards that could have lived to be 30 years old or more.
How many people do you know that purchase pets that could live very long lives just to have them die because pet stores, even our whole society, taught us pets were disposable? How many turtles, parrots, great lizards, and fish have been mistreated and abused because we've all been taught to take care of them wrong and cut their lives in half? And fish! How many times have you heard or been told fish stay small if their tank is small?! How many Chinese food restaurants have you been to that have bathtub sized fake ponds stuffed with massive koi?! How many exotic, threatened species of wild caught fish have been sold in the US to people that don't know they can get three, four, even five feet long and keep them in tiny 20 aquariums until they die two years later?
I'm shocked and terrified by the thought that pets I rescued could have lived as long as I have and longer if their previous owners had just taken better care of them. I HAVE A FIFTEEN YEAR OLD TARANTULA! Sure she's half blind (half blind for a tarantula is pretty near total blind for us) and crotchety, but did you even know they could live that long?!
When I took Tybalt in, I made a commitment. I plan to live with him for the next 30 years of my life, even if he doesn't make it that long. I think everyone else should do the same and end the myth that cats only live eight years.
My rabbits all lived well into their teens. So did my chickens/roosters/geese unless the relatives dogs got to them. Were in a bubble on a site like this. The real world is much different. The majority of dogs/cats and other pets are lucky to get minimal care during their lives.
I am not an Animal Rights nut. I am a proponent for Animal welfare and owner accountability. After this court case and the one with the SVB is settled over Kitten I intend to start some petitions in my state to give companion animals monetary value when veterinary negligence or malpractice is involved. Because no one else should have to endure what we have or fight so hard to find justice when their pet has been injured or killed by a hired professional. I would also like to see it made a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge to let their dog or cat run at large. Of all the dog shootings, hit by cars and other bad things that happen to pets running loose all of them would have been preventable if the owner had contained their pets.
If my relatives next door were given an animal cruelty charge for each time their dogs are loose on the paved road often over a half mile from home they would indeed learn what a fence was.
Maybe not a "nut" but you sure qualify as an animal welfare and animal rights advocate, if not an activist too, with all the work you're doing/plan to do. The world freaking sucks. As much as I have loved every injured, malnourished, and otherwise unwell animal (domestic and wildlife) that's passed through my door and heart, my greatest longing would be to never have to take care of another. I think teaching people how important spaying/neutering can be to a cat or dog is the beginning of a brighter future. A lot more people are taking their pets in, even if it's not making a very big impact right now.
We need more bleeding-heart vets that actually love the animals they take care of. I so greatful for the vet I have. If I could go back to college, I'd love to finish my degree as a vet.
I may end up an activist. With a sane agenda.
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I want to thank you for sharing your experience and what finally made you decide to have Charlie neutered. I am increasingly thinking about this more and more with rescues I volunteer with and with kitten season coming around the corner, well, it is a very important issue. I have been trying to understand the mindset of people who refuse to fix their pets and honestly I just can't understand it. However, I think if I try to understand their reasoning better, I hope I can help to educate them on why it is so important to do. I am glad you shared these links that led you to change your mind as its helpful to know what "works" in convincing people.
We have had several of those cats, that have been dumped when the elderly owner died or ended up in a nursing home, at our shelter. Some have been alumnis, others not....but they are always the saddest, most scared cats. Some perk up quickly, but the ones who had been in the home longer than a couple of years....and the older cats. They are angry to be left. Or so sad they don't want to eat. It is always a joy when they find a home! I hope someone took that little 8 year old home quickly. :-)
It's good to have one that haunts you. Keeps the fire burning. I hope she was adopted too.
Both of my males are neutered. One was neutered at 2 months old (he is 4 months) and the other was neutered when he came in as a stray at 1year. They will BOTH take a leap off the cat tree to catch a bug, and grab it with their paws...and they intend to kill....no playing around for these guys. Any mouse, bug, snake and sorry to say...bird....would soon regret making its way in here unless I intervened. Interestingly enough....they are also smart kitties and a firm "no" would end the hunt....as much as they LOVE the hunt. They'll even answer me if I ask them what they are hunting, with a chirp, and then pointing their noses back at their prey (even if it's through a window).
Neutered males can and do hunt....and they come with the perks of better behavior and pee that doesn't send you in the other direction......
I also don't understand the idea that spayed and neutered dogs make bwd guard dogs. My dearly departed doberman was the best guard dog I ever had. I wish he was still with me, but my mentally unstable neighbor killed him one night. There was a full investigation, but no proof was found to convict the jerk. Also, before him, our chow mix was very protective of us, and both dogs were neutered as puppies. Dogs can sometimes be easier to contain than cats, for sure, but I've seen dogs tear apart kennels to get to the unspayed female inside. If a dog is capable of that, then what about children that get in the way? Animals just can't control themselves the way people can, so it's our responsibility to help them.
Castration is known to reduce aggression in male animals. . .one of the reasons we usually neuter pets! But if a dog is of a guarding breed, he/she will still guard---it's in their genes. And they know to take care of business. Altered cats are also just as able to defend themselves against predators as any unaltered cat. It's kind of amazing how many misconceptions are out there!
Exactly...because a "guard" dog and an "aggressive" dog are not one in the same. A guard dog's job is to protect and defend...within limits. He is a worker on the job when guarding, not an aggressive beast out to kill........
I brought Bud to get neutered before he hit kitty puberty, and I know it was the right thing to do -- at least nowadays, with the medical science we have -- but I have to admit I do feel bad about it. Sometimes I feel really bad about it, just like I feel bad about taking him away from his mom, and I feel bad that he'll never see his brothers and sisters again. I wonder if he misses them. I mean, he has to, right?
I can only hope that his life is better with me than without me, and I try to do everything I can to make his life better.
I can only hope that his life is better with me than without me, and I try to do everything I can to make his life better.
An altered guard dog is probably more suited to the work. Not distracted by sex drive. The same goes for cats. It is the level of their prey drive not sex drive that makes them good or bad hunters.
I know that even though my cat is tagged and my complex had me fill out an ident card for him, they still call animal control when cats get into the dumpsters. The last thing I'd want is for Tybalt to get out, get grabbed, thrown in a cage, taken to another city, and if I couldn't claim him in time, get euthanized. In that, I am very glad he was neutered, because he doesn't have the sex drive to want to break out on top of all the other curiosity factors of your average cat. While Tybalt may get to see some of his siblings if I take him with me to my mother's house, there are some that also have their own homes. He doesn't miss them the way we might. He is very happy and healthy and plays with me a lot, so even if he did miss them, I don't see him getting upset. You are your cat's family now. You should never regret the choice of taking the cat to a better home. [emoji]128149[/emoji]
When I got my two boys, they were the last two out of a litter of five kittens that needed a home. Mama already had a home secured but these two guys didn't. I couldn't take one and then leave one to chance. And now I can't imagine not having both of them. They were quite attached for many months and they still are, but to a much smaller degree. They don't always sleep together like they used to. They live their own lives these days
I often wonder if they would have missed each other if separated. They didn't seem to miss the others. I think they WOULD miss each other now though.
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It's complicated to say they 'miss' their siblings or not. I read a feline psychology paper on it ages ago. They don't have nostalgia like we do, that's for sure, but if there was a strong bond, like what YOUR cats have, you can be sure they will be distressed if that bond is broken. As very small kittens, they survive on impulse: eat, sleep, poop, etc. So their bonds are simply strong enough to survive upon, such as bonding to mother. It's difficult to say 'every cat' is this way, as we all know all cats are individuals, but if our own bonds with them are stronger than their basic bonds as kittens, you can be sure they are perfectly happy where they are!When I got my two boys, they were the last two out of a litter of five kittens that needed a home. Mama already had a home secured but these two guys didn't. I couldn't take one and then leave one to chance. And now I can't imagine not having both of them. They were quite attached for many months and they still are, but to a much smaller degree. They don't always sleep together like they used to. They live their own lives these days
I often wonder if they would have missed each other if separated. They didn't seem to miss the others. I think they WOULD miss each other now though.
I think it's dismissive of your own love for your pets if you dwell on what they could be missing. It breaks my heart when good pet owners think about such things, especially when their pets very much love them. [emoji]128158[/emoji]
Oh, I wouldn't say I dwell on it, but the thought does occur occasionally. They have each other and are quite bonded. Oscar still occasionally suckles on his brother's armpit, which he started doing two weeks after I got them.
But I got way off topic I did not even think twice about having them neutered, nor did I feel like I took something away from them. My only worry was the fact they had to go under. I'm quite happy we were able to do it before their hormones kicked in. They are very healthy and very happy almost-9 month old boys now.
But I got way off topic
I did not even think twice about having them neutered, nor did I feel like I took something away from them. My only worry was the fact they had to go under. I'm quite happy we were able to do it before their hormones kicked in. They are very healthy and very happy almost-9 month old boys now.Well, it is true that in Bud's case, he was the last of his litter to get adopted out. If I hadn't taken him, someone else would have. And God knows his every whim is catered to here...I have been working from home the entire time since I adopted him, so we have a very strong bond. I mean, literally every time I go out, he lays down right next to the door and waits for me to come back. Every time. When I walk through the door again, he's right there to greet me.
When I came back from a 10-day vacation in August, he was so excited he literally started shaking and threw up. When I go to sleep at night, he sleeps on top of me, or burrowed into my side. And every night around 7 p.m. when I'm sitting down to watch Jeopardy, he brings his favorite wand toy over and we play for an hour or more.
So yeah...I think we have a genuine bond. Bud is my first real pet, and he has improved my life for sure.
At the same time, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel bad that I took him away from his mom, and I often wonder if he's happy as an "only cat." I don't think he's seen another cat since he was baby, not counting the very rare stray sometimes visible outside at night. I dunno. Just something I think about sometimes. I guess we'll never really know what they think.
