Question about spay/neuter

Ok I have noticed the trend of mods pushing for spay/neutering the cats after the kittens have been weened. What I don't understand is how all of the same people seem to have had cats who've had several litters and/or are pregnant now. Why don't you have those cats spay/neutered?

Originally Posted by Robyn_Fresh

Ok I have noticed the trend of mods pushing for spay/neutering the cats after the kittens have been weened. What I don't understand is how all of the same people seem to have had cats who've had several litters and/or are pregnant now. Why don't you have those cats spay/neutered?

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Robyn....I have 2 cats....both of which were spayed/neutered before they turned 6 months of age. I volunteer at a rescue group where all the kittens/cats we place are spayed/neutered. There is a distinct difference between members who are registered/responsible breeders (like Gayef) and those who have found themselves with an accidental pregnant cat.

Please note the forum guidelines:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59881

As a general rule, TCS is primarily concerned with cat welfare. Because of our strong committment to responsible cat care and treatment, we do promote and strongly encourage a pro-spay/neuter policy here. Unless you are an experienced, responsible, ethical breeder of pedigreed cats, we do not advocate breeding. We feel strongly that you should spay and neuter your pets so it should not at all surprise or offend you when we tell you so in our replies to your posts.

It's important to remember that this site does have responsible pedigreed cat breeders...however, just as the guidelines state...unless you are a registered breeder we do recommend that you have your cat spayed once she has weaned her kittens.

Katie

Some people just don't like to be told what to do, others don't have the money, some think that an indoor cat doesn't need to be altered (although many cats get pregnant from running away for a one night escapade), and others still just don't really care what's going on (they only see it as a few more kittens in the world, when in reality it's those kittens and all of their kittens and their kitten's kittens, and so on).

Life happens, but the responsible thing is to alter them right away whether their indoor or outdoor. That's why I spay/neuter all of my kittens at 16 weeks before they go to their new homes so that I know that I'm not adding to the kitten overpopulation problem.

Originally Posted by Robyn_Fresh

Ok I have noticed the trend of mods pushing for spay/neutering the cats after the kittens have been weened. What I don't understand is how all of the same people seem to have had cats who've had several litters and/or are pregnant now. Why don't you have those cats spay/neutered?

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A lot of people here foster, so they might have gotten pregnant cat from a shelter to foster the babies.

I took in a stray cat who was pregnant, my other animals have always been altered. As will my stray (Shenzi) and her kittens, as soon as the vet will do it. (actually, I don't even consider her a 'stray' anymore, she is part of our family and we will provide her 'forever home') If she hadn't shown up at my home, I would never have had a pregnant animal.

I am now looking into ways I can help my community with the stray/feral problem. Not sure what extent I can help, but even if it is just volunteering and monetary donations...I definitely want to be a part of the solution. I really never realized how much of a problem there really was with people not altering their pets.

It's really a shame.

Originally Posted by poohandwendy

I took in a stray cat who was pregnant, my other animals have always been altered. As will my stray (Shenzi) and her kittens, as soon as the vet will do it. (actually, I don't even consider her a 'stray' anymore, she is part of our family and we will provide her 'forever home') If she hadn't shown up at my home, I would never have had a pregnant animal.

I am now looking into ways I can help my community with the stray/feral problem. Not sure what extent I can help, but even if it is just volunteering and monetary donations...I definitely want to be a part of the solution. I really never realized how much of a problem there really was with people not altering their pets.

It's really a shame.

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Here is a list of groups that work with strays/feral cats:

http://www.alleycat.org/orgs.html#pa

Katie

oh ok. I didn't realize that you were fostering cats. I thought about doing that, but don't know how they would mix with the cat that I already have and the 2 kittens from her litter that I'll be keeping. Will the spay really make my cat a more affectionate cat? Although April is very loyal to our household she does sometimes randomly attack, especially guests to the house. As a child I had a male cat from age 12 until recently when he passed away. He was neutered in order to prevent him from getting into so many fights outside. When I got April and she went into heat that was a new experience for me and my husband found it annoying. I'm having her spayed on Tuesday. I'll be glad to not have her going into heat anymore, but what are the other advantages? Also, what do you think about front paw declawing? I have been considering it, but also have been considering soft paws.

Originally Posted by Robyn_Fresh

oh ok. I didn't realize that you were fostering cats. I thought about doing that, but don't know how they would mix with the cat that I already have and the 2 kittens from her litter that I'll be keeping. Will the spay really make my cat a more affectionate cat? Although April is very loyal to our household she does sometimes randomly attack, especially guests to the house. As a child I had a male cat from age 12 until recently when he passed away. He was neutered in order to prevent him from getting into so many fights outside. When I got April and she went into heat that was a new experience for me and my husband found it annoying. I'm having her spayed on Tuesday. I'll be glad to not have her going into heat anymore, but what are the other advantages? Also, what do you think about front paw declawing? I have been considering it, but also have been considering soft paws.

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Everything I have read regarding behavior after spaying indicates that it does improve a cat's behavior since they no longer experience "heat"....there are many other advantages to having your cat spayed including reducing her chances for many cancers. As for declawing...I don't recommend the procedure.

Katie

I, too, have a cat that was a feral/stray that became pregnant, ended up at our house permanently, and we kept 1 of the 8 kittens. I have always spayed/neutered. Of course neutering males helps a lot with the territorial/spraying issue, and I recently had this female spayed that had the litter of kittens. Boy, did it help her issues. She had been "female spraying" around the house, and had bitten me and my daughter when we picked her up. She also had been attacking her own kitten, who's about 5 months old now. Turned out she had ovarian cysts, so had pain from them, and also so much estrogen she was in constant heat and "grumpiness." She now grooms her "kitten", and plays with him, and sleeps on our bed and uses her litterbox. I really was surprised how much spaying her helped her "purrsonality!"

Oh please don't declaw the poor thing. It is such a cruel and unnecessary amputation. Go with Soft Paws, it is very simple to teach them where it is ok to scratch. Buy those scratch cardboard things that sit in the floor, my cats love those.

Spaying cats does help settle them down and calm their natures, but that is primarily a happy side effect of a procedure that should be fundamentally viewed in terms of keeping the world as free as possible of unwanted kittens that can become abandoned, homeless, abused, tortured, lost or any other number of horrible outcomes. Not to mention all the other kittens they may deliver etc etc. It becomes an increasingly unsolvable problem.

As for the declawing - I think you will find some very heated and passionate responses to that issue but the fact that it is banned in a number of countries should be enough to hopefully deter you and help you understand what a cruel, barbaric act of torture it is for any cat. There is PLENTY of information on TCS about declawing - and the site is an advocate of NOT doing it - please look into it very carefully. There is absolutely no need whatsoever to declaw a cat, they can be shown where the right places to scratch are - but they NEED to do it, they don't do it to be naughty - and declawing is like having your fingers cut off at the first knuckle - it's really not just about removing claws.