Do i need to spay?

[wickedbella]

The number one reason people are pro spay/neuter is to prevent cats from producing litters of possibly unwanted kittens.. but what if the cat is infertile? Is spaying something that should still be done? Would it serve a real purpose?

Thank you.

 

[kittyluv387]

Yes i think its only fair if you're not going to provide a reproductive life (which you shouldnt). Shes going to go through all these mood swings and heat for no reason. And domestic cats go through heat pretty often. Also very importantly, a girl can get pyometra (infection of the uterus) if she goes through many heat cycles without breeding. This would be very dangerous, stressful and expensive.

But actually im notnsure if an infertile cat can go into the heat motions. Someone else can weigh in on that.

 

[wickedbella]

She's 3 years, has never had any babies and is an indoor/outdoor cat. Her heats are maybe every other month and very mild almost unnoticeable. She seems pretty happy and healthy.

 

[kittyluv387]

I still would because Pyometra is a nasty infection.

Are you saying shes infertile because she hasnt had babies in 3 years? Not sure if thats enough to go off on.

 

[wickedbella]

We'll it's the conclusion I've come too because I did attempt to breed her once and she was with the stud for 4 days and nothing.

I got her from a breeder who was down sizing 8 months ago and was under the impression she had bred her before, then come to find out she had never had any babies... I read that cats can get infertile after a while if they aren't bred so that's why I'm "assuming" she's infertile.

So with that assumption I started letting her go outside because she likes doing her business out there ( which means less to clean up for me hehe). And for those many months of this she has not gotten pregnant.

Essentially, I came here asking if it was imperative that I get her fixed. What are the likeliness of her getting an infection or anything from not getting fixed Statistically speaking?... Cats in the wild seem to live long healthy lives in the wild without spay/neuter that's why I'm wondering how important is it really since the main reason ( getting preggo)  is  a non issue. Sort of like how boys used to get circumcised back in the day " just in case" of an infection whereas now they don't do it anymore because the likeliness is so low so they just deal with it on a case to case basis instead of chopping everyone... ( sorry for the choice of comparison ).

 

[talkingpeanut]

The above doesn't seem to be enough evidence that she's infertile.

Each heat is a tremendous stress on her body which increases her risk of reproductive cancers. Pyometria, as mentioned, is fatal if untreated.

Spaying is the healthiest choice.

You also don't want males attacking her or mating with her even if she can't get pregnant. That's how diseases are spread. Sex is quite painful for female cats as well.

 

[Willowy]

Cats' bodies are intended to have lots and lots of kittens, and die young (cats in "the wild" rarely live past age 10). So they tend to get weird reproductive issues. Actual pyometra is rare in cats, but they do tend get some kind of uterine hyperplasia, very common. Even show breeders spay breeding females as soon as they're done with their litters, even if the females live separately from the males. So, yes, it's best to spay, though I suppose you don't really have to hurry .