Hi, I'm new here.
My kitten is about 4 1/2 months old. I got her from a kill shelter in L.A. at the end of June. By law, they aren't supposed to let you take any animal home who hasn't been spayed or neutered, but she was under two pounds and, I guess, it's considered too dangerous to aneasthetize and operate on such a tiny creature. So, anyway, she came home with me intact.
She was very sick for a long time with a cold and various worms and parasites and allergies, but she's doing great now. It's been really awesome watching her grow up. When she first came home with me she was terrified by everything for weeks and hid constantly. She's now bouncy, playful, talkative and one of the friendliest cats I've ever seen in action; she walks up confidently to everyone who enters the house and engages with them, even the electrician who didn't really appreciate her inspecting and batting at his work.
I've kept her as an indoor cat for a combination of reasons: her early illnesses, longer life expectancy, no risk of pregnancy (unless she manages to get out), no risk of losing her, no yard for her to play in and, just living in L.A., worried that she'll get run over. When I have taken her outside, she's been pretty scared of all the traffic and strange noises and she never tries to slip out the door when I or anyone else is going in or out (though she does love looking out the window at the wall of the apartment across the walk as people pass by).
Anyway, it's about time to get her fixed. While still small for her age, she's had a growth spurt in the last week or so and is getting more aggressive when she plays. I've never had a cat in heat so I don't know what that's like. I've heard it's awful, constant caterwauling, humping everything in reach, etc. She's yet to display any signs of it (that I'm aware of). She's a pale orange tabby which I've read is fairly rare, but her external gentitalia are female. I was, actually, kind of hoping she was a hermaphrodite so I wouldn't have to get her fixed. She was just been so sick for so long maybe I'm a little paranoid about her being operated on and she got a horrible abscess from the last shot she got at the vet. I know that having a hysterectomy is a major surgery for a human and comes with a whole host of life long side effects; do female cats have a similar experience with the procedure? I've read on this board that many cats have personality changes after getting fixed; the aloof, snoozy ones turn friendly and the friendly ones turn aloof and snoozy. I guess I feel like now that she isn't sick all the time her actual personality has, finally, had a chance to come out and she seems so happy that I'd just hate to...mess with that. I'm, also, worried that she won't trust me anymore afterward, that she'll feel like I tricked her into going somewhere where they hurt her.
Sorry, if this sounds nuts. I've just never been responsible for a creature before and I love her a lot and just want her to be happy. Sorry, this is so long.
My kitten is about 4 1/2 months old. I got her from a kill shelter in L.A. at the end of June. By law, they aren't supposed to let you take any animal home who hasn't been spayed or neutered, but she was under two pounds and, I guess, it's considered too dangerous to aneasthetize and operate on such a tiny creature. So, anyway, she came home with me intact.
She was very sick for a long time with a cold and various worms and parasites and allergies, but she's doing great now. It's been really awesome watching her grow up. When she first came home with me she was terrified by everything for weeks and hid constantly. She's now bouncy, playful, talkative and one of the friendliest cats I've ever seen in action; she walks up confidently to everyone who enters the house and engages with them, even the electrician who didn't really appreciate her inspecting and batting at his work.
I've kept her as an indoor cat for a combination of reasons: her early illnesses, longer life expectancy, no risk of pregnancy (unless she manages to get out), no risk of losing her, no yard for her to play in and, just living in L.A., worried that she'll get run over. When I have taken her outside, she's been pretty scared of all the traffic and strange noises and she never tries to slip out the door when I or anyone else is going in or out (though she does love looking out the window at the wall of the apartment across the walk as people pass by).
Anyway, it's about time to get her fixed. While still small for her age, she's had a growth spurt in the last week or so and is getting more aggressive when she plays. I've never had a cat in heat so I don't know what that's like. I've heard it's awful, constant caterwauling, humping everything in reach, etc. She's yet to display any signs of it (that I'm aware of). She's a pale orange tabby which I've read is fairly rare, but her external gentitalia are female. I was, actually, kind of hoping she was a hermaphrodite so I wouldn't have to get her fixed. She was just been so sick for so long maybe I'm a little paranoid about her being operated on and she got a horrible abscess from the last shot she got at the vet. I know that having a hysterectomy is a major surgery for a human and comes with a whole host of life long side effects; do female cats have a similar experience with the procedure? I've read on this board that many cats have personality changes after getting fixed; the aloof, snoozy ones turn friendly and the friendly ones turn aloof and snoozy. I guess I feel like now that she isn't sick all the time her actual personality has, finally, had a chance to come out and she seems so happy that I'd just hate to...mess with that. I'm, also, worried that she won't trust me anymore afterward, that she'll feel like I tricked her into going somewhere where they hurt her.
Sorry, if this sounds nuts. I've just never been responsible for a creature before and I love her a lot and just want her to be happy. Sorry, this is so long.