spay/neuter

[cilla]

Rosiemac, I think it is the same all over the UK. The vet wouldn't spay/neuter mine until they were 6 months old, and I was getting a bit worried because Felix was getting a bit frisky with Buttons, but they still wouldn't do anything before they were 6 months old.

Feralwhisperer, I love that poem you had over the picture of that gorgeous cat. I quite like that idea.

 

[rosiemac]

Cilla it is. I've just spoke to Emma(vet nurse pal), and she said the same.

I had to check with the vet though just in case.

Better to be safe than sorry

 

[hissy]

Rosie, not to worry. Just keep her inside and away from intact males. I don't get any of the ferals spayed or neutered until they are 6 months old. My vet prefers to wait says it is safer and I bow to his wisdom.

 

[rosiemac]

Thanks Hissy.

There won't be any boys calling on my girls

 

[hissy]

LOL! They become quite determined when they are in heat though- you'd be surprised!

 

[rosiemac]

I remember just before Rosie was due to go and get spayed.

I have a frosted glass door at the back of the house, and all i could see was the shadow of this "HUGE" cat who i guessed was a male.

I'm laughing as i'm typing this because i stood behind the door saying " Rosie's not coming out! ".

My ex boyfriend thought i was mad

 

[kumbulu]

Um, this poll is a no-brainer really. (Is that how you Mericans say it?

) Catman7766, if you saw the condition that some of my foster kittens come to me in, you might change your mind. I care for orphaned and abandoned kittens, so that means kittens who's mother has died, kittens abandoned by their mother because she was too ill or too inexperienced to care for them, kittens taken from their mother and left in a box or plastic bag to die... need I go on?

Wouldn't it be lovely if everyone spayed or neutered their cats and I didn't have to do what I do? The reality is that there will always be orphaned and abandoned kittens because there will always be people who don't. I LOVE doing what I do but not when a kitten dies in my arms because someone took him and his littermates away from their mother on the day they were born and threw them in the trash. Think about that.

 

[rosiemac]

I tell you what really annoys me is when owners say 'they can't afford the fees to get them spayed/neutered'.

Then why didn't they think about this before they took poor animal on?!

It's just like Sophies mum. The owners of Sophies mother(Jasmine) took her to my friends vet surgery because she was having problems giving birth. Once they found out they had a bill to pay for the work and care they gave Jasmine, they said they couldn't afford it and could they take on the kittens as well as Jasmine!.

Thankfully Emmas surgery did, and thats how i got Sophie and all the rest of the kittens as well as Jasmine were found good homes.

A prime example of where these peoples brains are....in their pants!

 

[caspar]

Well, I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring. Being a newcomer, I was recently embroiled in another controversial thread over spaying/neutering and just about everything else. As far as spay/neutering, I believe in it, but I did breed my Tortoise Shell non-purebred because I wanted kittens for my farm. After they were born, everyone was fixed, and we are all one happy family. I might add also, that everyone was "speutered" at the 6 month time period.

Now in this same thread, I was attacked from all directions and accused of cat cruelty because of "backyard breeding". According to some posters, I should have gone to my nearest animal shelter and adopted 4 homeless kittens and saved them from the "headsman's axe".

I have a next door neighbor who constantly lets her cats breed over and over. They are small and very sickly, and the attrition rate is high between being hit by cars and the fact that inbreeding causes premature death. One cannot tell this woman anything. She is not the only one where I live. There is a large consensus of the same kind of thinking.

Okay, here I am. I'm up here to be the kicking dummy if you wish. Start kicking.

 

[hissy]

Caspar- First of all no one kicks on this board, at least not intentionally. From my perspective it gets a bit frustrating based on how long I have been rescuing abused and abandoned cats and hand-raising kittens, to know how during kitten season the shelters, and rescue facilities fill up so quickly. There are some that two weeks prior to kitten season starting, will mass euthanize the older animals, knowing they need the space for the kittens and that kittens are easier to adopt than the older cats. That's basically why I started privately rescuing older ferals that people think should be destroyed, and also raising orphaned kittens. True, you do not sound like a true backyard breeder, but your argument that you didn't want to go to the animal shelter because of them breeding disease (or something along those lines) didn't make sense. Most shelters have qualified vets on call and MOST shelters test for all infectious diseases. You might have gotten a few cats with upper resp. infections but that is cleared up quickly enough. Also there is nothing more loving than a cat who has been rescued from living in the confines of a cage. Once he or she adjusts to the new home, you would be hard pressed to find a creature that loved you more.

Time and time again on this board, I hear of people that let their backyard or barn cats breed, and for all the reasons they give, the reality is every time a kitten is born it takes away the rightful place of another cat or kitten simply wanting to get out of a life in a cage, and it puts into the world another cat that can add to the problem and start breeding as early as 6 months old.

 

[tnr1]

Originally Posted by Caspar

Well, I guess I'll throw my hat into the ring. Being a newcomer, I was recently embroiled in another controversial thread over spaying/neutering and just about everything else. As far as spay/neutering, I believe in it, but I did breed my Tortoise Shell non-purebred because I wanted kittens for my farm. After they were born, everyone was fixed, and we are all one happy family. I might add also, that everyone was "speutered" at the 6 month time period.

Now in this same thread, I was attacked from all directions and accused of cat cruelty because of "backyard breeding". According to some posters, I should have gone to my nearest animal shelter and adopted 4 homeless kittens and saved them from the "headsman's axe".

I have a next door neighbor who constantly lets her cats breed over and over. They are small and very sickly, and the attrition rate is high between being hit by cars and the fact that inbreeding causes premature death. One cannot tell this woman anything. She is not the only one where I live. There is a large consensus of the same kind of thinking.

Okay, here I am. I'm up here to be the kicking dummy if you wish. Start kicking.

Casper....I am glad all your cats are fixed, if it were me...I'd actually offer to pay for the spaying and neutering myself. Most people who have the "I don't care" attitude are willing to allow someone else to handle the situation. If you would tell me what city and state you live in...I could point out some low cost clinics. It doesn't do any of the cats any good to continue to breed like that. Another idea..is to build some "outdoor enclosures" which are sex specific. There has, to my knowledge, never been a case of immaculate conception...and that may work while you are helping to get the cats fixed. There are sooo many advantages to spaying/neutering.

Katie

 

[cilla]

Originally Posted by rosiemac

I tell you what really annoys me is when owners say 'they can't afford the fees to get them spayed/neutered'.

Then why didn't they think about this before they took poor animal on?!

It's just like Sophies mum. The owners of Sophies mother(Jasmine) took her to my friends vet surgery because she was having problems giving birth. Once they found out they had a bill to pay for the work and care they gave Jasmine, they said they couldn't afford it and could they take on the kittens as well as Jasmine!.

Thankfully Emmas surgery did, and thats how i got Sophie and all the rest of the kittens as well as Jasmine were found good homes.

A prime example of where these peoples brains are....in their pants!

Couldn't agree more. If they can't afford to spay/neuter why don't they get a cat from rescue that is already fixed and give a donation? But then would they pay vet fees if the poor cat became ill?

 

[amberthe bobcat]

Most shelters have qualified vets on call and MOST shelters test for all infectious diseases. You might have gotten a few cats with upper resp. infections but that is cleared up quickly enough. Also there is nothing more loving than a cat who has been rescued from living in the confines of a cage. Once he or she adjusts to the new home, you would be hard pressed to find a creature that loved you more.

I couldn't agree with this more. My wife and I just adopted a 1 1/2 year old male tabby named "Charlie" from the shelter. He had been there since January. He was given all the proper medical care while he was there. He was given a clean bill of health after his visit with our vet yesterday. Charlie is just a bundle of love. You can just see the "thank you for adopting me" in his eyes. He was even happy to be at the vets office. Walking around purring and just loving everyone there

You can see Charlie's picture in the Fur Pictures only section under, "Say hello To Charlie".

 

[caspar]

TNR1, this lady in question is not destitute. She has plenty of money to buy a new truck and the finest stereo and TV equipment for her house but just doesn't care what her cats do.

Hissy, regarding adopting animals from the shelter. I adopted a mixed breed puppy from our shelter. He came to us with a bad case of Corona which he subsequently gave to another of our dogs. It proved to be an expensive undertaking to get both dogs cured. To make a long story short, the shelter in my town is a joke. They are nothing more than a kill shelter, and to them, if it is obvious that an animal is sick, it will be put down immediately.

We recently called the shelter to pick up a wolf hybrid running loose. They picked it up. When a local wolf rescuer inquired as to adopting it, the shelter claimed ignorance of any wolf. One of my neighbors knew one of the animal control officers who confided in him that the wolf was euthanized the same day it was picked up. So no, I would not adopt any animal from this shelter knowing how this shelter is run. Desease runs rampant here.

 

[hissy]

That's sad to hear, it truly is. Perhaps an answer might lie in posting in our ACO (Ask Animal Control) forum and see what Mark has to say regarding what people could do to make the shelter a better place all around? Just a thought. Also, if you perceived me as attacking you, I do apologize, after witnessing the horrendous things that people do to strays and ferals and having kittens die on me, I am a bit passionate about doing whatever I can to stop the proliferation of strays and ferals.

 

[caspar]

Yes, I did perceive yours and others posts as attacks. I realize it is difficult to convey what you really mean when you are only writing text. Smiley faces don't help either because the last time I used one, it was taken as me laughing at them. I can't win for losing.

Anyway, I forgive all of you. Let's start all over. Tomorrow is another day.

 

[tnr1]

Casper....part of the problem you may be having with your local shelter is exactly the kittens and cats that are brought to them (ie your neighbor). Even shelters cannot overcome health issues that were inheritted from the parents. Additionally, if the shelter is also the ACO..they may lack funding to assist them in getting the medical necessessities that would be so useful to them. We have a shelter here in Virginia that has been struggling with Parvo for years. They unfortunately cannot do anything unless it is blessed the state vet....right now, they have cages where the spread is unfortunately too easy. They are trying to get the funding needed to upgrade to concrete...but the volunteer who is leading this effort also has a full time job.

I understand that your neighbor has the funds and just doesn't care...poor cats. For that reason alone I might just take one of the males..get it neutered and return it. If she doesn't say anything...I'd go for a second male etc. I know it seems wrong for someone to have the funds to neglect their cats...but that is what people who work with TNR encounter every day..they try to undo all the carelessness that led to these cats becoming feral. I can't thank active TNRers enough!

Katie

P.S. I also want to apologize...I understand your viewpoints regarding spaying/neutering at 6 months of age...but believe me...those of us who are participating in early age spay/neuter are not "experimenting" on these cats...we have had not one single complaint about the kittens we fixed at 8 weeks of age.

 

[rapunzel47]

Originally Posted by Abby7625

Unless you are a professional breeder, there should be NO option about it. Since I really don't care for using cat urine as potpourri or enjoy lying awake all nite listening to the endless yowling of the cats in heat or rejoice in the fact that many, many animals spend their lives in cages only to be put to sleep, I voted for spaying and neutering.

I hardly need to add my .02 worth, but that really does say it! I could hardly believe anyone would consider it worthwhile asking the question around here! DUH!

 

[feralwhisperer]

Originally Posted by rosiemac

I've just rang my vet.

We are obviously different over here in the UK. But she said the reason why we do it from 6 months is because it's a tricky enough operation as it is, and they say the ovaries etc... are not mature enough if done any sooner.

So even if i wanted it done now, they wont, they said it's not their policy.

But thanks for pointing it out to me because where their health is concerned i like to know everything i can

Sorry to question you. The Vets we uses in NY spay/neuter much younger

 

[mom of franz]

Hmmm... Catman has dropped his little bomb and ran..., true troll behavior!