Hello everyone So, my cat got spayed 3 days ago and after thinking about it....I kind of feel I was pressured by all the topics pro castration and all the posts on here and how it prevents diseases. So I was thinking over the past days and idk maybe spaying wasn't the right decision?
1) spaying decreases chance of cancer : Well, it's obvious that if the organ is removed chances of cancer in that organ are going to be eliminated!! But that doesn't mean that unaltered cats are all going to get cancer!!! It may happen...But it also might not! So if I'm afraid of getting colon cancer for example, i should have my colon removed? NO! (Holds true for other illnesses as well)( just like with humans. Might happen. Might not)
2) decreases cat population : so the cat's rate of reproduction is just something it has by nature, not human induced right? Which means if no humans were around, cats are still gonna be reproducing as fast and as often as they are now which we are trying to "limit" and "control". If we keep spaying and neutering are cats and TNR campaigns keep going on, isn't the population eventually going to decrease drastically and cause an imbalance? I know cats suffer on the streets and it's so heartbreaking. I have rescued and took care of street cats before and I know how they are suffering. BUT people in some countries in Africa and the world are suffering as well..and hundreds die everyday of hunger, the lack of fresh water and diseases. Should we go castrate these people so their suffering stops? ABSOLUTELY NOT! why would that be considered inhumane for them but perfectly okay for cats? Why don't we try and do what we do with humans? We try to help those humans by providing Medical care, food and fresh water right?! Why aren't there campaigns and fundraisers for cats? If people start actually learning more and helping feral cats in their area, no feral cat would be suffering anymore! If people would give food and water everything would be fine! And instead of TNR..why not TTR ( trap, treat, release)! All cats would be healthy and content! (On a side note : animals in the wild die of diseases, fights, and hunger as well, it's natural selection) (another alternative would be putting the cats to good use, there is actually a shelter that relocates cats in factories and places with mice problems to control the mice there)
3) male cats gathering and spraying outside your house : well what if I live in an apartment and there's basically no way my cat would be able to escape?
So, if you take those points into consideration, the only pros left is that the cat will stop constantly going into heat cycles and males will stop spraying. Now I know the spraying is pretty much an enough argument to castrate BUT I think our relationship with our cats is that of respect. It is an animal by nature and you knew that when you adopted it so isn't it a bit unfair to be molding the animal to fit our lifestyle instead of respecting that animal and it's nature and coping with it?/finding other alternatives?
In my opinion if we absolutely must castrate our cats, there should a STERILISATION (with the reproductive organs preserved) option, as opposed to castration which involves the removal of an entire organ!! After all, sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen don't only have the function of reproduction.
But then again maybe I'm wrong and my way of looking at this is wrong as well with the whole giving human like qualities to animals(cats). But you can't help but think that way after seeing how intelligent they are and how they're capable of showing emotions and think.
*(Not writing angrily if it seemed so. It's an argument and I would love if you all share your thoughts too)*
Sorry for the long post but just some stuff I was thinking about lately. I would love to hear your opinions! What points are you with/against and why?
1) spaying decreases chance of cancer : Well, it's obvious that if the organ is removed chances of cancer in that organ are going to be eliminated!! But that doesn't mean that unaltered cats are all going to get cancer!!! It may happen...But it also might not! So if I'm afraid of getting colon cancer for example, i should have my colon removed? NO! (Holds true for other illnesses as well)( just like with humans. Might happen. Might not)
2) decreases cat population : so the cat's rate of reproduction is just something it has by nature, not human induced right? Which means if no humans were around, cats are still gonna be reproducing as fast and as often as they are now which we are trying to "limit" and "control". If we keep spaying and neutering are cats and TNR campaigns keep going on, isn't the population eventually going to decrease drastically and cause an imbalance? I know cats suffer on the streets and it's so heartbreaking. I have rescued and took care of street cats before and I know how they are suffering. BUT people in some countries in Africa and the world are suffering as well..and hundreds die everyday of hunger, the lack of fresh water and diseases. Should we go castrate these people so their suffering stops? ABSOLUTELY NOT! why would that be considered inhumane for them but perfectly okay for cats? Why don't we try and do what we do with humans? We try to help those humans by providing Medical care, food and fresh water right?! Why aren't there campaigns and fundraisers for cats? If people start actually learning more and helping feral cats in their area, no feral cat would be suffering anymore! If people would give food and water everything would be fine! And instead of TNR..why not TTR ( trap, treat, release)! All cats would be healthy and content! (On a side note : animals in the wild die of diseases, fights, and hunger as well, it's natural selection) (another alternative would be putting the cats to good use, there is actually a shelter that relocates cats in factories and places with mice problems to control the mice there)
3) male cats gathering and spraying outside your house : well what if I live in an apartment and there's basically no way my cat would be able to escape?
So, if you take those points into consideration, the only pros left is that the cat will stop constantly going into heat cycles and males will stop spraying. Now I know the spraying is pretty much an enough argument to castrate BUT I think our relationship with our cats is that of respect. It is an animal by nature and you knew that when you adopted it so isn't it a bit unfair to be molding the animal to fit our lifestyle instead of respecting that animal and it's nature and coping with it?/finding other alternatives?
In my opinion if we absolutely must castrate our cats, there should a STERILISATION (with the reproductive organs preserved) option, as opposed to castration which involves the removal of an entire organ!! After all, sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen don't only have the function of reproduction.
But then again maybe I'm wrong and my way of looking at this is wrong as well with the whole giving human like qualities to animals(cats). But you can't help but think that way after seeing how intelligent they are and how they're capable of showing emotions and think.
*(Not writing angrily if it seemed so. It's an argument and I would love if you all share your thoughts too)*
Sorry for the long post but just some stuff I was thinking about lately. I would love to hear your opinions! What points are you with/against and why?
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