NEUTERING AND SPAYING CATS

Definitions:

Neutering is process of removing a male cat's testicles (balls to you, sir). Another term is castration. It is a simple procedure which many vets allow their veterinary nurses to do. The only risk, which is very small, is a reaction to the anaesthetic.

Within a couple of hours after the operation, the now neutered male will be back to normal and won't even notice something's missing.

Spaying is the term used to apply to the operation of which the human equivalent is a hysterectomy. This is only performed by vets. The stitches are usually (at least at our vets) internal and along the side and heal up very quickly.

The recovery time is a little longer than for males and the cat may want to be left alone for a few hours but that's all.

In the last several months I've had several females spayed and two males neutered. All of them were absolutely fine except for one exception which is mentioned in an earlier post. Some, as one did, may need a surgical collar to stop them scratching at the stitches.

Why Do We Do This?

All adult cats and dogs that have not been neutered/spayed already will be when they come into the care of Animal Krackers. Almost certainly, every other animal rescue in the UK will have the same policy. There many reasons for this.

Neutered male cats will never spray to mark their territory. The urine of unneutered males is highly pungent -in other words, it stinks to high heaven.

Unneutered males will have a much larger territory and thereby increase the risk of having an accident like getting hit by a car. They are more likely to catch diseases from other cats. They are much more likely to get into fights. They will have a shorter lifespan, particularly if they're feral.

Females will produce litter after litter of kittens, many of which never find a home because-

There are more unwanted cats and kittens than there are people that want them.

And that is because some people don't spay their cats. The more pregnancies a cat has, the shorter its life is likely to be. 

Reasons Not To Spay Or Neuter Cats.

There aren't any.

No, there really aren't. If you can't afford to pay a vet, a local rescue might be able to help. Or you could try the national charity Cats Protection. And there's always the PDSA.

Of course, there's always the old standby reason, the reason which can be applied to anything. You! Yes, you sir standing at the back with your arms folded. You were going to say..?

"It's not natural."

And congratulations sir, you have won the prize for making The World's Most Stupid Statement! What in this world dominated by humanity is natural these days? If we never did things as a species that weren't natural then we'd still primates living in the jungle.

Hang on! Hang on! Here's another. You'll love this one, trust me. "Why should we deprive an animal of the pleasure of sex?"

What pleasure? It has no more meaning for them than defecating (emptying their bowels to the man who made that statement). They don't know it's missing.

Okay, here's one that almost sounds sensible. "If every pet cat was neutered/spayed, the species would become extinct." No it wouldn't. There are always breeders, there are always 'accidents', there are always ferals. Cats are one of the most successful animals on the planet and will outlive us as species. They can certainly survive a few million domestic cats being deprived of the ability to reproduce. In this sadly unlikely event the only thing that might happen is that cats become more appreciated and more valued which would be no bad thing.

A neutered/spayed cat (or dog) lives a longer, healthier and happier life than one that isn't. It's as simple as that.