Spaying cats/kittens

[Storyteller]

We have a 6 month old female kitten.
Our first cat and she is ridiculously cute!
We have her booked in for being spayed on Tuesday. I have looked into the pros and cons of it and I think spaying her is the best thing to do but I wondered what people thought.

There is a very small (but real) risk involved, as with any surgery, of complications and/or her dying. There is a small risk that she will have problems with the scar, we will have to keep her in and as quiet as possible for up to two weeks (that`ll be fun!)
She will stop maturing and retain some of her kitten-ness.

But.... she won`t come into season, reducing her desire to roam, stop her displaying the behaviours like calling. She won`t get hassled by all the local toms and there won`t be the pressure of looking after kittens.
There are so many strays/unwanted cats and kittens so to deliberately bring more into the world seems a bit irresponsible.

If, and it`s a pretty big if, she is already pregnant (which is possible, though unlikely) we will have the choice to go ahead or not (some vets won`t for ethical reasons) My feelings on this is mixed. Bring more (unplanned) kittens into the world or kill them, knowing the cat has no say in it. My heart says if she were to be pregnant, we would have a family of kittens but never having had kittens I would be clueless as to how to look after them, and then there is the risk and cost involved in pregnancy and birth.

So anyway, Cosmo is off to be done on Tuesday, what are people`s thoughts?

[RickD]

Storyteller wrote:
what are people`s thoughts?

Ditch the cat. Get another dog.

Jk. Yes, spaying and neutering is the way to go. Be the responsible pet owner, please.

Btw, my sister's cat is named Cosmo too. I think she got the name from The Fairly Oddparents.

Post pics of said kitty, plz.

[abelcainsbrother]

We have a 6 month old female kitten.
Our first cat and she is ridiculously cute!
We have her booked in for being spayed on Tuesday. I have looked into the pros and cons of it and I think spaying her is the best thing to do but I wondered what people thought.

There is a very small (but real) risk involved, as with any surgery, of complications and/or her dying. There is a small risk that she will have problems with the scar, we will have to keep her in and as quiet as possible for up to two weeks (that`ll be fun!)
She will stop maturing and retain some of her kitten-ness.

But.... she won`t come into season, reducing her desire to roam, stop her displaying the behaviours like calling. She won`t get hassled by all the local toms and there won`t be the pressure of looking after kittens.
There are so many strays/unwanted cats and kittens so to deliberately bring more into the world seems a bit irresponsible.

If, and it`s a pretty big if, she is already pregnant (which is possible, though unlikely) we will have the choice to go ahead or not (some vets won`t for ethical reasons) My feelings on this is mixed. Bring more (unplanned) kittens into the world or kill them, knowing the cat has no say in it. My heart says if she were to be pregnant, we would have a family of kittens but never having had kittens I would be clueless as to how to look after them, and then there is the risk and cost involved in pregnancy and birth.

So anyway, Cosmo is off to be done on Tuesday, what are people`s thoughts?

I think you are doing the right thing. Cosmo will be fine and you won't have to worry about her having kittens you don't want,that'll be from stray cats that have not been fixed.Just don't get her de-clawed.

[Storyteller]

We have a 6 month old female kitten.
Our first cat and she is ridiculously cute!
We have her booked in for being spayed on Tuesday. I have looked into the pros and cons of it and I think spaying her is the best thing to do but I wondered what people thought.

There is a very small (but real) risk involved, as with any surgery, of complications and/or her dying. There is a small risk that she will have problems with the scar, we will have to keep her in and as quiet as possible for up to two weeks (that`ll be fun!)
She will stop maturing and retain some of her kitten-ness.

But.... she won`t come into season, reducing her desire to roam, stop her displaying the behaviours like calling. She won`t get hassled by all the local toms and there won`t be the pressure of looking after kittens.
There are so many strays/unwanted cats and kittens so to deliberately bring more into the world seems a bit irresponsible.

If, and it`s a pretty big if, she is already pregnant (which is possible, though unlikely) we will have the choice to go ahead or not (some vets won`t for ethical reasons) My feelings on this is mixed. Bring more (unplanned) kittens into the world or kill them, knowing the cat has no say in it. My heart says if she were to be pregnant, we would have a family of kittens but never having had kittens I would be clueless as to how to look after them, and then there is the risk and cost involved in pregnancy and birth.

So anyway, Cosmo is off to be done on Tuesday, what are people`s thoughts?

I think you are doing the right thing. Cosmo will be fine and you won't have to worry about her having kittens you don't want,that'll be from stray cats that have not been fixed.Just don't get her de-clawed.

As if.

At one point, we considered rehoming her. (so glad we didnt)
If anyone had entertained the idea then we would "get back to them"
De-clawing is barbaric.

[crochet1949]

In our area in a small town, there are feral cats. They tend to 'adopt' yards of people -- they get pregnant , have their kittens and Mostly separate / obsorb into the community. But once in a while we've had a mother cat who has batch after batch of kittens -- it would be Nice to be able to capture that cat and have her 'fixed' but --in this case -- she's learned how to get out of the cage in a split second and OFF she goes Very quickly. Over time, she's had 4 litters and brings some of them back to our front porch. We Do enjoy watching the kittens play and grow and observing them interact with their mother. Cat language is fascinating. Over time, we Have managed to capture 5 cats / kittens and re-locate them by water. Those cats/ kittens won't tolerate much beyond petting -- they Don't like being picked up. So --

[Storyteller]

My daughter and I are reading a series of books, Warrior Cats, about four clans of wild cats who are guided by a star clan. It details how they live, how they think, and is wonderfully understanding of cat behaviour.

Cosmo is doing great, try telling her shes had a major op!
Would love to have the knowledge, experience and time to have seen her bring up kittens, doing what nature intended but practically I know I did the right thing.

Loved your post crochet, I was never a cat person til Cosmo, til she really did start talking to me, now im smitten.

[crochet1949]

Actually, I started out being a Dog person. Then a few years ago , a friend of my husband gave us a black kitten -- just in time for Halloween. Turned out to be a great house/ out door kitten, cat. But she got Really jealous of a neighbor hood kitten that adopted a spot near our front porch. We balled her out and she took off in the middle of a Cold winter. Felt bad for her -- but she never came back. Since then we've been adopted by various neighborhood cats who end up having kittens and, of Course, we feed them.

[RickD]

Actually, I started out being a Dog person. Then a few years ago , a friend of my husband gave us a black kitten -- just in time for Halloween. Turned out to be a great house/ out door kitten, cat. But she got Really jealous of a neighbor hood kitten that adopted a spot near our front porch. We balled her out and she took off in the middle of a Cold winter. Felt bad for her -- but she never came back. Since then we've been adopted by various neighborhood cats who end up having kittens and, of Course, we feed them.

All I've got to say is, "Black cats lives matter".

[Philip]

Rick: All I've got to say is, "Black cats lives matter".

HEY! What about WHITE cats' and dogs' lives???!!! They're people, TOO! (Least they think they are )

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[crochet1949]

Yes, that's what's so precious about cats and dogs -- sometimes they think they're human -- they Act human -- they Act better than some People.