I've been wondering something about people's views on spaying and neutering animals and "Overpopulation"...

Question

I've been a cat and dog owner for six or seven years now, I received my first cat as a birthday present from my best friend in third grade, and when we took them home I was told we would need to get them spayed. Well, then I didn't know exactly what that meant, but now that I do I just would like to know people's opinions. I hear people speak about overpopulation of animals because they're not getting spayed or neutered, which naturally means they are mating and having kittens.

So, this may seem odd, but I just wanted views on whether spaying and neutering for a cat or a dog is good for it, the environment etc.

Second part of the question, what about people who say, "You need your cat spayed or neutered so that it won't have kittens and overpopulate the earth!" When they put it that way, it makes animals seem like pests and that they're the ones' who are overpopulating. What about us? We're "overpopulation", so, you wanna be spayed or neutered for overpopulating?

This isn't meant as a "I want reasons to why you are spaying and neutering animals"! It's more of a I would like your opinion please, it helps to think about and to show my other friends your advice! ^-^

Answer 1

Whether or not you should neuter an animal to help control the overpopulation of pets is, I suppose, a matter of opinion. Yes the earth is overpopulated with humans, and there's no doubt that people shouldn't have so many babies - but try stopping them, and hear the cries about human rights! Animal rights are different, because animals are different to humans. Animals cannot request to be neutered - if they are near a viable mate, they will mate out of instinct. If they are neutered, they lose this instinct and I honestly do not believe they miss it, or even know what has happened to them. I believe human's natural instinct to mate evolved into our psychological need to be fulfilled by having children. I do not believe animals have evolved this far yet. That, and in developing countries they do not have the education, or the resources to control the population.

What isn't debatable however, is the health benefits of being neutered. There are many fatal diseases that are eradicated by neutering. Female dog's are the number one candidates for needing this - pyometra and mammary tumours are so common in older unspayed b itches, and I'm very tired of the amount of animals I see suffering because owners do not understand WHY neutering is so beneficial. It also prevents prostate cancer in males, a fairly common killer.

People always seem to focus on population control and behaviour management as reasons for neutering. In my mind, these are not the primary reasons for neutering, although they are reason enough. Neutering benefits the animal - this is the reason it should be done, not to benefit the owner.

Chalice

You may have noticed, this is a subject of particular interest to me!

Answer 2

A male and female cat can have 7 kittens. Those 7 kittens have kittens, then those kittens have kittens, then those kittens have kittens. That ends up something like 475,000 kittens!

People only have 1 or 2 babies at the time. Cats have 6 or 7, and their kittens can have babies at 6 months old. THAT is overpopulation. If people did that then yes, they should be fixed. Some should anyway!

Reasons for spaying or neutering:
It calms an animal down; there are less animals getting lost due to wandering when in heat; there are less vet bills due to injuries and illnesses from tom cat fights and vet bills from problem births; less complaints from neighbors about cater-waling tom cats; less kittens getting dumped to fend for themselves; less animals born to pet owners who don't know how to take care of them or can't afford to; less animals born who won't live long, and who will never know any love.

Do you need more?

Answer 3

First off if you don't want to think of the nuisance thing.. It is actually better for the animal to get spayed/neutered. It reduces there chances of getting certain cancers by a lot. Also, females can be ridiculously annoying when they go into heat. and males tend to be more aggressive and "mark" their territory when they aren't fixed.

I think that the pet population is out of control and it is sad for all the animal being born to not have a fair chance at life because there aren't enough homes to take them in.

The whole environment thing~ if there are mass amounts of strays then there is the spread of disease because strays don't get vaccinated so if they get something they can spread it like wildfire.

The biggest thing for me to get all my pets fixed is I didn't want to have to deal with litters of puppies and kittens and finding them homes and picking up after them til they went to new homes.

Answer 4

I believe in spaying and neutering for several reasons. First it is healthier for the animal. It helps prevent several cancers and othr diseases. It also makes them happier because they loose that natural urge/need to mate. It also cuts down on their need to roam. Most unneutered males roam to find mates. As far as dogs go it helps reduce aggression and territorial/dominance problems.
As far as over population goes, yes we have over-population problems as humans and I do believe there should be something done for that, but we all know there will be someone screaming civil rights. As far as animals there is a huge problems and each year millions of innocent and unwanted cats and dogs are put to sleep. There are millions who are on the streets starving and sick. That is cruel not spaying and neutering.A great deal of the problem is the irresponsible owners who lets their animals run free unfixed and making litters of unwanted animals. We as humans are not very responsible and it causes problems for alot of innocent lives. Humans and animals.

Answer 5

you have a good point there but we are human, they are animals. there is a vast difference. humans are able to take care of themselves and even though animals can as well, it makes it a lot harder. now since we are talking about cats here, cats are now domesticated animals so they will find it hard to hunt by themselves in the wilderness unlike lets say, lions who have been living in the wild since they existed. as a result, cats and kittens will find it extremely hard to cope with out the aid of humans. as so many dogs and cats are currently being bred, this results in to many animals and not enough homes and we all know not everyone wants to have a pet. because of this, we are left with millions of dogs and cats being left in shelters and the streets having to fend for themselves, which they cannot do due to their background and history which is why we are suggesting to neuter all animals to prevent this from happening. this is for the animal and the world's benefits, not just us.

Answer 6

If you have a dog and you really watch out, you don't have to neuter him/her. But you will have some problems, like bleeding with female dogs in every circle and the marking of males everywhere. I would strongly suggest to neuter a tomcat, because otherwise he would spray all over your house and that really stinks! A cat will have emotional problems, when she is in heat and no male is around. There is also the health factor. Unspayed dogs and cats are very likely to develop a mamma (breast) tumor if they won't have offspring. And male dogs/cats are suffering every time they smell a female in heat and they are not allowed to go there. I think you can reduce the suffering of your pet, if you neuter them, but I strongly suggest to do it after they had puberty (cats about 6 month, dogs 15 month), so the bone structure can develop properly and they're out of infancy.

And don't overpopulate, dogs and cats are domestic animals, we bred them, we killed their natural enemies, we have to watch out for them!!

Answer 7

i think it's a good idea to have our pets spayed or neutered.

when our pets have kittens or pups, we give them away, never knowing what happened to them in the end. i tend to believe that the majority of the time, people don't take proper care of their animals, let them run loose (especially cats). they are prone to disease, getting hit by a car, or in a fight with another animal.

i also think a lot of people dont' bother to take their animals to the vet. it's really sad to see a cat who contracts feline leukemia, or some respiratory disease... or a dog who is full of heartworms or has parvo because their owner didn't bother to get them to the vet for shots, and preventative medications.

i've always had my animals spayed and neutered, and provided a safe environment for them in my home.

a person who don't have the means, patience or can't provide proper care for a pet, doesn't need to have one!

take care

Answer 8

all my pets are "fixed". I simply think that it's better for them.
Also I don't think they mean it to sound like animals are pests, but they are domesticated and depend on us to take care of them. There is so many animals out there that have no one, are in shelters waiting to be put to sleep, cause no one takes care of them, I think that we need to find homes for them first instead of bringing more of them into the world that then have no home.
on the people thing I agree with you, there is some people that don't know when to stop either..if you can't take care of the kids you have...stop having MORE....

Answer 9

We need to control the population because we have created an artificial one

The only difference between a pet and a pest is that you like the pet.

Answer 10

I let my cat have a few litters first then we got her spayed we dont want her to get diseases but we let her be a mother first. Im not scared of overpopulating the earth dog and cats die every day and they are born everyday i dont think god would have made them if they were going to overpopulate the world.