Feeling guilty for having my cat spayed?

Question

My cat had a litter 4 weeks ago and is currently nursing. When the kittens are old enough my partner wants to have her spayed, I know its the right thing to do but I feel SO terribly guilty, I can just imagine how scary and traumatic it must be for them. She's not the friendliest cat as it is and I dont want her to be p*ssed at me. Will she hate me?

For everyone moaning about unwanted Kittens, She had 3 and we are keeping them all.

Answer 1

Cat won't feel to good either

Answer 2

Hi, when i had my cat i had her done at six months old. She has never had a litter of kittens. Some people say "oh you should let them have a litter first" but thats a load of rubbish.
Your cat has had kittens so don't worry about having her spayed. To many kittens and cats get abandoned these days and even if you find homes for these kittens, are you sure they will all have a good home for life. She will settle down once she is done. Mine did, and my cat isn't the friendliest of cats either but i am glad of having her spayed.
Regards Julie

Answer 3

Do not feel guilty. It's the responsible thing to do. The rate that domestic cats can breed leads to hundreds and thousands of unwanted and rescue cats every year and many have to be put to sleep.
Your cat will be fine. The operation is carried out under general anaesthetic, and she will probably be woosey when you pick her up again. She will get better and actually be a happier cat without all that reproductive stuff going on.

edit: She's had her litter, but in response to some of the other answers, it is a misconception that cats need to have a litter before the op. The domestic cat population rate of increase is beyond what rescue centres can cope with.

Answer 4

There is no need to feel guilty about having your cat spayed. Some of the benefits for her having this routine surgery are;

* An un-spayed female cat can be responsible for 25,000 kittens in 5 years (including the kittens that her own offspring will produce). Do you know enough people ready to adopt all these kittens? The number of healthy cats destroyed daily at animal welfare centres worldwide simply because there are not enough homes for them is heartbreaking.
* Unneutered "naturally breeding" cats are at greater risk of FeLV and FIV infection. Both are spread by bites including the mating tom's neck grip bite which can break skin. Do you know for sure the medical health of any tom cat that your female might mate with in the future?
* Females who have not been spayed are at an increased risk of cystic ovaries, pyometra and mammary tumours.
* Kittening itself can be a painful and traumatic event for some cats, and on occasion some cats may die during or as a result of kittening.

Consider the benefits of spaying against the so-called advantages of allowing her to continue to breed and I'm sure you will realise that it's the most responsible thing to do for your cat's long-term health.

Answer 5

Although surgery is traumatic for ANY being you should most definately get your cat spayed. I was so sad to find out that my local shelter will put down a whole litter of kittens or puppies, if no one adopts them in a short amount of time after they become "of age" for adoption. It's very sad. Don't let this happen to any of your kitties offspring or their offsprings offspring. Does that even make sense? Any way, don't feel bad! It IS the right thing to do. she'll just keep having kittens and eventually they will end up at the shelter with no one to love them like you do. Now THAT is sad. Do her a favor, since going into heat is very traumatic too! She may be upset for a few days, but once the pain goes away ( I KNOW that sounds horrible!) she'll be back to herself. After the surgery, just keep an eye on her for problems and leave her alone. My cat hid under the bed for a day and a half and gave me a look that said "don't EVEN THINK about petting me right now", so I left her alone. Now she loves up to me all the time. ALL the time. : )
Be strong and do the right thing for your baby. They don't have a choice, but we do. Make the right one. Get her spayed. Good luck and love to the kitty!

Answer 6

Hey, don't feel guilty. She has had kittens and you are keeping them..so she has her babies with her.
How do you know...maybe she does not want anymore either.
I think you are totally correct. I did the same to mine, after she had 3 litters. Put a ad in the paper, after the babies were
eating by themselves and pottie trained....beautiful kittens...
so many people called, and naturally I checked them out...
all were adopted.
However it got to much for me and my cat Princess...
she actually would look me in the face while nursing the last
batch...so tired, hot, ...so that was that. Took her in, they
kept her one night.......Still have her...and she is happy as a bird....16 years old now.
Again..you are doing right...she will not be p@ssed at you.
no, she will not hate you. Matter of fact, she might become more friendly..

Answer 7

You think going through the pain of giving birth isn't "scary and traumatic?!" I would feel guilty at NOT having her spayed and the fact that she had kittens!! Are you so totally unconscious that you are unaware of the thousands upon thousands of unwanted kittens in the world? My county has 4 pounds. Each pound receives approx. 33 animals EACH DAY. Do the math; that's 132 animals a day. They don't have enough cages or food to take them all in so they are euthanizing them almost as fast as they come in. They're hip-deep in animals because of thoughtless people like you who let their animals breed and breed. Thank heavens for your partner who seems to have a brain. Grow up, stop whining and start being a responsible pet owner.

Answer 8

You and your partner will be doing the right thing. First of all, how many kittens did she have? Do you have homes for them? If not, do you know what happens to unwanted kittens? Don't feel bad, spaying a cat or neutering makes a better pet out of them too. I have a himalayan and I don't regret having him neutered. Another is a registered pug and I don't regret it. They make much better pets. I have volunteered at a local shelter and know from experience too. Good luck and just remember if you cat could say "thank you"...I know she would.

Answer 9

She'll be perfectly fine. The cat will stay overnight at the vet clinic, and when she's returned home, she won't care to be upset at you, but will just be content to be home again. Spaying her will be the right thing to do, and there's nothing to feel guilty about.
The kittens will be around 12 weeks old, when momma cat is ready to be spayed. Most vets want the momma cat to have little to no milk left, before spaying them (at least, that's how it was when I fostered a momma cat & kittens).
Trust me, she'd rather get spayed, then constantly pursued by tomcats, and having litter after litter. Consider getting the kittens spayed/neutered, as well, or make sure that the homes they go to, will do it.

Answer 10

No, I don't feel guilty and you shouldn't either. It's so much healthier for them and she really doesn't know what she's missing. Plus think about having to find homes for kittens when there are already WAY too many kittens without homes already. It really is the responsible thing to do to spay and neuter your cats.

Answer 11

You should not fell guilty.
You are giving your pet a new lease on life. most cats become friendlier after they are fixed. your cat will not feel an thing when they do the operation as they will put her under during the operation she will be groggy for a day or two but in the end you will have a very happy kitty.
I had all 3 of my cats spayed and even though they would have had beautiful kittens we did it for their health.
hope this helps.