why are people so judgemental about un - spayed cats!?

Question

I mean lets be real here, the cat population would become extinct if every cat born was neutered.
I have noticed that when myself and others have posted about cats being pregnant some people are so cruel and nasty about cats who aren't neutered.
Yes if my cat is pregnant she will be neutered after the kittenes are weaned and im sure others wouold be too, not every1 would let there cat be pregnant constantly. Fair enough be critical of the people who do.
This comment hardly ever arrises with dogs so why???

right so theoretically because the world is do over populated as it is, we should sterilise all babies born??????

Answer 1

G.G. you get my vote of the year for answers. I love cats and can not imagine fixing them all or there wouldn't be any for us to love but so many of the unresponsible people make it hard for any preg. cats or dogs to be looked at as a good thing. Hope your new kittens have wonderful home or homes to go to.

Answer 2

It's not just a question of the number of unwanted cats/kittens here, although it's heartbreaking to think of a life being created only to be destroyed.

There are numerous other reasons for having a cat neutered, the main ones being that the neutered cat has a longer, happier life.

Males won't roam as much, lessening the risk of traffic accidents. They'll be less likely to fight and be injured, reducing the risk of catching illnesses including serious ones such as feline leukaemia and FIV. There'll be less scent marking and spraying, and no caterwauling to 'serenade' a queen in heat.

A female comes into season up to 4 times a year, each time lasting about 3 weeks. During these times, she'll howl loudly and her behaviour will change, on top of which she'll have lots of attention of caterwauling toms. She'll still look and act like a kitten when she first becomes sexually mature, and I've known people who've been caught by surprise when their little kitten became pregnant. The younger the cat, the more difficult, traumatic and problematic the pregnancy and delivery.

Once she's neutered, she'll have less chance of catching certain diseases through bites and reproductive activity. She'll have reduced risk of some illesses, such as mammary cancer.

Some people think it's best to wait until a cat has had a litter being bing spayed. This is completely wrong. If you let a cat have kittens, even just the once, you're already cutting it's life expectancy. Note that a queen neutered after it has first come into heat has a 7-times greater risk of having this cancer than a cat neutered before its first one.

You say your cat will be spayed after her kittens are weaned. How can you be sure? Even if she's an indoor cat, accidents can happen and a cat on heat will do anything to be mated. On top of that, she can still come into heat even if she is nursing her kittens. Just because she's producing milk doesn't mean she's protected.

If you still find it hard to believe, or question why a cat-lover will be judgemental about this issue, have a look here:

http://www.oregonvma.org/petowners/spayn...

http://www.vetsmart.co.uk/html/factsheet...

http://www.catsinternational.org/article...

http://www.cats.org.uk/catcare/key_cat_c...

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/satellit...

Answer 3

Let me first say that none of this is typed in anger or judgement. You asked a question and I wanted you to know the reasoning behind the answer.

Yes, I have seen it in the dogs section, plenty.

In our situation, I always comment on spaying/neutering cats because we are on the receiving end of those unwanted critters. I can't even count the number of cats, kittens (and dogs) we've placed in homes because they were left to wander or had babies under our deck, or were dropped at our driveway because there is no view from any house there. We've never had the opportunity to choose an animal. (we love all our 11 strays though - just a small percentage of the animals that have passed our doorstep) We are just kept busy constantly trying to manage the unwanted animals around us and make sure they have happy, healthy lives.

You are right about the extinction of the species if we actually achieve 100% spay and neuter. But, that will NEVER happen because there are so many irresponsible people in the world. And there will always be breeders (not that I would want a purebred) It is up to the responsible people to make sure the animals they come in contact with don't add to the problem. That is what we are doing.

Sure, we would have loved to see the double pawed calico produce more beautifully unique kittens, but each one of those kittens is capable in just a few generations of adding 400,000 more unwanted animals to the population. I don't want my actions today to cause a poor feline to be alone and lonely tomorrow. If I want another cat, there will always be a stray who needs a loving home.

Also remember, every kitten a responsible person lets be born will displace one that an irresponsible person lets be born (or be displaced by one). There are too many to go around. I hate the idea of cats being killed because there are too many. They all deserve homes, are all unique and loving.

Some of us are just fed up with managing the overflow of animals being alone, sick, hungry and afraid in the "barren" countryside that happens to be our property. Spay and neuter and get your pets from the shelter! Please. It will save me a lot of heart ache, and some little kitten.

Maybe if you add a note letting us know you intend to spay your pregnant lady, we will feel a little more comfortable that you aren't just breeding more cats for us to care for later.

Answer 4

For every kitten born, one cat in a shelter waiting for a home dies, because now that kitten will get the home.

Cats and people are very different. Human beings are the only animals with a high enough reasoning to choose how often to reproduce. Yes, there are too many people on earth.. Education is what is needed, not sterilization

But cats go simply by hormones and instinct. They are incapable of reasoning out whether they should have kittens or not.

A female cat can have three litters a year.. Say each litter is 5 kittens. (Pretty typical) That's 15 kittens in a year from ONE CAT!! A human being cannot have 15 babies a year.

Oh.. and those 15 kittens?? How many are girls?? Let's say only 5 (way less than half of the kittens.. just to be conservative) They will have another 75 kittens in the next year and a half (Females can start breeding at 6 months of age)!! out of thosse 75 let's say that 35 are female.. That's another 525 kittens in the next year and a half.. So you see.. one female cat, in the space of about 3 years.. was responsible for 615 kittens!!

So you see why those of us who actually CARE deeply about cats, and get teary at the images of cats in tiny cages in a shelter HOPING for a home which they probably won't find and they'll be gassed in a couple weeks, get upset at people who won't simply fix their cats.

For $80 you could have speyed your cat before she became pregnant, and saved the lives of however many kittens your cat has, by not taking hoes away from them. Tell me honestly.. Could you, after finding homes for your (again, let's say 5) kittens, go to a shelter, look the cats in the eye and tell them "Sorry you'll be gassed in a week.. see, the person who might have adopted you adopted my cat's kitten"

I'm not judging you, I'm just answering your question.

Answer 5

Hi again lucy, i answered your original query and was going to say theres a lot of people on here with a tremendous amount of hindsight! I'm sure you didn't throw your little one out and demand she mates, it was an accident but a nice accident if you get my meaning! Your not bothered by an un spayed cat so why should anyone else be? I had an un spayed cat years ago and when she'd had her first litter, i got her 'done' but only because i didn't want her having the reputation of being the local 'bike'! She did like the boys to come calling if you know what i mean ha ha and if her first pregnancy went well ( it didn't! ) i would have let her have another set of kittens because she was such a good little mum and before anyone jumps on my back, i had homes for them all before they were born! If your cats birthing goes well and you want her to have some more, let her! She is yours after all!

Answer 6

Because it is unethical to let cats breed randomly. It is not comparable to the situation with dogs.

Cats which are allowed to roam outside and get pregnant risk all sorts of nasty things happening to them. Males fight for female attention and get infected abcesses and torn ears. They also roam to find females and cross unfamiliar roads where many are killed. There are some nasty diseases which are rife among roaming cats so if you let a cat out to get pregnant she will often also get Feline AIDS and Feline Leukaemia Virus, not to mention fleas, ringworm etc etc.

If you have no idea when the mating took place or what the male was like how can you ensure you are there to make sure the birth goes OK, or how can you know if there are likely to be problems, for example from a very large male having mated a very small female? If cats roam free then how do you ensure that a female is not too young when she gets pregnant and that she is physically and emotionally mature enough to deal with a litter?

Are you aware that there are many surplus cats and kittens in shelters some of which are put to sleep because there are too many cats and not enough homes?

If you do want to breed a litter of kittens then that is fine- go ahead and do it, but do it in the responsible way. Research a pedigree breed, buy a registered female with breeding rights and when she is ready take her to a compatible registered male and pay the stud fee. Register the kittens and keep them until you have had them all vaccinated and found loving homes for them.

Yes, of course some cats need to breed otherwise there would be no kittens, but there is a responsible way of doing it, and letting cats out to have random encounters just shows a lack of care for the animal's welfare and best interests.

Answer 7

Well, the thing is that millions of kittens get killed every day because they are homeless. If you multiply your cat you contribute to this problem. Even if you find a home for the kittens, another kitten dies for every one of yours, because he loses a chance to find a home.
Where I live, there are no shelters, so teh kittens are not put down. however, they are thrown in the streets, where they die of diseases or car accidents. I have rescued a few of them, that were dying, and tried to rehome them. Do you know what answers I got from some people? They said No, we already have a cat, we don't want any more. OK, fair enough. Do you want to know what happened next, after I happened to talk to them in 1-2 months? Their cat had given birth to 4 kittens, which they kept, because they didn't have a choice really! So they could have rescued a kitten, but they chose to contribute to the problem. Do you know what will happen next? The new kittens will grow up, and by next year there will be 20 kittens in their garden. Then they will not want them, or teh neighbours will not like them, and they will be poisoned or run over etc. So please spay your cat!!! don't worry about cats getting extinct, if there is any such problem where you live, email me, I have a friend who keeps rescuing kittens and she has about 100, so we can fix the problem!
Same goes for dogs.

Answer 8

Unfortunately there are so many kittens being born that most do not find homes and must be euthanized. The same thing cannot be said about puppies. The reason for the difference is that people have been told time and again to spay/neuter their dogs and it has finally reached the point where most puppies get homes. (not nearly enough but most) People, for some reason, thought cats were different. I guess because cats seem to be more independent and able to make it on their own the people in their lives just haven't gotten the message.

Attention every pet parent: SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PUPPY OR YOUR KITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

Pet cats and dogs will NEVER go extinct. Even if it was the law that every animal born was to be neutered...people would still not follow the laws and would continue to have unneutered pets. And, this law would probably not be a requirement for breeders. People are judgemental because millions of animals are euthanized each year BECAUSE people do not neuter their pets. Everyone is concerned for the lives of animals...why is that a bad thing. I feel dogs should be nuetered just the same as cats, both are overpopulated, both die as a result.

Answer 10

Cats with pedigrees are bred for looks - that's pretty much it. There are really no working catagories for cats. They won't flush or retrieve game for a hunter. They won't herd sheep. They pretty much don't do anything - unless THEY CHOOSE to! lol! I am a cat person. I love my cats dearly but if someone I don't know comes to my door - while my lab and my red tick hound, always put themselves between me and that person and make sure that said stranger knows they're there and very serious about my continued safety - my two cats on the other hand go hide under my bed!!! I mean, who needs me anyway? The others we own will feed us. LOL!!! If the house were on fire they would probably try and wake me up - how else could THEY get out?!! Anyway, to be serious, there is a much larger population of feral cats than feral dogs. That's mostly due to the cat's inborn instinct to hunt and survive. That instinct has pretty much been bred out of dogs so they don't survive as cats do. Because dogs are considered useful (some of them anyway) they are easier to find homes for. Some people also think it is thier personal responsiblity to make sure other people know of their lofty personal opinions - just ignore us - we are pretty harmless and most of us will just go away!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

As far as people being cruel about a preggers cat. I think that is uncalled for. They do it because they feel people that want a cat should rescue one from the local shelter. I admit I agree. Both of my little dictators are rescuees.

Don't let these people get to you. Some people are going to find something to be rude about no matter what so don't let them upset you. If your cat gets preggers before you have her spayed tell them to back off. You are doing the right thing by trying to find homes for them. You are not just discarding them as too many people do. That is what is causing the overpopulation of feral cats not responsible people who miss the first season until it is too late. I do hope you will have her spayed at some point soon because it's just too darn hard to find homes for those cute, sweet little demons. I wish you the very best and don't let the cat people get to you!!! LOL!!!

God bless
fishergirl

Answer 11

Cats are so over populated, thats why. We have cats running everywhere. And you are right, if every cat were fixed, then the population would decrease, but look at the amount of stray cats, and cats that are in the pound. No one wants to adopt cats anymore. It's really sad, that they spend their entire lives in a cage. The problem does arrise in dogs, ecspecially backyard breaders. The reason why its not so significant as cats, though is because people don't let their dogs run wild. Cats run all the time. So if a dog is reproducing 90% of the time, its b/c someone wants to breed them. Cats just run off by themselves all the time, and do whatever they desire resulting in lots of litters!