Should I Fix My Male Or Female

Agreed. This woman's claims and belief concern me. She has people skipping necessary vet care based on her "research". She is fishy in every sense of the word. Speak with your veterinarian about anything you are afraid of with regard to spaying and neutering.

That is why a trusted,experienced vet who is knowledgeable about cats is invaluable. With literally millions of cats spayed and neutered every year, the chances of death are very slim, almost nonexistent. It can happen, but so can getting hit by a bus the next time you cross the street. I have spayed and neutered well over fifty cats and have NEVER had one die, even with most released back into the wild within a day. The internet is NOT a place to get real advise, use your common sense. Most sites end up with dire, worst case scenarios that almost always end in death. You look up vomiting and you have stomach cancer, you look up a mole on your skin and you'll be predicted dead within a year, it is ridiculous. Most vets will answer simple questions over the phone if you are up to date with yearly visits.Bringing in a video or picture can save a charge too. Thank you, @war&wisdom for hopefully avoiding unnecessary fear for someone who is nervous about this anyway!

The video you posted doesn't contain helpful information. It is far more dangerous for your cats to have litter after litter, especially with close relatives.

Here is a link to the expert forum TCS had earlier this year: Experts from "Feline Fix By Five" talk Spay/Neuter

They explain why it is so important to spay and neuter cats by five months at the latest.

You know, if you search online you'll probably be able to find videos or articles that "Prove" vaccinations make children sick, cats are able to survive on a vegan diet and FGM is a simple procedure that causes no lasting physical or psychological harm.



If you're unsure then please talk to your vet. None of my cats have ever had any short or long term complications due to being spayed or neutered. The problems you'll have from allowing your cats to remain intact and have litter after litter of kittens will completely overwhelm you.

Two cats will be thirty cats within a year. It's so difficult to find good homes for kittens and shelters are already full to bursting with unwanted pets. Please don't add to the problem.

OK, I didn't watch the video---I don't have 25 minutes right now. However, all of Mercola's anti-neutering information in print is about the drawbacks of spaying/neutering large or giant breed dogs at an early age. Nothing about cats. Cats and dogs are entirely different! And I agree that large dogs shouldn't be neutered early. My own male dog is intact. But he doesn't live with unspayed females and he's not allowed to run around loose. Dog are much easier to keep properly contained, and it's much easier to keep a female dog from getting pregnant. Cats are both predator and prey in the wild, and therefore have a much higher reproduction rate.

You can see the articles only talk about large dogs:
When Spaying and Neutering May Not Be the Right Choice for Pets
Why I've Changed My View on Spaying and Neutering

But cats are not dogs! Cats MUST be spayed and neutered! If you don't, you'll have hundreds or thousands of cats to feed and care for. Can you afford that? Female cats have an average of 2 litters a year with an average of 4 kittens per litter. So 8 kittens a year per female, and half of the kittens will be female. So after one year, you'll have 21 cats (5 now, 16 kittens). 11 of those are females, so after 2 years you'll have 88 kittens plus the 21 from the year before, up to 109. . .it adds up fast!

(ETA: I saw some Facebook comments on the video that say that Dr Becker specifically states that this does not apply to cats. Perhaps someone can figure out which minute mark that's at?)

2:16 ?
"Could the same phenomenon be going on in my dog patients..."

Edit...this particular video is talking about dogs and adrenal issues from spay/neuter
Edit again...she says 'animals' and 'pets' a lot which makes it easy to miss that the video is about dogs.


Edit again... 34:43
"I will say that luckily this far research has shown that our feline companions don't have this same negative long term physiologic consequences associated with these de-sexes spay or neutering that plague our canine population"

Oh, good, thank you!

Selena800 said:

Well my cats don't go outside. I have 2 females & 3 males; they are 5 months old. I'm so scared to fix them. I want the best option: Is it easier for males or for females?
And is there any danger for them when they are doing surgery??

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ABSOLUTELY, positively, without any question, without any hesitation GET THEM ALL SPAYED/NEUTERED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Five months is the time. Here is a site where you can find out a lot of GOOD information about cats:

www.bestfriends.org/resources

And RUN, don't walk, to make those spay/neuter appointments. For your CATS' sake and for your own peace of mind!

OMG. All I can say is: There are all kinds of 'beliefs' about if you don't let cats roam outside they will be miserable and live unhappy lives (forget about diseases, traffic, coyotes, dogs, etc.). Do you believe those too???

There is compelling evidence that it's best not to spay/neuter a dog before full physical maturity (which may be 8 months in small breeds all the way up to 3-4 years in the giant breeds). I don't want Dr Becker to ignore that information or pretend it doesn't exist.

But I DO wish she'd be more clear that dogs and cats have very different reproductive systems, that cats need to be spayed/neutered, and there's no evidence of harm from spay/neuter in cats, even if done at a young age. I think the ambiguity she fosters by saying "pets" instead of "dogs" is harmful to cats and cat owners.

And she does say that even in large dogs, if you can't prevent unwanted pregnancies it's better to spay/neuter early because the harm of an unwanted pregnancy is greater than the harm from altering early. But I wish she'd say it a little more prominently.

Selena800 said:

Im so scared and confused what to do

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Please do not be scared. Take a deep breath and hug your kittys. Please listen to the excellent advice from the folks here and have all your dear cats spayed and neutered. Do you need help finding a low cost clinic?

I agree with others that say to get them ALL fixed. I don't know why you don't care if they pee everywhere, you should care, I can't smell all that good but my bf will keep saying it smells like urine. Best to arm yourself with some Knok out enzyme cleaner. Sorry don't mean to sound harsh, just well besides the peeing the meows they make in heat keeps us up all night. I'm amazed my neighbor haven't complained yet and this is a duplex I'm living in. Abby is four years old and I really need to get her fixed, just the financial trouble atm.

If it's an issue financially just look up some low cost vets. I don't really rely on youtube videos some of them can just be misinformation. People here are helpful also! Good luck to you.

~ The boys are the usually trouble makers ( as with humans ) - but much better when neutered. If you have to choose I would do the boys.

If I had to choose one to get fixed first, it would be females. I rescued an adult cat a few summers ago and had to wait a week to get her in to spay her. She went into heat almost immediately. The yowling she did drove me crazy!! I've always had my girls spayed before that and had no idea what was going on at first lol. I seriously don't know how anyone can live like that.

I would never consider owning in tact cats to be honest. There are so many issues with it that it is completely outside my realm of understanding to not get them altered.

Do both. You're not going to get any other answer from any sensible cat parent.

Absolutely right, 8kitties . Any caring, compassionate, responsible person would agree, and would do so, right away.

FeebysOwner said:

OMG. All I can say is: There are all kinds of 'beliefs' about if you don't let cats roam outside they will be miserable and live unhappy lives (forget about diseases, traffic, coyotes, dogs, etc.). Do you believe those too???

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I don't want to go off topic or start an online war or anything, but I think some outdoor roaming can be beneficial (granted that it's safe, such as on a private acreage.) Snake, my cat, prefers roaming around. She'd wither if she was kept inside.

Disclaimer: I'd never let a cat roam in a city. The cat we have at home is allowed in the backyard under supervision.

Merlin77 said:

Disclaimer: I'd never let a cat roam in a city. The cat we have at home is allowed in the backyard under supervision.

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No war there...

Merlin77 said:

I don't want to go off topic or start an online war or anything, but I think some outdoor roaming can be beneficial (granted that it's safe, such as on a private acreage.) Snake, my cat, prefers roaming around. She'd wither if she was kept inside.

Disclaimer: I'd never let a cat roam in a city. The cat we have at home is allowed in the backyard under supervision.

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There are positive aspects to going outside. But they are so far outweighed by the dangers and negative aspects! A secure catio can be the best of both worlds, though. www.catioshowcase.com