Neuter/spay Or Not

[lune0829]

Hello, I'm an owner of a very beautiful female cat. She is Kitkat and very outgoing and sociable. I'm debated if I need to neuter/spay Kitkat. She is always at home and have fun with her toys and plushies. She is 9 months old. I don't notice signs of heat from her, which is very odd. Being a female cat, the cost of neutering/spaying will be much more than a male cat. From where I'm from it varies from (200euros to 400 euros) Please help guys. I need to have opinions on the topic. Thank you in advance!
Will be uploading a pic of Kitkat

 

[posiepurrs]

If she isn't part of a breeding program, she should be spayed. There is a potential for a serious infection called pyometra if she is left unspayed and unmated. It can be fatal. It is also MUCH more expensive if the vet has to do an emergency spay because of pyometra. Some females will also spray urine if left whole - it isn't just a male thing. When in heat a female is likely to try to get out of the house so she can breed - so there is a chance of loss, disease or accident if she does get out.

 

[Margret]

1. Female cats are spayed, male cats are neutered.
2. Once Kitkat goes into heat it will become nearly impossible to keep her inside, away from tom cats who can "help" her with her problem (that is to say, get her pregnant). I was absolutely certain that Sweet Thing hadn't gotten out while in heat; the result was four kittens.
3. Many places have low-cost spay and neuter clinics available; are you certain that there aren't any near you? Your profile doesn't tell me where you live.

Margret

 

[tabbytom]

I'm debated if I need to neuter/spay Kitkat.

Yes, please, please have Kitkat spayed, even she is an indoor cat and she may not be in heat as yet but soon.

Having her spayed is helping her live a better life with less health issues. Once she's in heat, she'll start all her caterwaulings which will put you in a difficult position as you can't stop her from doing it.

Getting her spayed early is better than doing it when she's older.

Here are some articles for you to read regarding spaying your cat :-

why-you-should-spay-and-neuter-your-cats.22304

when-to-spay-or-neuter-a-cat.33415

spaying-and-neutering-what-to-ask-before-the-surgery.30217

spaying-and-neutering-what-to-look-for-after-surgery.30218

BTW, she's a sweet looking gal!

 

[Jem]

Please get her spayed. And considering this is more a of cost problem, I'll appeal to your pocket book.

the cost of medical treatment and eventually a spay if she gets an infection.
the cost of medical treatment, surgery or euthanasia if she gets cancer. (higher risk of cancer in non-spayed cats)
If she gets out to mate, you now have the higher cost of caring for her during pregnancy and her kittens for 12 weeks. Which is the minimum amount of time they should stay with their mom and siblings before being adopted out. And trust me, even an indoor cat will find a way to get to a male.
the cost of possible injury, parasite, infection from her getting out.
the cost of the damage she can do to your home with spraying and marking (which includes scratching), as well as the constant battle to keep male strays out of your yard who smell her, who can also spray and mark around your house, which can lead to other stress related medical issues, like, litter box issues, cystitis, skin issues....the list goes on.
And even if a male coming does not happen, her hormones alone can cause her to stress more, leading to other conditions.

There are other things to consider when you don't get an animal spayed/neutered, but these were the first ones I could think of.
So a few hundred now is a lot better then the possible few thousand, including added stress for both you and kitty, possible emergencies, illness, property damage...death.

I hope you decide to spay her to save her and you from all these possible outcomes.

 

[Moka]

Spaying a female before her first heat significantly reduces her risk of getting certain cancers such as mammary cancer later in life. Even it the cat has gone through a heat cycle or had kittens, the spay surgery can still reduce the cat's risk of cancer just not as much.

 

[Kieka]

I had a female rabbit die from cancer that could have been prevented by having her spayed. Seeing my rabbit go through that and knowing there was nothing we could do at that point was horrible. Knowing we could have prevented it with a surgery when she was younger was worse. It's not common practice to spay rabbits and it wasn't something I knew about at the time, but I still regret it years later. I now make sure every pet I have that can be spayed or neutered is as soon as they are old enough. Whatever the cost is, it is worth it.

I would get your little girl spayed now so you don't have regrets later. There is a small risk with any surgery, of course, but the younger she is the safer the surgery and the easier the recovery.

 

[Willowy]

Everyone else has covered the main reasons to spay her---prevention of reproductive problems and pregnancy. But also, cat in heat are so annoying!

In most temperate climates, the majority of cats don't go into heat until the first late winter/early spring (January-March, usually) after they're born. So a kitten born in March may be 9-12 months old before she goes into heat, but one born in September may go into heat at 4 months. So that's not too unusual---she'll probably go into heat in January. And then I think you'll probably decide that spaying is best . Most cats are just unbearable when they're in heat, and you probably don't want to deal with that her entire life.

 

[lutece]

I agree with Willowy that she probably just hasn't started cycling because of the season. She'll probably start cycling within the next month or two.

It's ideal to get females spayed before the first heat cycle, or as soon as possible thereafter. Having treated several females for pyometra over the years, I can assure you that you really don't want to deal with that life-threatening emergency... in addition to the misery and risk to the cat's life, an emergency spay for a cat with pyometra is many times more expensive than a routine spay.

 

[GalaxyGirl]

Getting your kitten fixed is a good idea. Everyone has covered the reasons why however another reason is that she might start spraying or showing some signs of aggression being unspayed. This is normal. Getting them fixed gives you peace of mind, your kitten a longer life and no worries about her trying to get out and find males to mate with.

 

[jen]

Female cats are spayed, male cats are neutered.

Fun fact.
While that is how it is often referred, neuter means to remove sexual organs of a male or female. "Castration" is what is done to males and "spaying" is what is done to females.

 

[lune0829]

Good Day to everyone! I'm very thankful for all the responses I got. Now I'm pretty sure that Kitkat needs to get spayed. Have a nice day everyone!

 

[di and bob]

One more. After having cats in my life for over fifty years, I will tell you what it is like from THEIR point of view. Females in heat (and I have had several that have not gone into heat until a year old, and some at 5 months.) are miserable. The hormones racking their bodies makes them crazy and they don't know why. They cry constantly, they HAVE to be with a male, and when they do it is horrible. The males fight over her, often getting her hurt in the middle of it, they grab her by the neck often tearing the skin, and force a barbed penis into her. It is NOT fun and games. I have seen females trying to escape the males and they never do, and there are always several males that keep a succession going. keeping her inside does not work, believe me, unless you stay in too for the while time and never open a door. They will tear out screens, and if they don't get outside they will quickly, sometimes within weeks, go into another heat, They do not have regular cycles like dogs, they keep going into heat until mated. I had one feral cat that had three litters, 17 kittens in one year before I could get her spayed. She was pregnant when one litter was less than two weeks old, she was nursing two litters! It is NOT a good life for a little girl.....