Neutered/fixed ,, But Why?

[samyoz]

I always hear that people fix their pets, but I've never understood why.
I have a male and female kittens and I wanna see their kittens later, but that may be due to the lack of information. maybe I'll say If I knew then what I know now I'd not let them.

Is there anything I have to know about that?

 

[susanm9006]

Well how about the fact that 70% of cats turned into shelters each year are euthanized either because they are deemed unadoptable, usually because they are terrified or poorly socialized, or because they are not adopted. Not to mention the millions abandoned and left to fend for themselves who starve, freeze or are killed by cars or predators.

If you don't neuter your pet, you will personally add to this overpopulation. If you have a female cat she can have several litters a year. What are you going to do with all those kittens? If you have a male, he will be out seeking females, getting into fights with other male cats and picking up deadly diseases. And all of this just because you are curious what your cats kittens will look like.

 

[danteshuman]

1) make sure both cats are healthy/disease free before breeding 2) Be prepared to take care of a FULL litter of kittens, if they fail to find home/or need to be returned 3) Have extra money set aside just in case there are issues when she gives birth 4) Be prepared to take the kittens to the vet before they are adopted plus to feed the mom/kittens kitten food while she is pregnant/lactating. I'm sure there are many other things involved. However if you are not prepared to do all of the above, spay/neuter your pets. There are TONS of kittens that need a good home that get put to sleep each year. Which is why though I would love a kitten from my cats, I neutered them. Also there are health risks for un-spayed cats. So even if you let her have a litter or two, she should still be spayed. Male cats get into fights, spray around the house & pick up diseases from the fights. That is another reason to neuter your pet after a litter or two.

 

[Willowy]

Cats have a lot of kittens. Indoor or tropical cats may have 3 or 4 litters a year, average of 4 kittens each litter. What will you do with all those kittens? What if your female is one who has larger litters so you end up with over 20 kittens in a year? What will you do when the female kittens start having kittens? There are too many cats, not enough homes. You will probably not be able to find good homes for the kittens.

Unneutered males spray urine to mark their territory, howl, and can get aggressive. Are you willing to live with that?

A litter of kittens will eat a lot of food and use a lot of litter. They need their shots and de-worming. They might get sick and require vet care. Can you afford that?

 

[samyoz]

1) make sure both cats are healthy/disease free before breeding 2) Be prepared to take care of a FULL litter of kittens, if they fail to find home/or need to be returned 3) Have extra money set aside just in case there are issues when she gives birth 4) Be prepared to take the kittens to the vet before they are adopted plus to feed the mom/kittens kitten food while she is pregnant/lactating. I'm sure there are many other things involved. However if you are not prepared to do all of the above, spay/neuter your pets. There are TONS of kittens that need a good home that get put to sleep each year. Which is why though I would love a kitten from my cats, I neutered them. Also there are health risks for un-spayed cats. So even if you let her have a litter or two, she should still be spayed. Male cats get into fights, spray around the house & pick up diseases from the fights. That is another reason to neuter your pet after a litter or two.

At my current situation, I think I am prepared to do all of that.
I liked the idea of having one or two litters and spay/neuter after that.
not like all or nothing. I can have their babies and then spay.

here people love kittens so much. So it wouldn't be hard to find them home if I can't take care of them

 

[Willowy]

They may love kittens, but are they responsible owners who will care for the csts their entire lives? You don't want your babies ending up homeless.

 

[margd]

There is another aspect to consider about letting your cats breed. Putting more kittens out into the world reduces the odds that kittens already here will find a home. The home given to one of your kittens could be given to a homeless kitten in the shelter. I know that sounds terrible, like I'm trying to put a guilt trip on you, but I'm not - this is just the reality and something for you to think about before breeding your cats.

If you do breed them, please have the kittens neutered or spayed before finding them homes. Otherwise, those kittens can (and probably will) have their own litters. Remember that your queen is not just bringing her own kittens into the world, she is also potentially adding many more generations of kittens from her offspring.

I really hope you will decide against letting them breed. I know how tempting it is to want to see the beautiful babies your two kitties might have together but there are so many beautiful kittens out there already.

 

[maggiedemi]

An older couple near me fed one stray cat without getting her spayed. That one cat turned into 40 cats in just a few years. When the 40 cats started destroying their yard, the neighbors started complaining. Animal control came in and took all the cats and put them to sleep. It can get out of control very quickly.

 

[abyeb]

Getting your cats desexed will help their health so much! Unspayed female cats are at risk for developing pyometra, and mammary gland tumors, which are both potentially life-threatening conditions. Going through repeated heat cycles is also a big stress on your cat's body. Unneutered males are at risk for testicular tumors. Both unfixed male and female cats have a propensity to spray, and whole males especially could be more aggressive. I'll attach some articles to give you more information:

http://www.aspcapro.org/sites/pro/files/petfix-top-10-reasons.pdf

Why You Should Spay And Neuter Your Cats

 

[tarasgirl06]

I always hear that people fix their pets, but I've never understood why.
I have a male and female kittens and I wanna see their kittens later, but that may be due to the lack of information. maybe I'll say If I knew then what I know now I'd not let them.

Is there anything I have to know about that?

The most important things have been said by other posters, but the most important one is one I can't stop saying enough: While ONE cat or kitten loses his or her life because there are not enough homes for them all, no caring person would let their cats go unspayed/neutered. PLEASE spay/neuter BEFORE your cats have kittens. THANK YOU.

 

[muffy]

An older couple near me fed one stray cat without getting her spayed. That one cat turned into 40 cats in just a few years. When the 40 cats started destroying their yard, the neighbors started complaining. Animal control came in and took all the cats and put them to sleep. It can get out of control very quickly.

Been there, done that. My one cat turned into 16 cats the following year and 6 of them were pregnant. I was able to do TNR before animal control stepped in.

Ellen

 

[Ceracera]

You have to also keep in mind that people who gush over your cat and say they love kittens might not actually want any. One of my friends just bred his cat because loads of people said theyd love to have her kittens. He even paid a stud fee to have her bred. And the pregnancy was expensive too.

But none of the people who said theyd definitely take a kitten actually did.

He ended up advertising online and only managed to sell one. The others were given away.

 

[samyoz]

I'm not in the US so the situation here is a bit different. people don't adapt kittens they buy them.
there is not such a thing like adapting. So when I say I know what to do with the kittens I mean I can sell them Because it's how it is here. Although I can find them suitable home with my friends or cousins if they're interested.

I really understand the risks but I liked the idea of having one or 2 litters and then spay them.
I think it can be done within a year since my female kitten is just 7 weeks old.

 

[samyoz]

And when I say people like kittens I don't mean they tell me that, I mean I see that in the pet stores and in social media where some people have accounts for selling pets.
I had to sell a kitten once because I couldn't bear its over fear of every sound and every moment. I sold it in like 40 mins only.

It's not like I am regarding cats as objects and I wanna make business of them, but it's how it works here, and that was an answer of "what Can I do with all these kittens"
I might keep one or two to grow with their parents and then spay/neuter them all.

 

[Ceracera]

Petstores and breeders are different though. They usually have a customerbase.

 

[cryptic]

Responsible breeding is only done when someone is bettering a breed... not thinking about how cute the kittens would be.
Again, it's a shame you've decided to breed them because you just want to see cute kittens and maybe get a few bucks back. I'd suggest really educating yourself on everything that goes into breeding before making a decision - cats can have outrageously sized litters sometimes.
If you do go through with this, I'd make anyone who purchases a kitten from you sign a mandatory spay and neuter contract.

 

[samyoz]

Responsible breeding is only done when someone is bettering a breed... not thinking about how cute the kittens would be.
Again, it's a shame you've decided to breed them because you just want to see cute kittens and maybe get a few bucks back. I'd suggest really educating yourself on everything that goes into breeding before making a decision - cats can have outrageously sized litters sometimes.
If you do go through with this, I'd make anyone who purchases a kitten from you sign a mandatory spay and neuter contract.

Again I repeat I don't do anything for "some bucks", and I want more than just see how cute they are, I will keep the number I can handle home and for the rest, I will look for a home.

I will educate myself, I will get all the info I need then I can really decide, I haven't yet.

 

[RosesNoThorns]

Surely you don't live in some magical place without abandoned/homeless cats and kittens already?

Whether or not you feel you can find homes for them really doesn't change the fact that the last thing that is needed is more kittens. Or that most people struggle/are unable to care for a pet for its lifetime.
Why add more kittens to the mess?
For what? So you can enjoy cute kittens for a while?

There is no reason to allow your cats to breed unless perhaps you were trying to better a breed of cat and had all the health guarantees etc done. Also...having lived in a home with an unaltered male---this is not a pleasant smell and *will* most likely result in damage to your home/possessions.

Then we need to discuss the risk to the health of your cats, both short term and long-term. Delaying spaying and neutering does not come without increased risks of cancer and etc. Likewise, it also increases the odds that you will have a male who may continue to spray.
Then of course there is the risk that something will go wrong with the pregnancy or delivery and this could be life-threatening to the female AND the kittens.


People fix their pets (and cats in particular) because unaltered pets don't often make very good house companions and there are health risks to leaving a cat intact. Unaltered cats spray, yowl, roam and honestly...why have an animal be sexually frustrated when it doesn't have to be?

You also do not want to be breeding a female cat as soon as she comes into heat. Much like young teenage girls the fact that one is having a reproductive cycle does not mean that the body is necessarily ready to safely accommodate a pregnancy or that it is healthy to do so. Instead you will be waiting until your cats are (at least) 1.5-2 years of age and this includes the male. That's 12-18 months of yowling and roaming and fighting and LOTS of pee until the first litter.

Ultimately no one can tell you what to do, but this is not, in my opinion, a wise decision nor in the best interest of your cats, who should be your priority in this matter. Please reconsider.

 

[samyoz]

Surely you don't live in some magical place without abandoned/homeless cats and kittens already?

Whether or not you feel you can find homes for them really doesn't change the fact that the last thing that is needed is more kittens. Or that most people struggle/are unable to care for a pet for its lifetime.
Why add more kittens to the mess?
For what? So you can enjoy cute kittens for a while?

There is no reason to allow your cats to breed unless perhaps you were trying to better a breed of cat and had all the health guarantees etc done. Also...having lived in a home with an unaltered male---this is not a pleasant smell and *will* most likely result in damage to your home/possessions.

Then we need to discuss the risk to the health of your cats, both short term and long-term. Delaying spaying and neutering does not come without increased risks of cancer and etc. Likewise, it also increases the odds that you will have a male who may continue to spray.
Then of course there is the risk that something will go wrong with the pregnancy or delivery and this could be life-threatening to the female AND the kittens.


People fix their pets (and cats in particular) because unaltered pets don't often make very good house companions and there are health risks to leaving a cat intact. Unaltered cats spray, yowl, roam and honestly...why have an animal be sexually frustrated when it doesn't have to be?

You also do not want to be breeding a female cat as soon as she comes into heat. Much like young teenage girls the fact that one is having a reproductive cycle does not mean that the body is necessarily ready to safely accommodate a pregnancy or that it is healthy to do so. Instead you will be waiting until your cats are (at least) 1.5-2 years of age and this includes the male. That's 12-18 months of yowling and roaming and fighting and LOTS of pee until the first litter.

Ultimately no one can tell you what to do, but this is not, in my opinion, a wise decision nor in the best interest of your cats, who should be your priority in this matter. Please reconsider.

I will reconsider. They live with me in the same room, I don't think I can tolerate all these things.
how much does it cost to spay or neuter them?

 

[RosesNoThorns]

That I don't know, given that it depends on where you live and if there are any low-cost spay and neuter programs where you live.

I would budget a few hundred dollars (based on my own geographic location) per cat. You may be able to find the low-cost clinics to be around a hundred dollars or less.