I’ve not had a cat in eight years due to cat allergies, and I’ve recently got one thanks to a mice issue and my enabling best friend (ha!). Anyway when I first took him she said something really odd to me; “you need to call a vet and get him neutered eventually” then she turned around and said my biggest fear, “he’ll get so fat once you neuter him!”
My dogs (countryside lady here) are in a fenced in yard. We had two escapees in about four years but only for a few minutes at a time and nobody ever got pregnant (females). The kitty, Link, is inside strictly. The front door is moderated by me, backdoor has a second door (besties) kids close before opening backdoor to avoid dog escapes (they don’t want to escape they just want to go with the kids). Besides all that Link has absolutely no interest in escaping. He’s lived at least a year outside.
Link is already showing signs of indoor cat living by getting a bit of a stomach (my friend free feeds, and living outside Link was pretty skinny, so it makes sense he’d overeat). Anyway my main concern is obesity.
I do not want a fat cat. It’s horrible and cuts their life down incredibly short. Plus everytime I picture a fat cat I see in my mind my old friend smugly saying “my animals love peanut butter” while her dog waddled towards us, her fat rolls shaking, and her grotesquely fat cat trying and failing to get up off the couch. I was absolutely appalled and horrified by the condition of her animals. Even her hamster was given peanut butter and was grossly fat! Then my uncle neutered his dog, and he’s incredibly fat and has been on, at least, four new diets and dog foods trying to curb his obesity and it as all failed. This is a dog he could walk but is too lazy too; I highly doubt Link would like a stroll around the block.
My huge fear is Link will get horribly fat and die at six years old, or that I’ll be battling his weight for the rest of his life, constantly trying new excerise toys and dozens of new cat foods and diets to keep him a good weight. I have pretty bad anxiety issues anyway and this is without worrying I’ll kill Link through obesity.
So my question - it is worth it? Do I need to put myself through it? Do I need to put him through surgery that could kill him down the road (if not on the table getting neutered)? Do I really need to risk him getting obese? He’s not having any behavioral issues or any desire to go outside. As of now he isn’t marking or anything like that. He’s the only cat I have (as I said first one in eight years!) Don’t get me wrong or mistake me - I would never be selfish enough to hurt him intentionally and if keeping him intact would hurt him long term I would obviously get him neutered ASAP, I’m just doubting if it’s necessary and if the pros outweighs the cons (no pun intended). And I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t neuter/spay for emotional issues; if they need it I’ll do it, dogs never have any issues not being spayed.
The only time we ever neutered was when our two male dogs started showing signs of aggression towards each other and neutering did absolutely nothing for the issue and truly traumatized one of the dogs. Anyway, sorry I’ll stop rambling. Thank you for any and all advice!
My dogs (countryside lady here) are in a fenced in yard. We had two escapees in about four years but only for a few minutes at a time and nobody ever got pregnant (females). The kitty, Link, is inside strictly. The front door is moderated by me, backdoor has a second door (besties) kids close before opening backdoor to avoid dog escapes (they don’t want to escape they just want to go with the kids). Besides all that Link has absolutely no interest in escaping. He’s lived at least a year outside.
Link is already showing signs of indoor cat living by getting a bit of a stomach (my friend free feeds, and living outside Link was pretty skinny, so it makes sense he’d overeat). Anyway my main concern is obesity.
I do not want a fat cat. It’s horrible and cuts their life down incredibly short. Plus everytime I picture a fat cat I see in my mind my old friend smugly saying “my animals love peanut butter” while her dog waddled towards us, her fat rolls shaking, and her grotesquely fat cat trying and failing to get up off the couch. I was absolutely appalled and horrified by the condition of her animals. Even her hamster was given peanut butter and was grossly fat! Then my uncle neutered his dog, and he’s incredibly fat and has been on, at least, four new diets and dog foods trying to curb his obesity and it as all failed. This is a dog he could walk but is too lazy too; I highly doubt Link would like a stroll around the block.
My huge fear is Link will get horribly fat and die at six years old, or that I’ll be battling his weight for the rest of his life, constantly trying new excerise toys and dozens of new cat foods and diets to keep him a good weight. I have pretty bad anxiety issues anyway and this is without worrying I’ll kill Link through obesity.
So my question - it is worth it? Do I need to put myself through it? Do I need to put him through surgery that could kill him down the road (if not on the table getting neutered)? Do I really need to risk him getting obese? He’s not having any behavioral issues or any desire to go outside. As of now he isn’t marking or anything like that. He’s the only cat I have (as I said first one in eight years!) Don’t get me wrong or mistake me - I would never be selfish enough to hurt him intentionally and if keeping him intact would hurt him long term I would obviously get him neutered ASAP, I’m just doubting if it’s necessary and if the pros outweighs the cons (no pun intended). And I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t neuter/spay for emotional issues; if they need it I’ll do it, dogs never have any issues not being spayed.
The only time we ever neutered was when our two male dogs started showing signs of aggression towards each other and neutering did absolutely nothing for the issue and truly traumatized one of the dogs. Anyway, sorry I’ll stop rambling. Thank you for any and all advice!
