Should I?

[Merlin77]

I'd really prefer to have a partial spay done on my cat rather than a full spay. As in, leaving the ovaries and removing only the uterus.

Is it worth asking the vet to perform the modified surgery?

I am aware she will continue her heats, but I am willing to deal with them. Hers aren't intense anyways.

When she becomes older, then I might consider getting her ovaries removed to prevent ovarian cancer.

Also, I heard that removing the reproductive parts puts a burden on these other hormonal glands... adrenal glands I believe. Is this true?

 

[Willowy]

You can ask, but most vets are not trained to do alternative spays and, if they do it, will probably charge a lot extra. Their tools and methods are customized to do full spays and it's not quite as easy as "take this out but not that". It will require more time and effort. There are Facebook groups that keep lists of vets who do alternative spays for large dogs, but I have no idea if they'll also do cats, or where the closest one to you is located.

I heard that removing the reproductive parts puts a burden on these other hormonal glands... adrenal glands I believe. Is this true?

I don't know, I've never heard that. Where did you hear it? I've never had a cat who had adrenal problems anyway.

 

[denice]

I think this is something that is being done more for dogs at least in the U.S. More and more people aren't getting their male dogs neutered or are waiting much later, this is particularly true for larger dogs. There is a lot of evidence about health benefits for dogs but those same benefits have not been found in cats.

This would be easier to do in dogs. The females only go into heat twice a year at very predictable times whereas many cats will stay in perpetual heat. The vexing issues with male dogs that aren't neutered can be overcome with training.

 

[Stephen12]

Did you consult your vet? What was his opinion on this?

 

[Merlin77]

You can ask, but most vets are not trained to do alternative spays and, if they do it, will probably charge a lot extra. Their tools and methods are customized to do full spays and it's not quite as easy as "take this out but not that". It will require more time and effort. There are Facebook groups that keep lists of vets who do alternative spays for large dogs, but I have no idea if they'll also do cats, or where the closest one to you is located.

I don't know, I've never heard that. Where did you hear it? I've never had a cat who had adrenal problems anyway.

There was a book by Ted Kerasote called 'Pukka's Promise'-The Quest for Longer Lived Dogs in which he devoted an entire chapter to talk about spay/neuter and in the book the adrenal glands were mentioned. Basically, the thinking was that removing the other hormone secretors left the adrenal glands to do all the work. It was a dog book though, so I wasn't sure if it would be true for cats.

Yeah, the extra cost is a pain. Plus it is silly, since isn't it actually less work not to take out both organs?

We have a holistic vet near us, maybe he/she (we've never gone before) will know how to do the modified spay.


A bit of a follow-up question...
If my cat is mated by a tom when she's in heat, but doesn't have a uterus, will she have a phantom pregnany or will here be no effect?

 

[Merlin77]

Did you consult your vet? What was his opinion on this?

We still have yet to do that, but we'll try to talk to him.

 

[talkingpeanut]

I am confused by the point of this since there is no evidence that spays negatively impact female cats. I don’t see why you wouldn’t make your cat’s life easier, remove the stress of heats, and remove the chance that she will be mated by potentially rough males. The act of mating is not pleasant for female cats.

Large dogs, there may be some evidence. Is this to keep them closer to natural?

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Personally, I wouldn't put my female cat through two separate surgeries.

 

[Willowy]

If my cat is mated by a tom when she's in heat, but doesn't have a uterus, will she have a phantom pregnany or will here be no effect?

Yes, usually. Cats are induced ovulators and will almost always have a false pregnancy if they ovulate without getting pregnant.

Do some research on induced ovulators and see if that's helpful. Ferrets are induced ovulators and the females will actually die if they aren't mated on every heat (or spayed) so I'm inclined to think that it's similarly unhealthy for cats too. As mentioned, a dog's reproductive system is entirely different so dog research isn't very helpful.

 

[cryptic]

If I may ask, what's the point in a partial spay? Especially if you're considering just having them removed later anyway. Two surgeries seems unnecessary.

 

[carebare]

The benefits of a full spay are obvious compared to no spay. A partial spay seems pointless to me, especially if it's two surgeries and not providing her all the beneifts of a full spay.