Spaying Pregnant Cats

[Daisy6]

Is it too risky? Would you rather wait and let the queen go to term and 6 weeks for lactation or just abort the kittens?

 

[Dr. Phil Bushby]

Is it too risky? Would you rather wait and let the queen go to term and 6 weeks for lactation or just abort the kittens?

This may sound a little cold, but there are already more kittens in the world than there are homes for. I would recommend spaying her while she is pregnant. If the uterus is never opened during the surgery the kittens never "wake up" so they don't feel any pain or suffering.

 

[Daisy6]

Thank you. I am fully aware of the overpopulation problem and only adopted cats from shelters.

 

[Esther Mechler]

We know of many vets now who spay pregnant felines just to prevent the suffering that ensues for the millions of 'surplus' cats born, even in the United States alone, never mind in other countries. Once it becomes routine to spay or neuter before five months, the numbers will go down and many other problems will resolve themselves - fewer cats losing their homes due to spraying and marking, less incidence of mammary gland cancer and fewer unplanned litters. This change in recommended age for spay/neuter has the potential to change the landscape for cats for the better. We hope all readers will see the benefits and help to spread the word!

 

[Daisy6]

I hope so too. My question was really about the medical part of it: Are there more risks involved if the vet also has to remove placentas and amniotic sacs?

 

[silkenpaw]

If you never open the uterus, you don’t have to deal with placentas and amniotic sacs, but what about the (presumably) increased blood supply to the uterus during pregnancy? Everything else being equal, that has to increase the surgical risk.

I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to “spay abort,” just wondering how much more challenging the surgery is and how increased are the risks? Of course, they are probably less than getting through pregnancy, giving birth and lactation, for a feral cat.

 

[DreamerRose]

I had a queen spayed many years ago that I did not know was pregnant. The vet told me she was afterwards. Frankly, I felt no guilt because she had already had 36 kittens. There were no medical after effects from the surgery. She recovered nicely and went on to live another 15 years.

 

[catsknowme]

Thank you, Esther, for putting my mind at ease!!!! I have often had pregnant queens spayed & worried that there would be extra suffering, despite my vet's assurances otherwise. Only what I have witnessed during kitten euthanasia (I attend every euth as my final act of love for the animal, no matter who they are) has given me the fortitude to go through with spaying pregnant queens.

 

[Dr. Phil Bushby]

I hope so too. My question was really about the medical part of it: Are there more risks involved if the vet also has to remove placentas and amniotic sacs?

The uterus is larger and more vascular. This means that the spay incision will need to be larger, the surgeon will have to pay very close attention to preventing hemorrhage (but we have to do that in every surgery anyway) and the surgery will most likely take a little bit longer in the pregnant cat. These increase the risk slightly, but not so much to avoid performing the surgery.

 

[Daisy6]

Thank you Dr. Bushby.