Sterilization: health benefits statistics?

[Renne]

I don't mind my kitten meowing for days, once she's going to start, her voice is very quite. But I've heard that sterilization helps a cat avoid many serious health issues like cancer of breast and womb.

Is there reliable statistics of cats with and without sterelization having these diseases?

I can search online, of course, but there are many articles that copy info from each other, and in the end you don't even know the primary source. I'm looking for something scientific or academic, and I thought that people here would know where to find that.

 

[MissClouseau]

It's not just decreasing the risk of some diseases. Going into the heat is uncomfortable for the cat each time as there will be no relief. If there will be relief, with a male cat in the house, then it's going to be painful each mating as the male cat's penis is barbed.
They teach the cancer risk reducing at the vet schools as well, as it's well-proven and available as articles on universities' websites.

 

[sivyaleah]

I don't mind my kitten meowing for days, once she's going to start, her voice is very quite. But I've heard that sterilization helps a cat avoid many serious health issues like cancer of breast and womb.

Is there reliable statistics of cats with and without sterelization having these diseases?

I can search online, of course, but there are many articles that copy info from each other, and in the end you don't even know the primary source. I'm looking for something scientific or academic, and I thought that people here would know where to find that.

Her voice is not going to be cute and quiet while in heat. It's going to be a relentless, 24 hours, pretty much nonstop wailing.

It's not only for preventing cancer and mammary tumors, which are common in non-spayed cats but also not contributing to the over population of homeless cats. If she were to get out (and believe me, she will try hard to do so) she'll become pregnant and, then what? Do you let this happen continuously? Do you have the funds to care for a cat and kittens? Are you able to find homes for those kittens? What if something goes wrong in the pregnancy or after? Goodness, I just read on Beth Stern's IG account that one of her fosters was found to have a dead fetus inside her weeks AFTER she gave birth to a litter. Weeks! The born mom cat nearly died because of this.

Not sure why only scientific or academic matters to you but if you have the wherewithall, here's some to start reading. I had no trouble finding dozens that are from respected scientific medical journals etc. And like anyone else, it's just a matter of searching properly through Google.

The Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Domesticated Cats and Dogs – Debating Science

Current perspectives on the optimal age to spay/castrate dogs and cats

New Advice on Sterilizing Kittens: Earlier Is Better

 

[Kieka]

For females, uterine and ovarian cancer chances drop to 0% after a spay (because they don't have the organ to get cancer in). Breast cancer risk reduction depends on when you get her spayed. If before the first heat it's something around nearly a 0% chance, after the first heat it is a 5% chance of developing breast cancer, but by the second heat the risk climbs to the 20% range even after a spay. You also eliminate the risk of pyometra which is a life threatening infection that would require an (expensive) emergency spay if it was to develop. It is one of those things where you have a very small window to act to save your cats life and it is often missed until it is in the final hours.

Having lost a rabbit to uterine cancer and a cat to throat cancer. If the spay and neuter only reduced the risk by 1% it would be worth it. I doesn't matter to me if the existing risk was 5% of any cancer or 1% of any cancer; the reduction is worth it because cancer truly sucks. The rabbit was really hard because if we had just spayed her when she was younger she wouldn't have gone through that and there is very little end of life care for a rabbit. I will get every female animal spayed as soon as it is possible and safe to prevent any other female from going through that again. It was truly heartbreaking.

Edit: Current estimates is cancer rate in cats is 32%. It does spread quicker in cats then humans (probably just a simple size issue of cats are smaller so it takes less to spread). Keep in mind that cancer rates are based on people who take their cats to the vet. It doesn't include the cats who don't go to the vet or who die of undiagnosed cancers.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Going into heat over and over is stressful for a cat, not to mention stressful for a person. If your cat gets out when she’s in heat she will get pregnant.

You can go on Google scholar, type in “benefits of spaying cats” and select one of the dozens of articles and studies that outline the benefits vs risks of the procedure, but also even without reading any studies the reduction in risk of reproductive cancers is obvious (because they no longer have those parts to get cancer in). Please just spay your cat, she’ll be much happier

 

[fionasmom]

I rescued a wonderful adult female years ago, Zoe, who had given birth to litters in the parking lot of my place of employment and we had, consequently, a feral colony that we maintained. The day I took Zoe home she went into heat. She did not get pregnant because the second I brought her home she became an inside cat and everyone else was fixed, but the howling, rubbing, rolling and the rest were nervewracking and I could never have stood it more than once.

 

[lutece]

Here's a 2005 paper that shows 91% risk reduction of feline mammary cancer when spaying is performed before the age of 6 months:

"Association between Ovarihysterectomy (spay) and Feline Mammary Carcinoma"
J Vet Intern Med 2005;19:560–563

 

[kittyluv387]

Your cat may end up with an infected uterus. It is a nasty ailment to get and completely avoidable with sterilization. I imagine it's incredibly painful. It's absolutely fatal if caught too late. Getting her fixed is the caring and responsible thing to do.

 

[denice]

The big risk is the infected uterus which is call Pyometra. A cat can cycle in and out of heat every few weeks. The uterine wall never goes back to normal between heat cycles but stays engorged with blood. The cervix is also open while she is in heat which makes her more vulnerable to bacteria. Signs of Pyometra in Cats Responsible breeders keep track of what they call dry heat cycles, which is a heat cycle without mating. They don't allow their cats to go through too many because of the risk of Pyometra.

 

[Paris Pluto]

I'd put it this way; personally, what are the benefits of an intact cat for you? I find there to be none really so I had my 3 girls spayed. If your cat gets out accidentally/willingly, she will most likely get pregnant or at least be calling all night until a tomcat arrives. With spaying, you will have peace of mind that your cat will not get pregnant and you and your cat will reap the benefits of what previous users have stated in this thread. Not a scientific answer but have experienced my first two female cats in heat and it was absolutely horrendous. Hope that helps

 

[jen]

Just google the horrors of Pyometra. That alone would do it for me.

 

[Uncled]

On a side note about Pyometra, my sister in law had a dog die from this, it was auwful.

 

[cataholic07]

The kitten won't be meowing for days, it will be weeks, non stop. Then it will stop for 4-5 days, then continue on for weeks. Unfixed cats have a higher risk of spraying, and even getting UTIs due to stress. She will try to get out anyway she can and unfixed cats who get out roam much farther then an indoor fixed cat who will stay near by. My first cat I adopted at 9-10 months, she had a mammary tumor removed at 12 years old that was small but it can be deadly and spread quickly. We noticed it very quickly.

She will be a much happier cat once fixed, and isn't that the most important thing?

 

[Renne]

Thanks everyone! For some reason I thought that noone replied to my thread (notifications didn't arrive in the mailbox, and I didn't open the site for a while), so I didn't read it. Now I see it's a good idea to sterilize.

What kind of sterelization would you suggest? I'll confess here I went through one myself for medical reasons, and it was awful and I developed some adhesions, so I'm not a big fan of putting a cat through it. It was a major surgery, though. They offer something called "side surgery" for cats, as well as laparoscopy. Both are said to heal really fast. But I'm aware that the former has a chance of leaving a part of an ovarian in (b\c they make a cut on the side and don't see well), and the latter has a chance of damaging internal organs if a surgeon isn't experienced. Is it worth the risk?

 

[cataholic07]

Cats aren't like people, she won't miss getting pregnant or having kittens. Generally within days of the surgery they are their normal selves. I'd say just due the regular spay, she will heal quickly. It's generally not a long process. I've only had one foster kitten who got a bit aggressive after the spay surgery, the rest were trying to bounce off the walls lol.

 

[denice]

I know there is the abdominal entry and the side or flank entry. The abdominal is more common in the U.S. and the flank entry is more common in Europe. It is really a matter of what the vet learned while in school and continues to do. There are advantages to the flank entry for ferals because they don't get the protected recovery time like our pets do. Other then for ferals there really isn't a difference other then what your vet is used to doing.

 

[Norachan]

Most vets perform spay and neuter surgeries on dogs, cats and rabbits on an almost daily basis. It's probably the surgery they have the most experience in, so chances of them making a mistake are very small. The surgery is basically the same whether they make an abdominal or flank incision. Where I live abdominal incisions are more common, but I once requested a flank incision on a feral cats as I knew she was still feeding her kittens.

I've had over 40 cats spayed and neutered and I've never had any problems. Compared to the awful infections and injuries I've had to deal with on female cats who had kittens or male cats who weren't neutered, spaying and neutering doesn't concern me at all.

Google vets in your town and see if you can find any reviews by their customers. If you can find a cat only vet it would be a good idea to make this your regular vet, as your cat will need to see a vet at other times in her life. Talk to the vet you choose about whether the cat has to remain at the clinic over night, whether they supply pain medication and antibiotics and ask any other questions before you book an appointment for her.

It's nerve wracking having to do this as a first time cat guardian, so talk to your vet so as you know exactly what to expect.

Everything will be fine.

 

[Renne]

Got it! In that case, what's best: flank entry or laparoscopy? I've found one clinic in my city that performs both.

And I know many people just give their cats away to be sterilized, but just in case I'd like to be sure that my kitten won't have issues waking up from anethesia. Afaik, for that you need an EKG and a blood test?

 

[denice]

The best person to talk to would be your vet. I guess I just assumed that a laparoscope is always used. The spay incision is very small and I think that is because of using a laparoscope. An EKG before surgery isn't normally done unless a cat has heart issues, the kitten is monitored while under anesthesia. With a kitten you will probably be given the option to have blood work done, it is mandatory with older cats before anesthetic. You can certainly get a full blood work panel done.

 

[Renne]

My vet only does major surgery, it's a small clinic without much in terms of medical devices. I'd have to go to another for laparoscopy or even side entry (she doesn't practice that, either).

What about after care? I assume the kitten would have to have injections of a good painkiller a few times per day for a few days?

And what about prolapse? Highly active humans have a chance of developing it. A kitten is highly active, and unlike a human being, you can't explain to a kitten that she can't run around crazily anymore. So how do you even prevent that!