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Cats Spaying & Neutering
from: PetSpectacle.comSome people take affront at the idea of spaying or neutering their cats. Why do such a thing to these little animals? Why not let them live as "natural" a life as possible? And anyway – there could be some cute little kittens in the house one day! Why deprive a female cat of the opportunity to be a mother?
Yet spaying or neutering are probably among the kindest things you can do for your cat. If you let it outside, either regularly or only occasionally, a non-neutered male cat will be much more likely to get into serious fights with other intact males – with all the abscesses and other injuries that could result. And an unspayed female will almost inevitably end up with kittens – many times.
These may seem like "natural" things, but you may want to question just how far you want to go with the "natural" approach. Cancers and other illnesses occur equally as "naturally" in cat populations, but a responsible cat owner would try to prevent them and would certainly get them treated. Keeping the cat from being spayed or neutered could actually result in the pet getting some of these very diseases.
For example, spaying a female cat drastically reduces the likelihood of future mammary cancer. Spaying before her first heat works best; each time she goes into heat, the probability of mammary cancer at some future point increases. Even male cats can get this disease, but they, too, have a lower incidence if they've been neutered.
Naturally, neutering or spaying would remove the risk of testicular cancer in males (yes, cats get it too) or ovarian and uterine cancer in females. Female cats can also suffer from Pyometritis, a sometimes fatal infection from bacteria that assail the uterus shortly after a cat has been in heat. All of these potential illnesses are eliminated by spaying and neutering. And not having such close contact with other cats on the street, the risk of your cat contracting Feline Leukemia or FIV (a virus similar to HIV in humans) is drastically reduced.
Don't those health reasons provide more than enough reason to protect your pet in this way?
And both cat and owner simply end up happier and more relaxed, if the pet is spayed or neutered. Male cats don't have the same urges to fight or to escape. They are much less likely to spray strong-smelling urine on the walls as territory markers. (Even females can spray like this, as a way of attracting a mate, but this won't happen if they are spayed.) Females will not wander around the house crying loudly while in heat.
Even cat-related allergies can be somewhat diminished by neutering a male cat, since some cat allergens are carried in the stronger urine of non-neutered cats.
All of these are reasons for spaying and neutering, but there's another one as well. There are simply not enough homes for all those kittens. Cities have to euthanize great numbers of kittens born to feral mothers in the streets, and even animal shelters end up euthanizing many kittens brought to them when a family can't find enough friends to take the baby cats off their hands.
The kinder and wiser thing to do – for the cats as well as for their owners – is to spay and neuter. It helps keep down the cat population, and makes the cats themselves much healthier and happier.
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