spay/abortion of pregnant cats
Catkin7940
I'm involved in cat rescue and never, ever spay a pregnant female. If I
don't know she's pregnant it's different, but I just can't abort those
who I know are. My vet is of the same opinion.
Tina M Noyes
Catkin7940 (catki...@aol.com) wrote:
: I'm involved in cat rescue and never, ever spay a pregnant female. If I
: don't know she's pregnant it's different, but I just can't abort those
: who I know are. My vet is of the same opinion.
I agree. It is a risk to the mother cat and I consider a spay in advanced
pregnancy unethical. It is important to keep the population of unwanted
pets as low as possible, but that does not make killing them right.
Prevention by spaying is a must, but not abortion of late pregnancies. I
think there is a huge difference between the abortion of a 2 week old
embryo and the abortion of a nearly-term foetus (whether kitty or human).
In the human issue, the mother's right to control her body are of major
consideration. That means the right to control whether she does or does
not have the child. In the case o cats, we can't ask them their choice...
we must make the decision for them. We have to try and make the right
one.
--
Tina Noyes
http://tdg.uoguelph.ca/~peak/peaksters/tina/
Alison Cohen
Catkin7940 wrote:
> I'm involved in cat rescue and never, ever spay a pregnant female. If I
> don't know she's pregnant it's different, but I just can't abort those
> who I know are. My vet is of the same opinion.
and yorst...@aol.com (YorsTrooly) replies:
> Sure, it would be nice if we could all do this, but it's not realistic. I
> don't have this option. If I did not spay the pregnant females, I would
> have 2,000 cats by now.
>
> For feral cats who are allowed to have kittens, the horrors that can
> follow allowing them to have litters are tragic.
>
> And of course, let's face reality. Unless you take a pregnant cat into
> your home without ever letting her outside, nurture the cat, spay the cat,
> then spay/neuter the kittens before placing them, then you will achieve
> nothing. A cat that has kittens that has outdoor access will almost
> invariably be pregnant again, even if only in the early stages, by the
> time the kittens are weaned.
Also, what happens to the other existing cats and kittens that you could have
saved and found homes for while waiting for the pregant cat to give birth
and for the kittens to be old enough to adopt? You might have the satisfaction
of not aborting these kittens but what about the born animals that will
be killed by some other group. I wish it was a viable option to not spay
pregant cats but there are too many unwanted, healthy, and adoptable cats
and kittens in the worldthat are killed daily in shelters to allow
unnecessary
litters to be born.
Alison
YorsTrooly
In the last three weeks, I have taken in 13 cats, 2 of which WERE pregnant
females. Out of the 13 cats/kittens, one died at the vet, two had to be
euthanized due to illness/too wild. Out of the remaining 10, six have
either been spayed/neutered, and are either still here or have been
adopted out, four are just kittens, just weaning. For those of you who
criticize us that take the unfortunately necessary steps to spay a
pregnant female, please let me know... would just one of you have been
available to take the responsibility of the 10 or 12 kittens that would
have been born, had I not spayed these 2 cats? Get real, people.
Sharon Talbert
I hope you and your vet are in the minority. I'm not saying it's easy,
spaying a far-gone cat, but it is better for the cat to be spayed rather
than forced to give birth, better for the unwanted kittens never to be
born.
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
(who just inherited a litter of 7 from a feral mom I wish I could have
caught before she gave birth)
So many cats, not nearly enough laps....
Sharon Talbert
Are we talking about homeless cats or women here? Confusion of personal
politics, perhaps?
Bringing more unwanted kittens into the world is not a noble deed. Just
makes more work for rescuers and shelters. There are more kittens out
there right now than can find homes as it is. Adding to their numbers is
hardly a responsible act for a cat rescuer.
I was queasy about my first spay of a far-gone feral and left it up to my
vet. She wisely spayed. Years later, old Stubbs (whose tail had to be
partly amputated at the same time due to an infection) is alive and well
and kitten-free.
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
On 27 Jul 1997, Tina M Noyes wrote:
> Catkin7940 (catki...@aol.com) wrote:
> : I'm involved in cat rescue and never, ever spay a pregnant female. If I
> : don't know she's pregnant it's different, but I just can't abort those
> : who I know are. My vet is of the same opinion.
>
Sharon Talbert
Ah, yes -- this is the Second Wave of kittens for the season, with some
third litters to come in September or so. The idea of bringing every
kitten to term is appalling to me.
YorsTrooly
In seven years of rescuing, I can say that I have NEVER had a vet suggest
anything other than spaying a pregnant female. For anyone who wants to
"survive" in the rescue field, it is not an option, it is a necessity. If
your vet has a problem with this, then find another vet.
If you allow a cat to give birth, at whatever stage the cat is at when you
decide not spay her, then it is just someone else's job to kill that same
many kittens that have already been born somewhere else. The
shelter/pound workers have it hard enough as it is, please make their job
easier.
Pantherpdx
Cat rescue is a complex business with victories and defeats. We all have
a long way to go We have all had to make difficult decisions and all have
made mistakes. . As in most fields, problems are complex and easy answers
suspect. Someone called me a "right to lifer" for taking the position that
I would not spay a late term pregnant cat. I have come to the conclusion
for myself that although I strongly support spaying/neutering, I will look
at each situation on a case by case basis and treat the cat as an
individual as well as a member of the cat population. Early term abortion
is easier on the cat in many ways than late term. I think I am entitled
to my opinion. Others are entitled to theirs.
Pantherpdx
I am not sure that "the right thing" is as easy to discern as it may
appear to be on the surface. Someone told me this morning of a late term
pregnant cat that was spayed. Her milk came in anyway and she was in
horrible pain that had a lasting effect on her personality.
I understand the argument that cats are not people and that we should not
anthropomorphize(sp?) by comparing a pregnant woman to a pregnant cat.
Nevertheless, cats are sentient beings with feelings. It is not difficult
to imagine that kittens can survive late term spaying. It would be
interesting to hear from a candid veterinarian on this point.
I have been involved in cat advocacy for more than twenty years. I am far
from a "Kitty right to lifer" I know how frustrating the overpopulation
situation is, but I believe it can only be solved through education and
enlightened shelters and workers who multiply their numbers through the
humane and socially responsible examples they set.
Cheshire Cat
I really hate to get involved in this discussion because I don't condemn
anyone for their opinions on this matter. I just want to say that I've done
both and pray that I don't have to make that decision again.
When I caught Pixel she was ready to give birth at any moment. We spayed her
anyway and now everytime I look at that sweet cat I wonder what her kittens
might have been like. I know I did the "right thing", but I still feel bad.
Then Effie came along and had her kittens in my office before I could get
her spayed (I'm sure I probably could have managed to get her in if I'd
tried really hard to get help, but after Pixel I just let it slide awhile).
I realize that there are other kittens out there somewhere looking for
homes, but I wouldn't have adopted them anyway. I had already decided to
keep my household closed to outside cats to avoid any problems with viruses,
etc. These kittens are relatively guaranteed to be free of FeLV and FIV
because they came from the same colony as my other cats who are free.
Besides, I'd experienced a number of losses of older feline friends recently
and couldn't bear the thought of killing anymore.
I'm not saying the latter was right, just that it was right for me at the
time. This is a matter not only of statistics, but of the fight between
heart and head as well. Please don't condemn others, but do continue the
discussions. These are important subjects that need to be discussed calmly
and with intelligence AND compassion.
--
Andrea
aka Cheshire Cat
NSFR
Hi Sharon
We here have had to spay 4 pregnant females this season. Not something we
want to do but an absolute necessity. We do not have space or adopters for
more kittens. I agree it is not an easy choice. The same as euthanizing
cats that test positive for FIV or Feline Leukemia but these are choices
made so that healthy cats can get homes. We do not let adopters see new
litters until previous litters are adopted. We all know how people can be
if they saw the 8 week old ones they'd want them instead of the 12 week
old ones. They all need homes. We took a call from a woman last week. She
wanted an unfixed female to mate with her "Poopsie". When told about the
problems of homeless cats and how many are euthanized each day she said
she did not care about that or anything else except what she wanted. Sue
our Director told her she had the wrong number if that was how she felt.
Sue also called all local shelters and gave the womans name to prevent her
from getting a cat from them to turn into a baby machine.
Jamie (male)
North Shore Feline Rescue
Sharon Talbert
Hi yourself, Jamie. I agree with your realistic policies at North Shore.
Thanks for the note.
Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
On 3 Aug 1997, NSFR wrote:
> Hi Sharon
> We here have had to spay 4 pregnant females this season. Not something we
> want to do but an absolute necessity. We do not have space or adopters for
> more kittens. I agree it is not an easy choice. The same as euthanizing
> cats that test positive for FIV or Feline Leukemia but these are choices
> made so that healthy cats can get homes.
(rest snipped)