MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SPAYING AND NEUTERING

  • Myth: Cats who are spayed or neutered will get fat and lazy.
  • Fact: The reason that most cats get fat and lazy is that they’re fed too much and don’t have enough exercise.
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  • Myth: It’s better for a female cat to have just one litter first.
  • Fact: Females who are spayed before their first heat cycle are typically healthier. Cats as young as 8 weeks old can be spayed or neutered. There is no health benefit to having a litter. Every litter contributes to overpopulation.
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  • Myth: My cat’s personality will change if I have it spayed or neutered.
  • Fact: If it does change, it will be for the better and the cat will become calmer and more affectionate. Spaying and neutering will reduce the need to breed, and this has a calming effect on many animals.
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  • Myth: Spaying and neutering are dangerous and painful.
  • Fact: While there is always a slight risk involved, such surgeries are commonly performed on cats, and are performed when the cat is under general anesthesia, so no pain is felt. Cats usually go home the same day of the surgery and recover quickly and typically without incident.
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  • Myth: Children should witness the miracle of birth.
  • Fact: First, cats often have litters during the night and want seclusion. Having people around them while in labor can cause them tremendous stress. Second, there are plenty of books and videos available to teach children about birth. Letting your cat have kittens that you have no intention of keeping is teaching irresponsibility.  Instead of teaching children that animals can be created and discarded, it should be explained to children that preventing the birth of some pets can save the lives of others.
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  • Myth: Purebred cats should not be spayed and neutered.
  • Fact: One out of every four animals brought to shelters around the country is purebred. There are just too may cats, mixed breed and purebred.
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  • Myth: Spaying and neutering will change the gender of my pet.
  • Fact: Spaying and neutering only prevents cats from being able to reproduce. The procedure does not change the gender of your cat.
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  • Myth: It’s wrong to deprive a cat of the natural right to mate and reproduce.
  • Fact: A cat who is spayed or neutered does not experience the urge to mate and is not being physically or psychologically deprived of anything. A cat spayed before her first heat cycle never knows and never misses the experience of breeding or giving birth. She avoids the discomfort and risks of pregnancy and labor.
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  • Myth: I don’t have to worry about spaying and neutering until the kitten stage ends at one year old. 
  • Fact: Cats can be spayed and neutered as young as 8 weeks of age. They reach puberty at different ages (between 4 to 12 months) and can and do have litters while they are still kittens.
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  • Myth: I don’t want my male cat to feel any less of a male.
  • Fact: Male cats do not have a sexual identity and do not suffer an identity crisis when they’re neutered.
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  • Myth: Spaying and neutering is too expensive.
  • Fact: The cost depends on various factors, but is a one-time cost and a relatively small cost considering all of the benefits. Overall, it’s a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted cats. Pet owners can ask their veterinarian about low- or no-cost programs in their community if they cannot afford it.
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  • Myth: I’ll find good homes for the kittens.
  • Fact: For each home you find, that means one less home for unwanted cats in shelters who need good homes too. The kittens from that litter will be able to have their own litter, adding even more cats to the population. The problem of cat overpopulation is created and perpetuated one litter at a time.
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  • Myth: If I can’t find homes for all of the kittens in the litter, I’ll just take them to my local animal shelter and they can find homes for them.
  • Fact: Animal shelters do the best they can, but the number of cats is far greater than the number of homes available. It’s likely they will be euthanized.
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  • Myth: My cat is so special that I want one just like her.
  • Fact: Just as we’re not identical representations of our parents, kittens won’t be either. Your cat’s offspring will not be a carbon copy of him or her. Professional animal breeders who follow generations of bloodlines can’t guarantee that they’ll get just what they want out of a particular litter.
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  • Myth: I can make some extra money selling the kittens.
  • Fact: Breeding cats isn’t always a money-making experience. There are veterinary, food, and advertising costs. There is also the time spent caring for the kittens and showing them to prospective owners.
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  • Myth: My cat will be kept indoors away from other pets.
  • Fact: Male cats will smell female cats in heat and can escape homes to reach a female. Unaltered cats are driven by hormones and tend to sneak outdoors primarily in search of a mate. Even if your cat goes out only occasionally, or there’s a chance that he or she may get out, it allows plenty of opportunity for the cat to mate. Mating just once can start a domino effect that can result in dozens, even hundreds or thousands, of unwanted cats.

 

The single most important thing you can do to combat the suffering and killing of unwanted cats is to spay or neuter your pet. Read more