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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to let my cat have a litter of kittens?

166 replies

StartRight · 12/02/2013 13:43

I am hoping for lots of YABU.

We have a 6 month old cat we bought from the local rescue centre. My children (and dh bizarrely) all want to let her have one litter of kittens before we get her neutered.
Even my mum when I ran it past her said it would be a 'wonderful experience' for the children.
We would give the kittens away to friends or the local pet shop.

I don't think it is a good idea. Aside from the obvious problem of too many unwanted cats in the world, I don't want the house overrun with cats and cat litter etc.

I feel like I am being mean, so am wavering hence this thread.

OP posts:
ComposHat · 12/02/2013 16:28

if , you did not want a "breeder " u should have got a tom

Two things.

  1. It is the responsibility of all cat owners to have their cats neutered regardless of gender. The whole it takes two to tango thing.

  2. What kind of crazy fuck wants to live with an unneutered tomcat in the house. They are often aggressive, highly territorial, prone to fighting and spray their scent all over the place

HansieMom · 12/02/2013 16:30

I took two to be fixed to the vet as Lily and Ruby. They came home as Max and Ruby. Our GS named one cat that appeared on our porch as Rosie. He is still Rosie, much bigger and no one would think him a girl now.

JenaiMorris · 12/02/2013 16:39

I have a Mirena coil. Does that count? Confused

MissBeehivingUnderTheMistletoe · 12/02/2013 16:49

And the award for most bizarre post of the day goes to...Confused

JenaiMorris · 12/02/2013 16:52

Midori I don't remember what the small print said wrt ownership, althoguh lovely as she is I doubt they'd want her back Grin

StuntGirl · 12/02/2013 17:02

Feminism for cats Grin

Original poster
StartRight · 12/02/2013 17:15

andubelievedthat I am not anthropomorphically inclined. Very bizarre post!

I previously had 2 Toms and both were neutered at an early age. Males are 'breeders' too you know.

OP posts:
Rikalaily · 12/02/2013 17:32

I'm suprised the rescue hadn't spayed her before they rehomed, thats very lax of them! Our dog wasn't neutered before we got him at 7 months from a rescue, but he's a big breed and it's best to wait to neuter them - But it was in our rescue contract that we not breed from him and have him castrated at 12 months old, which we gladly did.

If you breed her you are adding to the problem of cats in rescues, your cat could have 4-6 kittens, then they could go on to have 4-6 each and so on, within just 2-3 years you have thousands more cats that need homes and all because you wanted to breed your cat.

If you breed her you are risking her health/life, could you bear to lose her and her litter? Could you put her through/ afford a c section if it's needed?

You risk her catching a nasty infection and then posssibly passing that to her kittens/ She may already have corona virus from her mum and it's a heartbreaking virus if it mutates. I had to have one of my cats put to sleep last year after the corona virus (which was passed to her from her mum) mutated into FIP, it was absolutely heartbreaking to see what it did to her and we did everything we could until the end. It's a fatal condition, no cure and many cats are carriers.

Your children will gain nothing from breeding your cat, I find it so rediculous that people think they will gain something from it, what will they gain apart from the upset of rehoming all of the kittens?

My mum didn't spay our cat growing up and the poor thing was pregnant again before her current litter was weaned, she had loads of kittens and the only thing it taught me was to get my animals neutered. Female cats make an awful mess spraying and an awful noise calling when they are in season, yowling constantly, tom cats yowling and fighting all day and night, peeing up your windows and doors, I hated it as a kid listening to that all night and I even had to deliver a stuck kitten when she decided to have them under my bed - Not a nice experience at all, any of it.

Get her spayed now before she has her first season, if she comes into season and gets out it's too late and believe me it's next to impossible to keep a cat in call in, the little hussies will do anything to get to the local toms. Unloess you are a proffessional breeder, if you love your cat you will get her spayed.

NotADragonOfSoup · 12/02/2013 17:34

I'm suprised the rescue hadn't spayed her before they rehomed, thats very lax of them!

No it wasn't... The kitten was only 12 weeks old when it left the rescue.

gordyslovesheep · 12/02/2013 17:38

cats can be neutered at 16 weeks - feminists or not

AmberSocks · 12/02/2013 17:39

I have cats and let them have a litter before being neutured.I always know people who want cats so they are always cared for and we have a big house so idontmmind lotsof cats about the place,in fact i love it!

I would get one from a sanctuary but whenever ive tried they have always said they wont let me because i have too many children under 5(4 under 5,3 under 5 last time i tried to get one)

issey6cats · 12/02/2013 17:42

please please get her neutered the rescue i work at has 1000 yes 1000 cats on thier waiting list to come into the center, nearly 50 cats and kittens in foster homes all of these will have to come back to the center priority before the waiting list to be rehomed, evry week we get about 20 phone calls for people who want thier cats rehomed and it is not easy having to tell these people that the waiting list is now about 8 months long and thats being optimistic, im also surprised she didnt come neutered the vets we use neuters at ten weeks old and a lot of vets are neutering earlier than they used to

CartedOff · 12/02/2013 17:42

I would definitely read a book titled 'Feminism for Cats.'

JenaiMorris · 12/02/2013 17:45

Amber those kittens you found homes for - if you'd not allowed them to be conceived their new families might have taken one of the thousands of cats languishing in rescue centres.

FatherReboolaConundrum · 12/02/2013 17:53

I'm suprised the rescue hadn't spayed her before they rehomed

I'm not. Last year we tried to rehome a cat from the RSPCA. It hadn't been neutered, but I thought that was a one off. The poor cat died before we could rehome it, so we rehomed another cat from the RSPCA. This one hadn't been spayed (and the fosterer had "forgotten" to take her for her booster jabs, and hadn't wormed her or properly treated her skin condition). I'm starting to wonder if it's unofficial RSPCA money-saving policy not to neuter their rescue cats. Even if it's just coincidence, I'm not impressed.

OP, you've made the right decision.

Pufflemum · 12/02/2013 17:57

I have just had our 9 month kitten spayed. I would tell your children in advance what is happening because my little ones were really upset when they saw the patch of shaved fur on the cat. In fact they cried for hours and wouldn't look at the cat for days, they were also hysterical if she licked her wound as the vet very helpfully asked them to make sure she didn't as it could be dangerous for the cat! Two weeks later and both cat and kids are fine and friends again! Good luck.

campion · 12/02/2013 18:11

DHs Dn - grown woman- 'likes her cats to have one litter of kittens' before she has them 'done'. Thus lots of extra unwanted cats, and when I asked DBinL (her father) why, he got quite uppity and thought I was unreasonable.

It's a crazy idea.

JenaiMorris · 12/02/2013 18:25

Blimey campoin. Some people really are loons.

I struggle to stay civil when relatives of mine insist on buying yet another pedigree kitten when the last one has met a sticky end. I'm possibly a bit hardcore though - I couldn't justify fuelling the market for pedigrees when there are poor moggies stuck in rescue centres.

VeryDullNameChange · 12/02/2013 18:40

Against the grain, a stray cat we took in did have kittens when we were teens, and it was a fantastic experience (even though she did eat a couple of the newborns and another two died randomly later on - very inbred colony). I'm planning on fostering a mum and kittens for the local rescue this year partly because I think my DC will love it - but I'd be a bit careful about really small DCs because of the whole eating their young thing.

Still doesn't make it OK to deliberately breed from a cat though.

FrankellyMyDearIDontGiveADamn · 12/02/2013 18:47

We adopted two 10week old kittens from the RSPCA 7 years ago. We had to sign a piece of paper saying we'd get them both neutered (1boy, 1 girl) at 20wks of age. In return the RSPCA paid half the costs of the operations - our local vet handled the paperwork.

ithasgonetotheopera · 12/02/2013 18:51

Rescue should have neutered her really before rehoming..

Questions to ask yourself before breeding:

  1. do I have the money for a caesarean/veterinary assistance if necessary? Caesars cost £500-£1000 round here depending on vet/time of day etc. Could be more than that down south.

  2. do I have the time to socialise the kittens adequately while they are with you (spending time with each individual kitten several times a day)

  3. do I have the time/energy/willingness to bottle feed kittens if mum is ill/dies/cannot produce enough milk? They would need feeding every 2-4 hours for several weeks?

  4. do have enough friends lined up for all the kittens? Would I feel comfortable giving them to a pet shop where anyone could get them (including some very irresponsible people)?

  5. will my children cope emotionally with mum getting ill/kittens dying? Kittens dying is not an uncommon occurrence under 5 weeks.

  6. is mum fully vaccinated/wormed (can give nasty things to kittens in utero otherwise)?

StuntGirl · 12/02/2013 19:09

Amber those kittens you found homes for - if you'd not allowed them to be conceived their new families might have taken one of the thousands of cats languishing in rescue centres.

^ This. It's grossly irresponsible pet ownership.

Bakingtins · 12/02/2013 19:47

I'm glad you decided to get her neutered. There are far too many unwanted kittens and older cats. All the rescues are bursting at the seams.

AmberSocks · 12/02/2013 20:39

not true.they didnt want ones from a rescue centre,and as i said its arder then they make out,lots of people try but are then told they cant

if other people arent responsible for their cats and just leave them in bin bags on the side of the road,that is not my fault,i look after my cats and take responsibility for any kittens they have had,if others choose not to do the same its their fault not mine

countrykitten · 12/02/2013 20:40

Ambersocks how bloody irresponsible of you and needless too. You are contributing to the overpopulation of cats in the UK - and quite happy to do so by the sounds of things. At least you get them spayed eventually - for that we can be grateful.

OP - well done you. You have definitely made the right decision and your cat will be much happier for it. We are about to have our female kitten spayed too.

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