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AIBU?

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Original poster

To hate the excuse “she got out before we could spay her”

282 replies

Soubriquet · 07/07/2020 13:21

With cats

It’s never, “we wanted one litter” “or we thought she would make a good mum” even though these are awful excuses its always “she got out before we could spay her and we didn’t know she was pregnant”

Someone I know, her cat has just had kittens. I haven’t said anything as it’s none of my business, but I know this would be her excuse

Seriously, spay your cats! They can get pregnant from 4 months of age. That isn’t fair to what is essentially a teenaged mum. Vets will spay from 4 months. No need to let her have a season unlike dogs

Neuter your toms. They will roam for miles fighting other males if left intact. They will stalk females and yowl for them.

OP posts:
FelicisNox · 08/07/2020 18:58

I don't like cats so this thread is over my head boredom wise but I agree for the most part, if nothing else but from an animal welfare perspective.

In saying that, our dog isn't neutered because we wanted her to have one litter and keep one of her pups but sadly we never found the right boyfriend for her and at the age of 9years I think it would be utterly cruel to put her through it.

She doesn't like male dogs now anyway and would bite their knackers off if they came anywhere near her. Still, it is a worry.

ListeningQuietly · 08/07/2020 19:07

My most recent rescue cat had been on the street.
She appears to have become pregnant at about 5 months, had 4 kittens of which only one survived.
We got her at about 10 months
Because she had been still feeding the kitten we were told she had to go through a season after being separated from it before spaying.
cancer reasons apparently

Blerdy hell
I've never had a cat in season in the house before
and I'll never do it again.

She was so obsessed with sticking her bum in the air to get shagged
or trying to escape the house
she lost weight and fur condition
Our other cat looked sorry for her.

she is now safely neutered
her kitten is rehomed many miles away (and neutered)
and both will have a happy, healthy long life

1Blue1 · 08/07/2020 19:44

My cat was pregnant as a kitten herself but she was spayed and kittens were aborted. We adopted her at 2yo. The ‘would be kittens’ were fathered by our cats brother. They were booked to be spayed but one turned out to be a boy, and the other pregnant. Poor babies! She’s a healthy elderly cat now.

Lovely13 · 08/07/2020 20:10

Yes, spay them. Too many cats already. They decimate wild birds, who are having a hard enough time as it is.

Harls1969 · 08/07/2020 20:24

Bloody unneutered toms are always hanging around, pissing up my front door and car because they want to get to my spayed female cats! Until we changed our catflap for a microchip one, we had them coming in the house and spraying everywhere! It's not expensive and it prolongs the life of pets, let alone reducing unwanted litters.

thecatneuterer · 08/07/2020 20:29

@wildchild554

YABU I had every intention of having mine spayed when they reached 1 year old during the warmer months, now cause of covid it looks like will be next spring as I would need to get public transport and am extremely high risk, so being very careful to keep them in however there is always the chance that they may escape before then.
Every intention of doing it at one year! You should have had it done at four months, and that would have been a long time before Covid. So yes, if you don't manage to keep her in then her pregnancy will be your fault.
Thisdressneedspockets · 08/07/2020 20:59

We're about ring around for the nth time to find out if any vets are now neutering or if it's still emergencies only.

I think it's an incredibly short sighted policy.

wildchild554 · 08/07/2020 21:26

@allthecatneuterer they are only just one year and would never get them spayed before then and no chance till can safely use the bus and no they not got out yet

wildchild554 · 08/07/2020 21:34

I prefer to wait when they are older and stronger cause at the end of the day there are always risks when having it done.

SimonJT · 08/07/2020 21:38

@wildchild554

I prefer to wait when they are older and stronger cause at the end of the day there are always risks when having it done.
Are you not concerned about the high risk of pyometra by delaying so much?
Wolfiefan · 08/07/2020 21:39

There is absolutely no good reason to wait until a year.

wildchild554 · 08/07/2020 21:46

@SimonJT no because that tends to effect older cats and they only just a year old. I have consulted our vet before on delaying it.

HowLongCanICallitBabyWeight · 08/07/2020 21:48

Our vet recommends six months for neutering, and to keep inside until then. We got our cat because NDN had a female kitten, she had to go away for a few days for work, her mum came to look after it with strict instructions that the older (spayed) cat could go out but under no circumstances could the kitten (4 months) , she left the little top bathroom window ajar thinking there was no way the kitten would get up there, she did... NDN had owned several cats over the years, very responsible owner always kept in until spayed, always insured, vaccinated , de-flea monthly etc. She also didn't sell the kittens; we had one, her sister had two and she kept the other one. It does happen

hamalooya · 08/07/2020 21:52

All my pets have always been done as soon as were able. New puppy now seven months and no date for when we can get her done due to Covid. Restricting exercise is not fair to the type of dog she is so trying to do our best that she doesn't get caught before we can get her booked in. I would be devastated as I feel strongly that animals are overbred but some circumstances really can't be helped. My cats were done very young as was my last two dogs but I was shocked when my dog became ill and they initially thought it may be something to do with issues of spaying quite young which I had never heard of before so I can see why people wait to a year old.

hamalooya · 08/07/2020 21:53

All my pets have always been done as soon as were able. New puppy now seven months and no date for when we can get her done due to Covid. Restricting exercise is not fair to the type of dog she is so trying to do our best that she doesn't get caught before we can get her booked in. I would be devastated as I feel strongly that animals are overbred but some circumstances really can't be helped. My cats were done very young as was my last two dogs but I was shocked when my dog became ill and they initially thought it may be something to do with issues of spaying quite young which I had never heard of before so I can see why people wait to a year old.

Rosebel · 08/07/2020 21:58

Yes its ridiculous. We had a brother and sister who we got neutered as soon as they were four months as I was terrified he'd impregnate her.
We managed to keep them apart, if you only have one cat there's no excuse.

wildchild554 · 08/07/2020 22:00

Also someone mentioned feral cats can't be tamed this is simply untrue, I took in a feral tom many years ago when he was about 2 years old according to the vet, he was in a horrendous state, covered in wounds and emaciated, poor skin and took alot of time, love and patience but eventually I gained his trust and he was tamed, happy and well again and had a good happy life.

Runnerduck34 · 08/07/2020 22:07

I have had all my pets spayed no accidental litters but a couple of friends have been caught out with their cats, one friends cat got pregnant twice which did make me roll my eyes a bit!
However they all rehomed their kittens into loving homes (we have two!) and speaking to other friends who would like a cat, non-pedigree kittens are really in very short supply and are homed very quickly, so really I dont think its as much of an issue as it used to be

SoupDragon · 08/07/2020 23:01

so really I dont think its as much of an issue as it used to be

I think the rescuers on this thread would disagree.

tonercartridges · 08/07/2020 23:03

I've had cats all my life and it used to be easy to get kittens, there were so many unwanted litters around. In recent years I've always had adult rescue cats, but my pre-teens were desperate for kittens so when we had my old boy put down I agreed.

Anyway - things have changed since the 80s and 90s! We couldn't get any for love or money! Well - you can get expensive breeds, but no accidental moggies. All the charities have long waiting lists and apparently the shortage is due to the success of their neutering programmes! So that's great really - but not so good for potential owners...Grin.

Anyway, we eventually found a friend of a friend who had tamed a feral cat and found she was pregnant, and we got our name down quickly and hope to pick up two lovely boys early next month. But she had lots of people wanting them! So hopefully it's not quite such a problem these days, as long as the owners are otherwise responsible - although I do agree people should always get their cats neutered.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 08/07/2020 23:10

I think the rescuers on this thread would disagree

That's true, but thecatneuterer (who's in a position to know) explained that the "excess" kittens are often feral and in areas of deprivation

So maybe it would be accurate to say that there are kittens available, but not necessarily ones which a lot of folk fancy taking on?

Puzzledandpissedoff · 08/07/2020 23:12

And just to be clear, I'm not at all suggesting it's a good thing if people hesitate to adopt a more needy kitten - only that it surely happens

thecatneuterer · 08/07/2020 23:17

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I think the rescuers on this thread would disagree

That's true, but thecatneuterer (who's in a position to know) explained that the "excess" kittens are often feral and in areas of deprivation

So maybe it would be accurate to say that there are kittens available, but not necessarily ones which a lot of folk fancy taking on?

It's true that a lot of the 'excess' kittens are feral, but any feral kittens if caught early enough can soon become tame. But in deprived, urban areas there are also many thousands of unwanted tame kittens, particularly by the time the second kitten season of the year comes along. But, as I said upthread, if you live in a nice, middle class area I can quite understand why you would think that there aren't many kittens around.
thecatneuterer · 08/07/2020 23:20

@wildchild554

Also someone mentioned feral cats can't be tamed this is simply untrue, I took in a feral tom many years ago when he was about 2 years old according to the vet, he was in a horrendous state, covered in wounds and emaciated, poor skin and took alot of time, love and patience but eventually I gained his trust and he was tamed, happy and well again and had a good happy life.
What makes you think he was feral and not simply a timid stray? It's certainly possible that a feral cat can be tamed, but most can't. However the vast majority will eventually happily cohabit with humans, but they will usually resolutely refuse to be touched and never come round in that respect.
wildchild554 · 08/07/2020 23:40

@thecatneuterer I'm going off information from people that were living there and the vets opinion at the time.