Feeling guilty for getting my cat neutered

[Sammy900]

Hey

Just wondering what other peoples views are and if I'm overthinking it or being unreasonable? I just want different opinions, experiences really so I can weigh up both sides....

Today our handsome boy cat went to the vets and was neutered and I've never felt so ethically uneasy and awful about making a decision for a pet. I feel like I've taken away his right to reproduce :(

Everyone keeps telling me it's for the best, he will be less likely to get into fights and be exposed to other illnesses from that, he won't spray around the house. We have two cats a boy and girl and they are brother and sister so it would be a whole load of wrongness later on ....

I just feel so uncomfortable about it, so much that I don't want anymore male pets now that I have to face this decision for. I love my pets and I suppose in some ways, further down the line of the argument it's unfair/restrictive to prevent anything from living a wild and free life.

I guess what I'm seeking is to weigh it all up and get my thoughts in the right frame and hopefully come to the conclusion that it WAS the best decision....any thoughts or experiences of a similar vein ? un-neutered pets that were a nightmare?

What does everyone else think?

Do the majority here feel that all domesticated pets should never reproduce?

How would anyone ever have a pet cat?

What about breeders? Can they always guarantee great homes - what about animals that are simply there just used to breed and breed for financial gain, not to mention health problems...

What about Dogs? Other animals

LittleDandelionClock made a good point about this further up the thread

Yeah. The natural way: slow agonising painful death at around two years old. Or the domesticated way: long healthy happy life.

It's a conundrum that's for sure.

Do the majority here feel that all domesticated pets should never reproduce?

Given the number of ferals and irresponsible owners and abandoned cats, yes.

If we ever got to the point of 99% of domesticated being neutered then we could have a debate about a limited breeding programme.

But moot point as we'll never get to that point.

@Sammy900

Do the majority here feel that all domesticated pets should never reproduce?

How would anyone ever have a pet cat?

What about breeders? Can they always guarantee great homes - what about animals that are simply there just used to breed and breed for financial gain, not to mention health problems...

What about Dogs? Other animals

LittleDandelionClock made a good point about this further up the thread

Yes. You are completely overlooking the fact that domesticated pets rarely reproduce of their own volition - those that do, are solely because of irresponsible owners that refuse to neuter them. Controlled reproduction is carried out by breeders for profit - whether that's to sell the animal as a house pet, or for sport.

I'll ask again - and it is relevant to a point you have made earlier - do you drink milk?

What about breeders? Can they always guarantee great homes - what about animals that are simply there just used to breed and breed for financial gain, not to mention health problems.

I am against this too.
I am against anything that would choose inflicting pain or trauma on an animal for financial gain only. I think these type of people just need to get a job.

Obviously in some cases we breed animals as guide dogs etc so do need puppies. But it’s done in a controlled environment where the mother has health checks to ensure she’s capable of carrying a litter and father is specifically chosen for his temperament around the female, his medical history and he’d be up to date with all vaccinations etc. The actual mating would be done in a controlled environment so if anything goes wrong they can stop it and get them to a vet straight away.

You are not even doing that.
You are wanting your cat to get pregnant by a random cat off the street. She will probably be attacked several times by males trying to mate her and single litters can often have multiple fathers so she would have been mated more than once.
The males could give her a number of diseases which could kill her or make her seriously ill.
They could also pass these diseases on to their offspring.

Then you are going to try and find some way of stopping her from becoming pregnant in the future without neutering her.

I hope you got the female spayed as well.

Of course they have a drive to reproduce. Because otherwise their species would end. But just like our own natural drives, for example to fight for resources or force females into having sex, they don't suit the current situation. The cats don't understand that they are overpopulating, that there aren't safe places for their offspring to live, that they can catch diseases by having sex, that they can die by giving birth. And unlike teenagers who also have a primal urge for sex, we can't teach them about consent and protection.

So it's your job to protect them. Just like it's your job to protect your child from running across the road because he want sto go to the park.

Imagine yourself in her position. Would you rather A or B.
A. Be sedated, have a cut made on your belly, feel drousy, get loads of treats and cuddles. And never have children.
B. Be raped by however men fight over you and fight with you, be pregnant with little medical care, give birth with no pain relief to aprox. 4 babies in a scary environment not of your choosing (cats need keeping indoors during their pregnancy because they will find somewhere away from home they consider safe to give birth so you have to force them to give birth in your home becuase they don't know it's safer.) Be responsible for keeping them safe from all the other animals including people, who keep wanting to grab your little babies, when your instincts tell you that if someone finds your babies, they'll be killed. Then, after 6-8 weeks, all your babies get taken from you and you never see them again. THEN have A anyway.

Do you think she'd choose B? Would any woman choose B?

BackBackBack Is this a genuine question? I thought by the tone you were referring to an insider mumsnet joke or something

Nope, it's a genuine question. I haven't explained any further but will do when you answer.

His right to reproduce?! Are you mad? There’s so many unwanted kittens out there you’ve made a very sensible decision!!

BackBackBack

I drink Oat milk....in the world of moral reasoning and ethics , we are allowed to have many different opinions on many different topics....this particular topic/ thread is specifically about whether or not neutering is the right thing to do - so I hope your next attempt is not going to go off topic - save that for another day eh

Chocolatewheatos

Hmm if I'm honest I don't want her to be terrorised and brutally gang raped no, or go through anything traumatic....but is that up to me to decide how cats mate and their behaviour? - I can't change it - that's what they do

Also someone else mentioned earlier that if you get your cat spayed they can still be set upon by Toms

I am against breeders yes. And all my cats have been rescues who would otherwise have been left living long term in a cage, so I don’t worry about not being able to have a pet. The day when domestic cats become extinct because there’s just too few irresponsible owners around will be a happy day all round to be fair! And I say that as a cat lover.

You can change it by making her far less likely to go roaming or for toms to go looking for her - they can smell for up to a mile so if she’s in heat she’ll bring all the boys to the yard.

You can also make her life much more pleasant and calm by removing the drive to put herself in risky situations and allowing her to be the cuddly and friendly family pet that you will enjoy rather than a Randy and rowdy little madam out on the pull and then living with the consequences (including STDs) of her poor life choices!

My husband is similar to you, he's uneasy with the ethics of taking away a cat's ability to reproduce. I have no such qualms and would have taken out two cats to the vets instantly if they hadn't already been spayed when we got them (they're rescue cats). Having seen feral cats on the street, the whole process of procreating is really not much fun for them. As others have said, the males get into fights whereas the female ones get nonstop bother from unneutered males. No way I'd subject my cats to the constant bother of horny male cats.

@Sammy900

BackBackBack

I drink Oat milk....in the world of moral reasoning and ethics , we are allowed to have many different opinions on many different topics....this particular topic/ thread is specifically about whether or not neutering is the right thing to do - so I hope your next attempt is not going to go off topic - save that for another day eh

Thank you for your very sweetly patronising homily.

The reason why I asked if you drink milk, was specifically in respect of the following - which you wrote upthread:

Why are they born with reproductive organs and then go on to develop the ability and animalistic drive to reproduce?....what is the point if humans are just going to come along and remove that opportunity....who the hell are we to decide whats right and wrong without any consideration to it....that is putting human beliefs and feelings onto an animal

If you eat meat or drink animal milk then you tacitly accept that human beings have decided to override the animal's natural instincts, by forcibly impregnating animals specifically to breed them for meat, or to take their newborn calves away so that their milk can be sold.

Perhaps it's a question that you need to ask yourself. If you drink oat milk because of animal welfare (you haven't said that's the case but perhaps it is, your post implies it), then you need to consider why you are giving more consideration to the welfare of a farm animal than your own pet.

I sincerely hope for your cat's sake, that you have her neutered. It would be a real shame to see you back here in 12 months' time asking for sympathy because your cat's died of an entirely avoidable pregnancy-related complication.

Look at the pictures of my recently rehomed cat, one taken when as a cat abandoned with kittens she was taken into a rescue and had chewed herself due to fleas, the other is her less than three months later spayed, her coat like silk interrupting a zoom session. No excuses that you don't need to neuter males.

She sleeps on the bed next to me

Hmm if I'm honest I don't want her to be terrorised and brutally gang raped no, or go through anything traumatic....but is that up to me to decide how cats mate and their behaviour? - I can't change it - that's what they do

Ahh that’s ok then.

So have you changed your mind and will let her have multiple births now considering that’s just what cats do?

I actually thought you were just playing dumb for fun but now I’m not so sure it’s just playing.

@Sammy900 - over the years we have had three boys cats and one girl cat - all rescues - and we had them all spayed/neutered when they were old enough. We have also had three female dogs - two rescues who were spayed before we adopted them - we had one from a puppy, and got her spayed before her first season, as we were advised.

I can honestly say that all of our pets/feline overlords have had happy lives, and don’t appear to have lost out on anything because they haven’t had puppies/kittens.

It is clear to me that you care about your cats, and it is fair to assume you will give them happy lives (frankly they will insist on being treated like royalty -lol), so if you balance all the good things they have/will have in life against the potential downside of not having kittens, I’m sure the good will FAR outweigh the (possible, but not probable) bad.

BackBackBack But I AM considering all aspects of her welfare...whether these issues are uncomfortable for humans to address or not, I'm thinking to myself is this right for the animal or not ?

bellabasset

Aaaah cute!

So what advice did you get from your vet about neutering/spaying @Sammy900?

@Sammy900

BackBackBack But I AM considering all aspects of her welfare...whether these issues are uncomfortable for humans to address or not, I'm thinking to myself is this right for the animal or not ?

You really don't deserve to have cats.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

Thank you for your lovely post, that's good to know that they are all doing well

@Sammy900

BackBackBack But I AM considering all aspects of her welfare...whether these issues are uncomfortable for humans to address or not, I'm thinking to myself is this right for the animal or not ?

You are being completely obtuse though. Lots of posters - many of whom are very experienced in cat welfare - have told you the risks attached to not neutering your female cat.

Knowing all of this, why on earth would you put her through it?