Petition to make neutering a legal requirement

[thecatneuterer]

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643251

I know there's a petitions board, but I'm hoping this will be allowed to stay here.

Wouldn't this be amazing if by some miracle it became law! (I'm sure it will one day, but sadly probably not in the foreseeable future - still, we can but try).

That's assuming they don't have a litter. Mine are indoor (apart from occasional forays into the garden) and won't ever have kittens but it's better to be safe just in case they ever do wander off.

As I've just discovered, being on heat is very distressing for the cat. It's a great idea in principle, but will be impossible to implement.

I'd like a law that you must also keep the details on pet's microchips up to date. There are many found cats and dogs taken to vets who advise on Facebook the microchip is not up to date, it's heartbreaking for the animal. If you keep on changing your mobile phone number, for God's sake add in an email address you use regularly.

It would be a huge benefit for rescues when tackling problem owners. At the moment there are almost no sanctions we can threaten them with. That law would give us more ammunition. Also it would make it difficult for people to sell kittens on Facebook or Gumtree. Of course it won't have an overnight, magic effect, but it would have an effect.

Much needed. Signed.

I don't have a cat. All those my family had were neutered. But I am concerned about the effect on the population as a whole. Licenced breeders? That means that there will be lineages of specific breeds, and you know what that has done for dogs in producing health problems. There will be a tremendous loss in the gene pool, no "hybrid vigour". There won't be breeders of moggies. Probably loss of intelligence as well.
But the stories above of feckless families show the other side. It's a difficult issue.
My parents lived next door to a breeder of Siamese, who would neuter the queens after they had a couple of litters. The mother of the clan had to watch her daughters have kittens, and got broody, and went out into the fields and brought home young rabbits to nurture, poor little things were terrified as she washed them, there was a lot of unhappiness caused there. (And haven't I heard that Siamese have a tendency to spina bifida, that little kink in the tail?)

We aren't Australia, overrun with feral killers of marsupials.

They don't kill marsupials, but we are certainly overrun with ferals. People don't realise it as it's hidden from view, but there are breeding colonies on just about every street in deprived urban areas. We deal with them as best we can - but we just can't keep up with all the abandoned and escaped unneutered females giving birth all over the place.

And there will be such a reservoir of stray and ferals giving birth for decades that there would be no chance of the moggy dying out. And there is no reason why licensed breeders should be limited to pedigrees.

I absolutely agree OP.

My rescue cat caught FIV as an unneutered tom, likely in a fight. His lifespan and future health are likely to be adversely affected by the thoughtless person who had him first.

Not neutering is a male cat issue too.

All ours were male. Would breeders breed moggies though? Money is in pedigree.
Australia - bilbys and quolls are presumably marsupials, and reports I have read saying mammals made extinct I have assumed mean marsupials. The numbers per 1 feral cat are appalling, birds and reptiles as well.

Signed, thank you for the thread

Bumping. Nearly at 10,000 signatures ...

Interesting. I'm not against neutering but have a female "pedigree" strictly indoor only cat who I haven't had neutered as she has a genetic heart condition which is very common in the breed unfortunately. An anesthetic would be especially risky for her and I'm not prepared to chance it.

We are regimented about not letting her out (if she did get out, kittens would be the least of our issues, she would probably freeze to death first as she has no fur). Her being in heat is a huge annoyance as she doesn't stfu but it's not THAT BAD.

Boy cat of same breed was neutered at 5 months!

@Richvanilla I can understand why you don't want to chance it, but you may end up having no choice. For starters she is at high risk of getting a pyometra, which I imagine you're aware of.

What lots of people don't know is that indoor-only unneutered females can become sort of psychotic owing to the hormones and constant heat cycles, which causes them to suddenly become extremely aggressive - even putting their owners in hospital. I've actually just written a piece on this for our Facebook page (not yet published).

I'd actually be fascinated to read the minutiae of the Spanish legislation but I don't know where to find it. I imagine there must be some exemptions for any cats that vets can certify would be put at excessive risk from neutering. Also what steps to owners need to go through to be registered breeders, as well as the penalties for non-compliance and how they propose to police it. I'm really impressed that Spain have taken this step and I really hope it paves the way for other countries to follow suit.