Neuter and Spay TODAY

[Elaine]

Neuter and Spay TODAY

Are kittens adorable? Of course they are, they are the cutest, funniest, cuddliest and entertaining little creatures but before long they become mature enough to have kittens of their own. Some can mate as early as 4 months old. It would be a very irresponsible thing to allow happen however as in the UK and all around the world the cat population is soaring and there simply aren’t enough homes to go round.

This problem begs the question, are breeders to blame for the soaring cat population crisis? Certainly a substantial number of people would think so. Cat breeders produce a “desirable” product. Consumer society responds and buys, more cats are bred. Irresponsible owners abandon and neglect their purchase and stray cats are the results. But the biggest problem by far is one of neutering and neglect. We therefore can’t blame the cat breeder (seller) for the problem but the cat owner (buyer). A responsible cat breeder will neuter and spay before selling or at least have the customer sign an agreement to neuter and Spay. A responsible breeder will of course be breeding pedigree cats. A responsible breeder would have also made sure that all the relevant health checks had been carried out prior to mating. Breeding pedigree cats responsibly is a costly business. Most of the cats in shelters/rescue are moggies, although pedigrees find themselves in rescue too, but there are not too many pedigrees found in feral colonies.

Feral colonies are mostly made up from the moggy, abandoned, lost and neglected. Most are un-neutered and fighting for survival each day of their lives. 95% of cats in the UK are non-pedigree (moggy), they are capable of producing large families. A female cat can in 5 years be responsible for 20,000 descendants - all requiring good caring homes and many of these must inevitably become homeless, with a life that offers only misery, hunger and disease. Disease is often rife within a feral colony, diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), Feline Leukemia Virus (Felv), Coronavirus, Calicivirus and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) to name but a few. The risk of a “plague” of cats, fuelled largely by unwanted and abandoned kittens, is now so great that the Cats Protection launched a nationwide neutering campaign to prevent the problem becoming an epidemic. This campaign is ongoing.
There are an estimated 7.5 million pet cats in Britain today making them the nation's number one pet. But, despite their popularity, tens of thousands of unwanted kittens are being born each year only to be thrown onto the streets condemned to a life of starvation and disease. The public, especially so-called cat lovers need further education to understand that by not neutering their cat they are destroying its quality of life.

It is better for a cat's health to be spayed or neutered. For example, female cats that are spayed before their first heat will have a reduced chance of mammary cancer, and will be unable to develop pyometra, which is a serious uterine condition that can cause death. Also, an unwanted pregnancy in an already ill or aging cat can be fatal. Young females are also at risk of death through pregnancy, being just kittens themselves. Male cats which have been neutered have less chance of being injured in fights over females, or of developing prostate problems.
The Cats Protection and other cat rescues/shelters are under tremendous strain, trying to alleviate the problem. They often come under attack from the public for not being able to help every cat in crisis but it is the public who should be under attack for creating the problem by neglecting to neuter and spay their cats.
The harsh reality is that unless cat owners and breeders take a responsible attitude to this problem even greater numbers of cats will be abandoned and in the long term may succumb to disease, starvation or culling. Immediate steps need to be taken to curb the numbers of unwanted kittens being born, which ultimately end up in the care of rescue centres like the Cats Protection. Currently veterinary surgeons neuter about a million cats every year. Cats reproduce incredibly efficiently and a single female can be responsible for over 20,000 offspring in just five years. This means that only a few cats need to remain un-neutered to cause a phenomenal problem. Neutering is the only way to control the increasing problem of unwanted and stray cats without having to resort to the destruction of healthy animals.
The national average cost of neutering a male cat is £35 and a female £60, this is a one off cost and is a lot cheaper than raising kittens or ongoing veterinary treatment for illness. There are many cat charities that can and will help with the cost of neuter and spay.
Thousands of cats are euthanized in the UK each year, why don’t we prevent the unplanned litters of today so that they do not become the unwanted cats of tomorrow.

[Mags]

Excellent article, Elaine!

[Moli]

Brilliant Lainey........!

[angieh]

Excellent Elaine. Wonder if we ought to start a button badge campaign?

[MrsH]

Excellent! Well done Elaine, a great job!

[dandysmom]

Well done, great job!!!

[chaz]

Is it allright to print this out and put it through a few doors?

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by chaz

Is it allright to print this out and put it through a few doors?

I should imagine so chaz.

[dandysmom]

Good idea, Chaz, a bit late for the little pregnant girl, but maybe they'll take the hint .,,,

[Velvet]

Can i copy & post on a few other forums?

Very well done