Spay Neuter

 Did You Know?

TNR is not only the most humane method of controlling cat populations, it is also the cheapest and most effective.  Trap and kill programs are expensive and waste shelter resources that could be used on adoptable cats.  Trapping and removing cats is ineffective, because more unaltered cats move into the available space.

When cats are TNR’d (Trapped-Neutered-Returned), they make better neighbors.  Fighting, spraying and other nuisance behaviors are reduced or eliminated.  With the population stabilized, neighbors and businesses are more likely to tolerate their presence.

When is the Best Time to Spay Neuter?

As soon as possible!  Now days, it is recommended that you spay or neuter between 2 and 3 pounds.  Kittens that size are generally 8 to 12 weeks old. Many shelter vets routinely and safely alter smaller kittens to save lives. 

Why so young?

1. Female kittens can go into heat and become pregnant as young as 4 months of age.  Getting pregnant at that young age is not good for a still growing kitten and mating at that age puts them at risk of contracting Feline Leukemia or FIV.  Cats in heat are distracted by hormones making them more likely  to get lost or to be taken by predators or killed by cars.

2.  Once the cycle of going into heat, becoming pregnant and  nursing kittens gets started, it can be challenging to get an appointment for that “between time”.  Mostly because there IS no between time.  Cats cat go into heat and become pregnant while they are still caring for the last litter.  We often hear, “We had an appointment to get her fixed, but then she got pregnant.” Or, “Our vet charges more when cats are pregnant or in heat, so we couldn’t afford it.”  Cats can continue nursing while pregnant, but it is much easier to just make sure all cats and kittens are fixed before adoption.

3. Spaying kittens between 2 and 4 months has other advantages.  One is that the actual surgery and recovery can be faster on kittens because the incision is smaller and doesn’t have to go through as much fat tissue. They have less pain and discomfort and recover faster.  When we spay / neuter kittens at 2 to 3 pounds, they wake up wanting to play and don’t seem to notice something happened to them.

4. When kittens are spayed/neutered at a younger age, the are ready to be adopted faster. This uses less resources.   It also means the rescue, foster home or shelter can save more kittens becuase their foster kittens have been adopted.

5.  Shorter stays in a shelter or multi-cat foster home reduces the risk of contracting an illness.  This saves vet bills and may save their life.  Sick cats in a shelter or foster home can limit the intake of new cats needing rescue and delay their adoption for weeks or even months.

It’s Safe

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has determined that it is safe.  Research has shown no later adverse effects. 

It’s Less Painful

Research supports early spay neuter.  Kittens altered at less than  12 weeks, exibitied fewer complications than those over 12 weeks.    Pediatric spay is less painful because there is less tissue damage with smaller incisions.  Older kittens and cats have more fat tissue and this increases the discomfort and recovery time.

Another reason to spay

A story from one of our CCC volunteers

There are only about 4,187,293 good reasons to spay and neuter your cats,  but let us add one more! It is especially important you consider this with your feral girls, because when problems occur in the bushes where they live, no one knows.

When Gillian took the 2 adult females in to be spayed at the Feral Cat Spay Neuter Project, she received a call from the clinic. One of the cats had needed extensive surgery to save her life.  

Her uterus had twisted around itself, and the ovary and part of the uterus were dying.  She was carrying 8 kittens, but would not have survived the pregnancy. She would have died a slow and painful death.   

The spay surgery saved her life and she was  given a long recovery time before being released to her colony.  Until the surgery was done, no one could tell she had a situation that would kill her. But over and over we see people “letting nature take its course” because she’s pregnant.

If you do some fact checking, you’ll find multiple statistics to show how few feral kittens even survive much after birth – 50% die before or around the time of weaning, another 25% before many months more. And there are no statistics to tell you how many cats do not survive giving birth in the wild. Because they hide, no one ever knows.

Pregnancy is natural, but remember “letting nature take its course” often leads to suffering or even death.  And remember, nearly half the cats in the United States are homeless. Her life matters, please get her spayed.