Spaying and Neutering Cats: Pros, Cons, and Myths
“Cats are naturally meant to give birth!”
“A neutered cat is disabled.”
“Spaying is dangerous - the animal might die.”
These thoughts seem to express so much concern, making defenders of spaying and neutering appear cruel by comparison. However, there are nuances to consider.
Contrary to popular belief, a cat doesn't need to give birth at least once for its health. In fact, scientific research shows that spayed cats live 1.5 to 2 times longer than unspayed cats. This is due to a more even hormonal balance, reduced stress levels, and a lower risk of serious diseases (hormone-dependent tumors, mammary and testicular cancer, urinary stones).
• With the leveling of hormones, sexual instincts disappear.
When people say that a spayed cat is deprived of maternal happiness and a neutered cat of the joys of sex, they are "anthropomorphizing" animals, attributing to them qualities and feelings characteristic of humans.
The urge to reproduce and care for kittens (only for a couple of months!) is not a conscious desire but instinct. For a stray cat, these are instincts that are realized under many dangers of the urban environment (cars, dogs, infections, cruelty from some people clearly do not help in raising offspring peacefully).• Spayed cats are calmer.
They get along better with people and other animals and have a more pleasant temperament. A cat that is no longer threatened by heat will not try to run away from home – meaning there's less chance of it getting lost.
A neutered cat is not interested in fights with other cats over territory. This means that it is less likely to acquire diseases transmitted through blood or saliva in fights with other cats, will be calmer, and healthier.
It is wrong to think that after the operation, the animal will become lazy and passive. Spaying does not change the animal's character: its playfulness, hunting instincts, and activity/passivity levels remain. Only hyperactivity and nervousness associated with hormones and periods when the body demanded mating disappear.
Could such an animal gain weight after spaying? Yes, it's possible! As is the case with an animal that hasn't had the spaying. In both cases, it all depends on feeding and activity levels.
• After spaying, the painful heat cycles of cats are a thing of the past.
That wild March roar that a stray cat makes under your windows, or a perfectly domestic cat does in your apartment – it's more a cry for help than a lustful call to a male. The cat cries because it's uncomfortable. After the spaying, the animal calms down.
• Spaying and neutering are relatively simple surgeries.
They are performed under general anesthesia, the animal feels no pain and recovers within 1-2 days.
Are there risks? Yes, of course. However, thanks to modern spaying methods – through a puncture or micro-incision – the risks are minimal.
Infectious complications or complications from postoperative bleeding are so rare that they are not amenable to statistical analysis. The number of problems associated with anesthesia does not exceed 0.2% of all spaying procedures worldwide. At the same time, the health risks for an unspayed cat are dozens of times higher than the anesthesia risks.
• Spaying is humane.
Despite all of the above, a large number of people, for religious or other reasons, say that stray animals should reproduce in the city as they do in the wild, and that spaying is an interference in the natural course of things. However, cats are not wild animals – they are domesticated. It is humans who brought cats to cities, where they now forage for food in garbage bins or try to stay warm under cars during cold nights.
Therefore, humans are responsible for controlling the animal population through humane methods. Sterilization as a preventative measure is the most humane of them. The operation is indeed unnatural in its essence, but the conditions of the wild nature do not provide for medical care at all.
Finding a wounded cat, you would likely try to help it. Sterilization is a similar form of help.
This is undoubtedly interference in God's affairs if believing in God's will means accepting everything as it is. However, as mentioned above, uncontrolled breeding multiplies the problem of homeless animals suffering on the streets, and encouraging this breeding is hardly an act of humanism and mercy.
• Sterilization prevents the appearance of new stray animals and significantly increases the chances of finding a home for those already on the streets.
Sterilized animals do not mark their territory, and the smell of their urine becomes less pungent. People with allergies find it easier to live with sterilized cats, as they produce significantly less allergenic protein. So, a sterilized cat or kitten from the street has a much better chance of finding a good home and becoming a beloved pet.
