THE IMPORTANCE OF NEUTERING or 'It's not just to stop babies' - PART 1 - CATS
The CELIA HAMMOND ANIMAL TRUST runs low cost neuter clinics for cats and dogs whose owners are on benefit or low income - visit our Contact Us page on our website at www.celiahammond.org for your nearest C.H.A.T. clinic.
WE ARE OFTEN ASKED - ISN'T NEUTERING INTERFERING WITH NATURE?
By domesticating cats and dogs, humans have already interfered. By breeding cats and dogs and caring for them, we have helped ensure their breeding success and longer life. If a female cat was to mate every time she came into season, and all her kittens were to survive and breed, then there could be up to 21,000 EXTRA CATS IN JUST 7 YEARS!!!
The dog and cat population can either be humanely controlled by neutering or left to nature. Nature is cruel, however, and the population will be controlled by starvation and disease since there are no natural predators of the cat or dog in the UK. The most likely scenario however would be a situation seen by many holidaymakers in some countries - starving colonies of sick animals which are killed by the authorities to contain numbers - a situation most people in this country would find intolerable. The choice is ours - yours, actually! Please neuter your pet ~ Be part of the solution ~ Not the Problem.
Homeless cats
WHY DO WE WANT TO NEUTER YOUR FEMALE CAT?
THERE IS A CAT OVERPOPULATION CRISIS...
If you let your cat have a litter, and manage to find homes for her kittens, you will use up homes that a litter of kittens sitting in a rescue centre could have had. They may end up being destroyed.
IF A FEMALE CAT MATES EVERY TIME SHE
COMES INTO SEASON AND ALL HER
KITTENS SURVIVE AND BREED, THERE
COULD BE UP TO 21,000 EXTRA CATS IN
JUST SEVEN YEARS!
Mum and kitten
Many female cats in season become lost when they are chased by numerous male cats. They often become disorientated and cannot find their way home. Invariably they become pregnant and have kittens on the streets.
This is how colonies of feral cats are formed. These cats struggle to survive, hungry, often sick or injured.
So many unneutered male cats carry the F.I.V. virus that female cats are at risk if they are bitten during mating. Feline sex can be very violent, particularly when several males are fighting over one female.
F.I.V. and leukaemia virus can be passed to female cats under these circumstances.
A female can come into season and mate with an unneutered male cat up to three times a year. She can give birth to a litter of up to six kittens each time. At six months old, the kittens will also begin to breed. Some may end up homeless and breed on the streets forming feral colonies in towns and cities.
Another mum and kittens
The CELIA HAMMOND ANIMAL TRUST runs low cost neuter clinics for cats and dogs whose owners are on benefit or low income.
Female cats should be neutered at 5 months, but can be neutered at any age. There is no benefit to your cat in letting her have a litter before she is spayed.
If your cat has already had kittens, she should be neutered promptly when her kittens are 7 weeks old or she will become pregnant again. Neutering her will not affect her milk supply.
Healthy uterus (top) and puss filled uterus (bottom)
It is important that female cats that are kept permanently indoors are also neutered. This is because they will constantly come into season, which is very frustrating for them, and for you. These cats are at risk from various health problems including cystic ovaries and pyometra - a potentially fatal infection of the uterus. Undiagnosed, the uterus fills with pus, and then bursts causing peritonitis and death.
1000's OF UNWANTED CATS & KITTENS ARE DESTROYED DAILY IN THE UK SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH HOMES TO GO AROUND
Stary cat with haemorraged eye (that had to be removed) caused by fight
WHY DO WE WANT TO NEUTER YOUR MALE CAT?
TO KEEP YOUR PET FROM GETTING LOST
When mature, your unneutered male cat will begin to roam further afield in his search for female cats. As he travels further, he will be at risk when crossing busy roads and from fight injuries acquired during territorial battles with other unneutered male cats. Many male cats roam just a bit too far and cannot find their way home. They then become one of the UK's 2,500,000 strays that struggle to survive on the streets. A large proportion of cats that are reported to, and taken to, rescue centres are tame unneutered males once owned pets.
Injured unneutered males
TO PREVENT FIGHT INJURIES
Unneutered male cats are very territorial and aggressive towards other cats. They will be inflicting terrible injuries on other cats, neutered or not! Male cats that have already lost their way home will not have a caring owner to take them to the vet to be treated. Many once loved pets end up in a terrible state with life-threatening injuries.
TO PREVENT INFECTION BY F.I.V. (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - the feline equivalent of H.I.V.)
Fighting unneutered male cats are most at risk of contracting F.I.V. The virus is transmitted between cats through deep bites incurred during fights. F.I.V. is widespread amongst unneutered male cats and can eventually develop into full-blown disease. There is no vaccine against F.I.V. Neutered cats are much less aggressive to each other, thus by neutering your male cat, he is much less likely to be involved in fights and therefore less likely to contract F.I.V.
NB: F.I.V. cannot be transmitted to humans, dogs or pets other than cats.
TO PREVENT SPRAYING
Unneutered male cats spray very strong foul-smelling urine to mark their territory. They may spray in and around your home or your neighbours? homes. Neutering prevents this.
Happy, healthy cat
TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOUR
There is an unnaturally high concentration of cats in UK towns and cities. An unneutered male cat will make himself very unpopular spraying and fighting with other cats in the area. A large proportion of reports to animal charities are from people annoyed by unneutered male cats attacking their cats and spraying inside their homes.
TO BE RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERS
Rescue centres are full of battered, stray, unneutered male cats, some once loved pets that have roamed too far and become stray. Once neutered they soon make lovely pets again but the numbers needing homes are so great that many are doomed to join the thousands of unwanted cats that are DESTROYED each day in the UK. If only they had been neutered they probably wouldn't have become strays in the first place. Male cats should be neutered at six months old, but can be neutered at any age. They are never too old
