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Spaying or Neutering a Cat is Unnatural
Maybe so, but it is also unnatural for a cat to live among
human beings, cars, garbage cans and the concrete jungle,
eating out of a can or bag, using a litter box or being
vaccinated against deadly diseases. It is also unnatural
for humans to fly in planes or drive cars.
As the
NIKE ads say, "Just Do It." For the health and well being
of your cat, for the love of your home and sanity, and for
the millions of cats and kittens who are put to sleep every
year (or living on the streets, starving and diseased) because
there aren't enough homes for them all. There is NO RESPONSIBLE
reason for NOT having your pet fixed. Spaying and neutering
is an act of kindness to your pet. It eliminates the uncomfortable
situation of a cat being confined in a perpetual state of
sexual arousal. It assists in providing your cat with a
calmer demeanor and usually makes the cat much more content.
It DOES NOT make a cat fat or lazy; true, a fixed cat is
usually less active, but that is because they are no longer
looking for a mate 24 hours a day. If a fixed cat is provided
with the means for exercise and play, and is fed properly
(i.e. NOT OVERFED), they will not become overweight.
Think
of it in human terms. How would you like it if you spent
90% of your lifetime with a really serious itch and absolutely
no way to scratch it? You'd be pretty cranky! A fixed cat
is also usually emotionally more stable and calm. They have
less tendency to scratch and bite; and will be less likely
to have destructive habits such as chewing; scratching of
furniture and walls; spraying urine to mark territory (a
big problem with males, lesser though still possible with
females); male aggressiveness; and the infamous caterwauling
(the stereotypically loud crying sound made by females in
heat)
Spaying
and neutering also has physical health benefits. Spaying
a female before she first goes into heat decreases tremendously
the chances of cancer in the reproductive system. Fixed
males will not contract testicular cancer (unless a miracle
occurs!); they also have less likelihood for injury due
to fighting with other males over mates, and less roaming
problems and therefore fewer odds of contracting diseases
due to encounters with other cats. Both sexes can and should
be fixed around 5-7 months, although some vets suggest waiting
until closer to sexual maturity for males, around 9-10 months.
Females should be spayed prior to their first heat (which
can occur as early as 5-6 months), according to studies
showing this directly decreases the chances of breast cancer;
the rate of cancer increases significantly after she goes
through heat just once.
Remember
that one pair of unfixed cats can result in as many as 16
kittens in a year (average 4 per litter, 4 litters per spring-to-fall
mating season); through their offspring, they can produce
around 50-60 cats in a year's time. And most of those kittens
will either end up in a shelter or on the street, or they
will cause another cat to end up there. Be responsible:
Spay/Neuter your cat and DON'T LITTER.
Hissing Means a Cat is About to Attack
Not Necessarily
Hissing is an expression of fear, not aggression. It is
a way for a cat to say to you keep away until I figure out
I am safe and that you are not going to hurt me. Once a
cat feels he's not in danger, the hissing will stop.
Annual Vaccinations are Necessary
Current Veterinary Therapy XI
Chapter: Canine and Feline Vaccines
Authors: Tom R. Phillips & Ronald D. Shultz
Wrong
A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks
scientific validity or verification is annual revaccinations.
Almost without exception there is no immunology requirement
for annual revaccination. Immunity to viruses persists
for years or for the life of the animal. Successful vaccination
to most bacterial pathogens produces an immunologic memory
that remains for years, allowing an animal to develop a
protective anamnestic (secondary) response when exposed
to virulent organisms. The practice of annual vaccination
in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy
unless it is required by law (i.e. certain states require
annual revaccination for rabies).
A Big Ball of Yarn is a Great Toy for a Cat
Wrong
Yarn is very dangerous if a cat swallows it. Yarn and anything
similar in nature (string, twine, sewing thread, fishing
line, rubber bands, shoe laces, Christmas tree tinsel, etc.)
can be swallowed and get tied up in the cat's intestines.
If your cat is lucky enough to survive such an ordeal, she
will usually require extensive surgery and be in a lot of
pain during a long recovery period.
Cats Do Just Fine Eating Only Dry Food
Wrong
Think about a cat's food in nature: mice, birds, squirrels.
Canned wet food is calculated to have the same proportion
of liquid as mice and other prey, about 80% water. It is
not natural for a cat to eat cereal or grains in the wild.
While today's commercial dry cat food is considerably more
nutritious than that of the past, it is still a matter of
concern that many cat owners believe that an all-dry food
diet is just fine . In fact, an all-dry diet is the reason
so many cats are overweight. Most dry foods are higher in
caloric content; also, because dry food is cheaper, owners
are less careful to regulate Kitty's intake, so she eats
more of it. An all-dry diet also means that Kitty needs
to drink more water to balance their intake, and owners
need to be very careful that Kitty is getting her liquids.
Often, a cat on an all-dry diet will not drink as much water,
causing her urine to be more concentrated (and smelly) and
her solid waste to be harder (and more difficult to pass).
Dry
food does not clean the teeth and is not essential for either
cats or dogs. An all-dry food diet overworks the kidneys
and could cause medical problems later in the cat's life.
Also, since Magnesium levels are often much higher in dry
food than moist, cats on an all-dry diet (especially males)
tend to have more problems with urinary tract blockage and
swelling of the glands at the base of the tail. So while
you may save money over the years by keeping your cat on
an all dry diet, in the end (pun intended) it will cost
you in veterinary fees and may even cost your cat his/her
life.
The
best diet is a good quality canned food and a smaller portion
of a good quality dry food.
A Single Cat is Just Fine
Wrong
Contrary to common belief, cats are social animals. In the
wild they may chose to hunt on their own, but they tend
to belong to clans and colonies, social groups of cats.
Even feral cats, cats that are extremely untamed, will tend
to form family groups for social contact.
While
there are some cats that truly want to be the only cat in
your life, most cats need the companionship of another cat
to be truly happy and emotionally healthy. Think about the
life of a domestic cat: she spends her day at home, alone
if she is a single. Cats get bored and lonely, just like
people.
Signs
that your cat is bored and lonely: destructive behavior;
crying for no reason; meeting you at the door the minute
you get home and following you around everywhere all the
time (won't leave you alone); waking you up in the middle
of the night; extremely low or extremely high activity levels;
eating more often and more quantity of food (thus, weight
gain); extreme reactions of nervousness to strangers (human
or other) entering home; hiding for long periods of time.
A pair
of cats will provide each other with company. Even if they
do not actually play together, they provide each other with
a source of entertainment and they will increase their own
activity simply because another cat is present in their
lives. Most cats are less emotionally dependent on their
owners if they have a feline friend around, which means
they will not be as depressed while their owner is absent
at work or on vacation or even just out for the evening.
It is
scientifically proven that single cats have more behavioral
and emotional problems. They have more difficulty adjusting
to changes in their lives (including the simple things like
a new litter box or type of food, or a move to a new apartment
or house). Single cats tend to have more illnesses and do
not live quite as long as cats with feline companionship.
Single cats tend to be more hypertensive and high-strung,
are often more finicky about the food they eat and react
more poorly to having visitors (human or otherwise) invade
their home territory.
Having Dogs and Cats in the Household Increases a Child's
Chances of Being Allergic
Wrong
A new study the results of which were published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association found that infants living in houses with two
or more dogs or cats are less likely than other babies to
develop allergic reactions that lead to asthma and other
problems. Exposure to the animals reduces the probability
that a child will be allergic to them later by 50 percent.
Just
some things to think about.
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