In This Chapter
- Discovering why spaying and neutering make sense
- Understanding the sterilization process
- Love, kitty-style
- Taking care of your cat during pregnancy and delivery
- Watching your kittens develop
- Finding responsible homes for kittens and cats
If you take a
kitten or cat into your life, you take on the responsibility for caring for
your new pet. You ensure your pet’s good health by taking her to your
veterinarian, by feeding her well, and by grooming her. You keep both of you
entertained through play, and you give her love and receive her love in return.
Truly, the
bond between people and cats is remarkable, a pact of companionship that lasts
for years, but it brings with it responsibility for making the right decisions
for the good of your cat and for all cats.
Your kitten
will be barely settled into your house when you must make one of the most
important decisions for a cat owner: Do I allow my cat to breed?
For most
people, the answer is a decisive “no.” And because of that answer, your cat is
a better pet, remains in better health, and doesn’t contribute to the tragic
surplus of cats and kittens, millions of whom die without ever knowing what
your cat knows: what being a loving and well-cared-for pet is like.
Still, the
decision is yours to make. And sometimes it’s really not your decision at all,
because your young cat could end up pregnant before you expected, or a pregnant
cat could end up on your doorstep. After the deed is done, you have another set
of responsibilities: helping your cat through the pregnancy and birth, helping
her raise her kittens, and finding them responsible homes.
The Case Against Breeding
According to
a 1995 survey by the American Animal Hospital Association, nearly 80 percent of
the cats and dogs in the United States and Canada are spayed or neutered. What
do these people know that you don’t? Consider these facts:
- A neutered male is less likely to roam, less likely to fight (and thus less likely to cost you money to patch him up), and less likely to spray urine everywhere to mark his territory. He’s likely to live longer, because the cat who’s looking for a mate is really looking for trouble. If a car doesn’t get him, infectious disease (spread by fighting or mating) or cancer may.
- A spayed female is a more attentive and loving pet, because her energy isn’t constantly directed toward finding a mate. (Cats are in heat nearly all the time until they become pregnant.) If you spay your cat, you protect her from some cancers and infections and from sexually transmitted infectious diseases.
- A cat of either sex who isn’t altered can be obnoxious to live with. Reproduction is their reason for living, and if you don’t let them follow their instincts, they drive you crazy trying to get out and crying endlessly. If you want to live with such annoyances, that’s your business, but if you truly love cats, you want to consider another reason why spaying and neutering is so important: Millions of unwanted cats and kittens are euthanized every year because not enough homes are out there for them.
- If kittens are plentiful, overwhelmed shelters can’t even give them all a chance at adoption: They pull the one or two cutest or healthiest babies out and send the rest back to be euthanized. Millions and millions of kittens end up this way.
Remember
Spay or neuter your cat, we implore you. It’s the right thing to do. If you love kittens and can’t do without them in your life, volunteer at your local humane society or SPCA. You don’t actually need to work at the shelter, which some people find “depressing.” Many volunteers foster orphaned or sick kittens until they can be placed in responsible homes.
If you have
children, please don’t feel they need to experience “the miracle of birth” and,
therefore, allow your cat to breed. Instead of contributing more kittens to the
world — when watching a video can teach your children about birth just as well
— let your children learn the lessons of caring and responsibility that living
with a pet brings.
 |
| Figure 16-1: Too much breeding means too many kittens needing homes. This little one was adopted, but many aren’t so lucky. |
Spaying and Neutering: What’s Involved?
Spaying and neutering are the everyday terms for the
surgical sterilization of a pet — spaying for the female, neutering for the
male. Neutering — or altering — is also used to describe both procedures. The
clinical terms for the two operations are ovariohysterectomy
for the female and castration for the male.
Both spaying
and neutering must be done only by a veterinarian, and both procedures require
general anesthesia.
Technical Stuff
Spaying involves the removal of the female’s entire reproduction system: The uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are taken out through an incision in the abdomen. In neutering, the cat’s testicles are removed through incisions in the scrotum, the pouch holding the testicles. These incisions are generally left unsutured in this relatively minor procedure.
Your
veterinarian may require you to return to have your female cat’s stitches
removed in about ten days, or he may use stitches that are absorbed into the
body. Recovery is fast, taking just a few days, during which you should limit
your cat’s activities — no jumping or boisterous play. You may not notice much
difference in your female’s personality, unless you’ve lived with her through
her nearly constant heat cycles and endured her noisy efforts at attracting a
mate — along with the fighting, yowling, urinespraying toms who answered her
call. Those days are thankfully behind you both.
Technical Stuff
Stitches that are absorbed into the body are essential when it comes to altering feral cats. These wild cats often cannot be caught twice — once to get altered, and again to remove stitches. For more on feral cats, see Chapter Ferals: Special Cats, Special Considerations.
Postoperative
care for male cats normally involves monitoring and keeping the incisions clean
and dry. Many veterinarians recommend keeping the cat inside (if he’s not
already an indoor pet) and using shredded newspaper in place of litter until
the incisions close, which usually occurs within three to five days.
Behavioral
changes can be dramatic in neutered males. Fighting, urine spraying, and
roaming can be almost completely prevented in cats neutered before sexual
maturity — the age of 6 months or so. These behaviors are also dramatically
reduced in older neutered males as well, although some retraining for behavior
problems such as urine spraying may prove necessary (see Chapter Getting
Good Litter Box Behavior).
Caution
Spaying and neutering are among the most common medical procedures in the United States and Canada and carry very little risk for your pet. However don’t for a minute think that common — meaning that your veterinarian is good and fast at it because he does it often — means trivial . Cat alterings can and do result in rapid death if done wrong. This procedure is major surgery. Don’t let the common name (spay) or the low cost (a losing proposition for most veterinarians) fool you.
Given the choice,
pay more for what looks like more-complete attention to details. Ask about and
discuss the following:
- Anesthesia: What combination of inhalants or injectables is used?
- Sterility: Are fresh sterile instruments used for every animal?
- Monitoring: Is someone besides the surgeon there to monitor anesthesia? And what about afterward? Will someone check on your pet? If overnight care is not part of the plan, who will take your call if you suspect a problem? Will your veterinarian explain what you should be looking out for?
- Emergency provisions: Is a “crash cart” kept in the surgery room? Are there trained personnel who can respond as astutely as your favorite doctors do on TV?
- Suture material: What type is used and why?
Do you really
need to take so many precautions? Consider this true story: In 1987, one of
Paul’s cats almost died after a complication from her spaying done at one of
the best animal hospitals in the world — the University of California, Davis,
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She survived because Paul was there to
notice the problem and the excellent staff and facilities were there to provide
life-saving care, without which she would have certainly died.
Spaying and
neutering are not the areas to save a few dollars.
The Birds and the Bees, Kitty-Style
The more you
know about feline reproduction, the more you’re amazed that so many cats are in
this world. Think about it some more, and you’re even more amazed at the sheer
power of instinct in the life of a cat.
Why all the
amazement? Because mating doesn’t seem like much fun for cats; in fact, it’s painful . He bites the nape of her neck
to start, and then he mounts her; she slashes him after the ordeal’s over. They
both scream to raise the dead. She rolls around ignoring him afterward, and yet
he sticks around to keep another male from having her, even though doing so
means that he must fight and get bitten and clawed by her other suitors. Before
long, she wants him again — desperately. More biting, more screaming, more
slashing. (One study counted up to 36 matings in 36 hours.)
She may mate
with some other tomcat if she can; she doesn’t care who. After the boys are
done with her, they’re after the scent of someone new; they don’t care who
either.
Two months
later, give or take a few days, she has her kittens. The father (or fathers) is
nowhere to be found. Makes the sex scandals that rock the media seem kind of
tame by comparison, doesn’t it?
Choosing a mate
If you plan
to breed your cat, make sure she’s at least a year old. She should also be free
of viral diseases, such as feline leukemia, and current on her vaccinations.
Don’t wait until after she’s pregnant to vaccinate her, as this practice can
lead to serious problems for the developing kittens. Schedule a visit to your
veterinarian and discuss your plans for your cat; he can advise you on
necessary preventive-care measures.
You want a
healthy mate as well, and to start finding him, talk to your cat’s breeder.
Don’t just search for a cat of the same breed “with papers,” or you could be
setting yourself up for a genetic catastrophe. Reputable breeders breed
“nonfolded” Scottish fold cats to “folded” Scottish folds, for example, and
Manx cats with tails to Manxes without. That’s because breeding “tail to tail”
or “folded ear to folded ear” often produces kittens with serious congenital
defects — babies that suffer and die or must be humanely killed. Understanding
the genetics behind your cat before choosing her mate is essential, and the
best person to help with that is an experienced and knowledgeable breeder.
Caution
If you plan to breed your mixed-breed cat — or allow her to breed on her own — we strongly encourage you to reconsider. We’re not being elitists: Pedigreed cats must be carefully bred, or their breeds may disappear. Mixed-breed cats are in such oversupply that millions of them are killed as “surplus” every year. Supply and demand is the name of the game, and no one is clamoring for more mixed-breed kittens, no matter how adorable.
Still, if
you’re going to choose a mate for her, insist on his getting an exam as well to
establish that he’s in good health and free of contagious diseases.
 |
| Figure 16-2: When in season, the female cat may cry, pace, rub and roll to attract males. Males fight with each other to protect their chance to mate. |
The “oops” pairing
The truth is
that many people never see their free-roaming cat being bred. Many of them
meant to have her spayed but just didn’t get around to it. Then, one day, they
notice that she’s pregnant. Some people are so unaware of the signs that their
cats are in season — rolling, crying, pacing — that they bring them to their
veterinarians, convinced they’re in pain.
If you
suspect your cat is pregnant — she’s putting on weight, for example — and you
don’t want her to be, talk to your veterinarian about your options. You can
have her spayed, even when she’s pregnant. Otherwise, congratulations! You’re
going to be a grandparent.
Caring for a Pregnant Cat
About two
weeks after a successful mating, a cat’s nipples darken from light pink to a
rosier hue, but the casual owner of a free-roaming cat may not notice a
pregnancy until it’s patently obvious — until the cat is nearly ready to
deliver, in other words.
To ensure a
safe pregnancy and a healthy birth, your veterinarian may suggest basic blood
work to establish baseline readings and spot any potential problems. An
ultrasound can be useful early on to diagnose pregnancy and later to assess
fetal age, viability, and development. X rays after the 45th day can be helpful
in determining the number of kittens and their relative size so you know what
to expect and when, and can therefore better evaluate the situation when your
cat is actually giving birth.
Remember
Follow your veterinarian’s suggestions for prenatal care and don’t give your pet vitamins, medications, or other supplements without discussing them with your veterinarian first.
Your cat
becomes restless about two weeks before giving birth, searching for a safe
place to have her babies. She should be confined at this time to the house — if
she’s not an indoor cat already — and provided with a box in which to give
birth. Even better, confine her to a single room — your bedroom, ideally.
This queening box can be a cardboard box with
one side cut down or the bottom half of a medium-sized plastic carrier. Place
the box in a spot where she feels safe — a dim corner of a room that you can
keep warm and dry — and line the box with newspapers. Put her food and water
dishes and the litter box nearby but not right next to the queening box.
Tip
Some breeders dislike using newspapers in the queening box because of the ink. You can buy blank newsprint instead: any newspapers sell the ends of newsprint rolls at a low cost. Check with your local newspaper to see whether this clean paper is available.
Keep your cat
sequestered in her room. If you let her out into the house, she may have her
kittens in a laundry basket or opened dresser drawer; if you let her out of the
house entirely, she may have them under the front porch. The more socialization
kittens get, the better, so do your best to make sure she delivers her babies
where you have easy access to them.
Older cats need good homes, too!Kittens
aren’t the only ones who need responsible, loving homes. A lot of older cats
do, too. If a stray turns up on your back porch and you can’t find an owner,
if you inherit an older cat from a sick relative, or if you end up with an
extra cat for any other reason, you want to find the best home you can. Adult
cats can be very, very hard to place — they have the lowest rates of adoption
for all animals at the shelter. If you’re patient and persistent, however,
you may find a home. Here are some tips to follow:
|
Happy Birth Day, Babies
The usual
length of a pregnancy is 66 days from ovulation, but because ovulation occurs
after mating — and you may not know when your cat mated — you may have a hard
time figuring out her due date. Let her physical symptoms and “nesting”
behavior be your guide as to when to confine her.
Your cat’s
temperature — normally between 100.4°F. and 102.5°F. — falls two to three
degrees in the first stage of labor, but most pet owners are probably better
off not bothering with temperature-taking at this stage. Instead, watch for
enlarged nipples and the secretion of a tiny amount of milk. Your cat may
accept some food if offered, or she may just be content to rest in her box,
purring and waiting.
Your cat is
usually best left to her own devices, but take the time to collect a few
“just-in-case” items, including some clean towels, Betadine antiseptic,
scissors, a spool of thread, and a baby syringe. If your cat is a longhair,
trim the fur under her tail, at the back of her legs, and around her nipples.
Finally, have your veterinarian’s number at hand and check to make sure she’s
available for after-hours calls; if not, ask her to recommend the number of an
emergency clinic. Keep that number on hand, too, and know where the clinic is
located in case you need to take your cat and her kittens in.
Special delivery!
The best
thing you can do for your cat at the time of delivery is to ensure her
maternity suite doesn’t turn into a circus. Respect her privacy during this
quiet time: If your children want to watch, that’s fine, but have them keep a
few feet away and quiet. (They may remain speechless anyway, because the birth
process is so riveting!)
The active
stage of labor is characterized by straining and a discharge that begins as
watery but then becomes darker. The first kitten usually appears within an
hour, wrapped in a translucent membrane known as the amnioticsac, which the mother bites to release the kitten, licking
the baby’s face to start his breathing.
Caution
Although you’re usually best off leaving the mother alone, if she doesn’t attend to her kitten within a minute or so, you can peel away the membrane and rub the kitten with a towel to start his breathing. Tie the umbilical cord off with a piece of thread about 1 inch out and cut the cord with scissors just outside the tie; then dab the tip with Betadine and place the baby at the mother’s side. If the kitten isn’t breathing, remove the fluid from his mouth with the baby syringe; then hold the kitten carefully in your hand — supporting his head carefully nd securely — and swing him downward abruptly two or three times. Clear the fluid again if the kitten still isn’t breathing and then swing him again. You may not be able to save the kitten, but at least you’ll know you tried.
Subsequent
kittens are born at intervals of 30 minutes to an hour, with the placenta, the tissue that attaches the
kitten to the womb, coming within 15 to 30 minutes after each kitten — or
sometimes all the placentas at once, if the delivery was rapid.
Caution
You need to discuss the situation with your veterinarian if your cat hasn’t delivered her kittens by the 70th day after her first breeding. You need to call your veterinarian immediately if any of the following occur:
- Your cat has had strong, persistent contractions for more than 30 minutes or has been actively straining for an hour without the expulsion of a baby.
- Your cat rests (with no straining) for more than four hours after the first kitten is born.
- Your cat’s contractions are weak or irregular beyond two or three hours.
- Your cat starts vomiting, appearing weak, panting or breathing rapidly, or crying or showing any other signs of undue pain.
- Your cat discharges material that is yellow or white or seems exceptionally bloody.
- Your cat doesn’t deliver a placenta for each kitten.
Remember
When in doubt about anything, call your veterinarian! It doesn’t take much in the way of time or money to do so, and it will get you the help you need.
After the birth
A normal cat
eats the placentas and tears the umbilical cord; if left to her own devices,
she probably eats any stillborn kittens as well. As distasteful as this act
seems to us, it’s perfectly normal behavior. You probably want to wrap up any
dead kittens in newspaper and dispose of them properly — call your veterinarian
or animal-control department for guidance.
Some breeders
remove the placentas as well, and that’s fine, too, but make sure you have one
for each kitten.
Technical Stuff
Kittens are born blind and deaf, but they have their sense of smell and use it to find their mother’s nipples. The first milk they take in is very important. Called colostrum, this milk contains antibodies from the mother and other important substances that give the kittens initial protection against diseases at a time when their own immune systems are not yet functioning well.
If the family
appears healthy and content, check on them but leave them pretty much alone for
the first two weeks. Call your veterinarian if the mother or kittens appear
agitated or listless.
Caution
If the kittens are not thriving, or the mother becomes ill, you must step in to care for them, tube-feeding and, later, bottle-feeding them. This task is an around-the-clock job, and you need to discuss with your veterinarian what and when to feed the kittens. If you’re lucky, your veterinarian may know of another cat with kittens who can care for yours as well; if not, your kittens’ survival is up to you!
Tip
It’s common for veterinary students or the staff at veterinary hospitals or shelter volunteers to take over the bottle-raising of orphan kittens. If you are not able to care for kittens who need help, call your veterinarian, nearby veterinary college, or shelter. They may be able to match you up with experienced kitten-raisers.
Kitten Development
Cats have
been raising kittens without much assistance from humans for thousands of years,
and things usually go along just fine if you let your cat handle her babies on
her own. Watching kittens develop is a rare opportunity, however, so take
plenty of time to enjoy the experience.
 |
| Figure 16-3: If the mama cat and her babies appear healthy and content, leave them alone as much as possible in the first two weeks. |
Your role as a “grandparent”Cats are
generally wonderful mothers, caring for their kittens diligently and lovingly
and moving them to safety at the first sign of trouble. They teach them to
use the litter box and play nicely with their siblings, and they often teach
them the hunting skills they need should they fall on hard times. With such a
capable mother, do you really need to do anything to ensure that your cat’s
kittens grow up to be loving pets? Yes, you do. A mother
cat can teach her babies to be a cat, but she can’t teach them everything
they need to know about living in the world of humans. For kittens to become
confident, outgoing adults, they need to be exposed early to the realities of
life among the two-legged. Handle the
kittens after the first couple of weeks, and have other people over to handle
them, too: men and women, children and adults — the more the merrier! Make
sure all the interactions are positive and gentle. Kittens who miss out on
human contact before the age of 12 weeks or so may always be nervous or even
aggressive around people. Supervised
exposure to other pets, especially dogs, is important, too, so that your
kittens can easily handle being placed in homes with other pets. The best
thing about your role as “grandparent”? It’s fun! Play with the kittens all
you want — it’s good for you all. |
Birth to two weeks
Growth is the
priority these first couple of weeks, as the kittens nurse constantly and
double their weight in the first week. Their mother is constantly in
attendance, providing them with milk and licking them to stimulate them to
release their waste, which she eats. Umbilical cords fall off in two to three
days, and eyes start opening after about a week to ten days.
Leave the
litter alone as much as possible, checking only to ensure that everyone is
comfortable and eating well.
Caution
If you were planning to let your cat have “just one litter,” don’t wait long to get her spayed. The kittens are barely weaned before your cat can get pregnant again. When you take your cat and her kittens in to be checked out by your veterinarian, discuss when to have her spayed — and make an appointment!
Tip
Sometimes gender is hard to determine in kittens. Lift up the tails and compare. Your veterinarian can help if you just can’t make heads or tails of it.
Two weeks to eight weeks
The kittens’
hearing and vision mature between two and five weeks, and by the fourth week,
the babies begin to walk, run, and even jump, becoming agile and fast-moving
surprisingly quickly. Still, their mother looks after them, reacting to their
cries and bringing them home in her mouth if they stray too far. The first
kitten teeth appear about the same time their eyes open.
After about
three weeks, the mother starts to tire of nursing; this period is when you can
begin to wean the kittens and step up your gentle handling of them. The mother
is still involved with her babies, however: This period is when she begins to
teach them to hunt.
Make solid
food available to the kittens from three weeks on; softening dry food with warm
water and placing a dab on a kitten’s nose makes the transition easier. The
mother helps by becoming increasingly unavailable for nursing, and the kittens
should be completely weaned by the age of seven weeks or so.
Give the
kittens access to a litter box from the age of three weeks on, and they’ll
learn from their mother how to use it.
Caution
Don’t allow your kittens to think human fingers and feet are for pouncing, or you could be setting yourself up — or setting up your kittens’ future owners — for problems later on. Stop the game if kittens attack, even in play. Better yet: Use interactive toys, such as a cat fishing pole or toy on a string, to play with your babies.
 |
| Figure 16-4: It can be hard to tell the boys from the girls when kittens are young. The male is on the left; the female on the right. Ask your veterinarian if you’re in doubt. |
Eight weeks to fourteen weeks
By the age of
two months, kittens have teeth and all their senses, and they’re nimble and
playful. This stage is a great deal of fun for the owner, and you hardly need
to be convinced to play with your kittens, getting them used to a lot of
handling.
Although some
people start giving away kittens as soon as they’re weaned, they’re best off
staying with their mother and littermates for the first 12 to 14 weeks. Kittens
who’re removed from their littermates and mother may have a difficult time as
adults in accepting other cats.
Still, this
time is good to start lining up homes for your babies. (See the section “Saying
Goodbye to the Babies,” later in this chapter.) Now’s the time, too, to take
them to your veterinarian for health checks and any vaccinations, wormings, or
other preventive-health measures your vet recommends.
The adolescent kitten
If you keep
any kittens, you get to continue to enjoy their development. Kittenhood ends at
sexual maturity — which may come as early as five months of age — although your
young one may continue to act kittenish at times for the first year.
Kittens grow
up very fast and can have kittens of their own before you think possible.
Discuss spaying and neutering with your veterinarian at the earliest
opportunity, or you may end up dealing with a new crop of babies soon.
Saying Good-bye to the Babies
If you’ve
done your job right, you have something truly remarkable to offer: fat,
friendly, well-socialized kittens who promise a lifetime of good health and
companionship. You want to make sure that the people who take them are worthy
of such wonderful babies.
Kittens are
so cute that you can “get rid of” them in minutes by giving them away in front
of the closest grocery store, but we hope you don’t want your babies to go to
just anyone you aren’t reasonably sure plans to take good care of them. The
problem with casually acquired pets is that people are all too often casual
about them — they’ve picked them up on impulse and may dump them just as fast.
Please take
the time to place your kittens in good homes. Take out an ad in the newspaper
and put up flyers, but make sure you carefully screen those people who’re
interested. If your cat is pedigreed and you’ve been working with a reputable
breeder, ask for her help in placing the kittens. She may have a waiting list!
Pedigreed or
just simply adorable, every kitten deserves a responsible home. Here are some
questions you can ask of potential adopters to ensure your babies find one:
- Have you had cats before? What happened to them? Wrong answers include “lots” and “they ran away,” “we moved,” or “he got hit.” Accidents happen to even the most conscientious of pet lovers, but a pattern of mishaps says a great deal about the way the prospective buyer treats cats — and it’s not good.
- What’s your living arrangement? Cats can handle nearly any kind of household: big families and singles, city apartments and rural acreage, stay-at-home seniors, and busy career people. Look for a person who has given a great deal of thought to the responsibility of keeping an animal and who’s prepared to ensure your kitten’s needs will be met. Some breeders refuse to place kittens with people who aren’t willing to keep them exclusively inside, and if you feel strongly about the issue, you can do so, too.
- Do you have children? What ages? If you sense you’re dealing with a person who doesn’t care what her children do, you could be putting a fragile kitten in a very dangerous environment. Listen for the person who realizes an animal is a part of the family, not a toy for the kids.
- Do you intend to breed your cat? Declaw her? Again, the “right” answers depend on your own views. If you’re against declawing (or against “automatic” declawing before even a sign of behavioral problems), you can use this time as a chance to educate. If you’re offering pedigreed kittens who aren’t breeding quality, sell them with “nonbreeding” registration or hold the papers until the buyer gives you proof of spaying or neutering. Some breeders also offer rebates on the purchase price for proof of altering. Better yet: Spay or neuter the kittens before they go to new homes. (See the sidebar “Spaying and neutering kittens,” later in this chapter.)
Be cordial
and informative with buyers, but be persistent. Ask to see a driver’s license.
Check references, including calling the person’s veterinarian. A person who has
owned numerous pets and doesn’t have a veterinary reference is another to cross
off your list. Don’t be afraid to turn people down. Although doing so may not
be pleasant, you must do what’s best for your kittens! You’ve put a lot of
effort into them, and you want them to live with someone who will continue to
love and care for them as you have.
Remember,
always, that you want your kittens to go to good homes, and the only one who has a chance at making that
happen is you.
Caution
Look, we don’t want to scare you — well, maybe a little — but we do want you to be careful. The world’s full of scary people. Here’s a story about one of them: A serial killer went to the same high school that Gina did, and after he was caught, the police discovered that, before he killed people, he’d “practiced” on free-to-good-home animals, including lots of kittens. Please don’t make “he wanted one and came right over” the only criterion for someone adopting one of your babies!
Spaying and neutering kittensOne
surefire way to make sure you’re not adding to the problem of pet overpopulation
is to spay and neuter your kittens before they go to their new homes. Ask your
veterinarian whether early altering is appropriate for your kittens. The
procedures have traditionally been performed starting at the age of five
months, but in recent years early spay-neuters on kittens as young as eight
weeks old have been widely approved by veterinary and humane groups and breed
registries. Many shelters now alter kittens before they’re adopted in an
effort to stop the revolving door of “kitten out, kittens in” that so many
struggle with. An increasing number of reputable breeders also spay or neuter
kittens they don’t intend to show before they go to their new homes. Yes, this
procedure involves an added expense, but some adopters may appreciate the
convenience and the sign that they’re dealing with someone who has the best
interests of the cats in mind. Adjust your price to cover the cost of the
surgery — or ask for the cost of the surgery if you were planning to give the
kittens away. |
by Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion
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