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I am in desperate need of advice and perspective from fellow cat lovers. Long story short, my mail carrier left me a note last Thursday looking for help with a stray cat she found on her route. (We are both animal lovers, and have talked about the dilemma of stray cats in our community). He looked to be a young male, 1-2 years old, extremely sweet and friendly, who was starving to death. I e-mailed someone who lived on that street and found out that he had, indeed been neglected for some time, and finally turned out onto the street by the owner when the landlord told him to get rid of him.
We found him Friday, and my heart melted. He was sitting in the rain, wet, filthy, a bag of bones. He melted, purring, into my arms. I was done. I e-mailed my husband at work, who had said previously "no cats!", and begged him. My cat-loving mail carrier had already called every shelter, looking for a spot, and there was "no room at the inn". My husband relented, with conditions...that he not have any terrible diseases, and that he get along with the dog. We set him up in my basement for now, and he has spent the weekend eating and sleeping on the landing. I was planning on posting here to get advice on introducing a new cat to the household dog, but that is the least of my problems now.
I took "Karma" to the vet today.....first the good news. Overall, he is in good shape, and tested negative for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aides.
Now the bad news. He has a slight heart murmer. And he is a she. Who doesn't appear to have a spay scar. Who may be pregnant.
Here are my options....wait it out and see if, indeed, she is pregnant, let her have her litter and then spay her. We put off her shots just in case. Or I could spay her now regardless, kittens and all. What is the moral choice?
A wise friend just pointed out that the world doesn't need more kittens, that there are so many homeless cats right now, it may be impossible to find homes for them. That this young cat doesn't need the stress and trauma of becoming a mother. Plus, my husband will be furious. All this is logical, and true. Then why do I feel sick at the thought of spaying a pregnant cat?
If she indeed is pregnant, the kittens would be due right before Christmas. I feel like the right thing to do is to spay her, regardless, but I feel miserable over the prospect. The cat has a great temperament, affectionate and loving, but I have a lot of work to do to socialize her with the dog, (who seems terrified of her), and get her so she is comfortable living upstairs with us. But spaying her when she may be pregnant just doesn't feel right to me. I am in tears over this, and would appreciate any insight or input. I probably won't sleep well tonight.
Please do this poor kitty a favor and get her spayed now. If the vet thinks it's safe with her heart murmer, it's far better than the stress of being pregnant and delivering. Getting a kittybortion is not the same as having an abortion for a person. Kittens are cute but there are too many of them already. You have done a great thing for this poor defenceless creature, now go on to do what you know is right.
please have "karma" spayed. It sounds like she needs to build up her body and strength and kittens would drain her more. Don't worry so much about the heart murmur, as long as the vet is aware there are thing they can do to monitor more closely during the surgery and when they are bringing her out of anesthesia. Bubba has one, and they have to do things more slowly for his system.
Blessings to you and DH for adopting the poor thing....many years of happiness ahead of you!
Yeah spayed now is the better choice, IMHO. It is safer for Karma and with the over population of cats you wouldn't be doing the kittens any favors letting them loose in the world.
Thank you all for your input, I needed to be reminded of this; I think the prospect of spaying a pregnant cat brought back memories of what used to happen to unwanted neighborhood kittens when I was growing up...they would be placed in a plastic bag, driven to the local pond, and dumped off of the bridge. I need to stop feeling guilty, and realize it isn't in the best interest of poor Karma.
Have her spayed. When I adopted my first cat, a stray in another state, she was pregnant,too. I told my vet to spay her and it went fine. Same thing happened with another stray female and again, no problems after her spaying.
It's great you've taken her in. She's a lucky kitty.
Spay her now. More kittens are the last thing you need.
We had our cat spayed, too, when she was pregnant. She suffered no consequences -- other than she was quite far along and the surgery took longer than normal and was more expensive -- and we didn't have to find homes for five or six cats.
Best of luck, and bless you for taking this cat into your home.
Spay. A heart murmer can kill a cat giving birth. And I dont think you want to experience that and the cat doesnt either. Keep her medication on a even schedule to keep her feeling good. I had a cat that would pee on things if your were late on the dose. I have no idea why.
If the vet will do it, spay her now. Almost everyone loves kittens, but what would you do with them? Since you appear to be the type of person who would keep them unless you could find a home for them, are you prepared to have a house full of kittens?
She has had a rough life, so it's time for her to enjoy living in your household.
Thank you all so much for you wisdom and support...I am a softy for animals, always have been. My rational mind knew the answer, but emotionally, I was having a hard time. I just don't see how I could find good homes for the kittens, and, more importantly, it will not be good for the mother cat. Knowing I would be sparing her the stress and possible serious health consequences makes it a lot easier.
I'm glad to hear others have done it with no ill effects for the mother. She is a cat with an exceptionally nice temperament; she was frightened, but fairly easy to handle in the vets office. She loves people, and seems resilient.....even when frightened, she seems to recover quickly. Curled up on her perch on the landing, she put up with my husbands banging around near his workbench yesterday, she seems to react to loud noises with curiousity but doesn't panic. She is not the prettiest cat...she has some scars on her face, and a chin that looks like she has an underbite. I would descibe her face as , well, homely. But, as they say, "she's got a great personality!", and deserves better than the cards she's been dealt.
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and the surgery took longer than normal and was more expensive -- and we didn't have to find homes for five or six cats.
