Dealing with all these feral cats has made me a bit more mindful about “fixing” cats and dogs. Out of all these feral cats I have, I was only able to get one in a cage and take in to the SPCA. It was Bear. He is wary of me now and the others I tried to catch are more wary of me. “My” cats can’t be trapped in the typical feral cat cages as they are used to eating near me as I put food down. I really screwed up and am not sure how to rectify it.
Female pets are “spayed”. This is a pretty major surgery. They are put out and an incision is made in order to remove the ovaries (sometimes the uterus may also be removed). The incision is sutured or stapled or a skin-bonding material is used for closure. Healing time is 10-14 days. If you are having ferals done by the SPCA, you take them early in the morning, pick up in the late afternoon and the cat is released to its habitat. No coddling there. It is recommended that the spaying be done before the first heat cycle – typically 6 months old. The reason for this is to reduce the possibility of breast cancer later in life. Go figure. Never knew that before I researched it. Spaying also prevents the possibility of uterine infection (serious to fatal!) as well as uterine or ovarian cancer. Of course, the biggest reason – to us lay people – is to prevent them from getting “with kittens”!
The boys are a bit simpler. The testicles are removed while the cats are out but there is no invasive surgery like in spaying. The resulting incisions are closed with sutures or skin adhesive and the healing time is, likewise, 10-14 days. When I brought Bear home, I kept him in one of our bathrooms with a bed and litter box for 24 hours to give him some time to heal and keep him warm. Neutering helps prevent the possibility of testicular cancer and enlargement of the prostate gland (this latter tends to be an age-related issue). Of course, no da kines means no roaming – less, anyway – less aggressiveness and NO KITTENS! All a plus!
I am sure most of you have gone to the Humane Society at some time in your lives, either looking for a lost pet or looking to adopt. It is heartbreaking to see all these “babies” in cages…all looking at you and saying “Take me! Take me!” Breaks my heart. When I see kittens or dogs loose and roaming I hope against hope that they have a home and are simply out or got out and have someone waiting at home to love them.
These two feral moms here, Magic and Sweetie Pie, have taken the two sets of little kittens out on so many walk-abouts that several have been lost. It hurts my feelings to think these little cuties got lost in the high grass and left behind then killed by a car or by coyotes…or are simply lost, hungry and alone.
Unless you are a breeder, “fixing” your pets is the responsible thing to do. Besides the benefits to us in better over-all behavior, should our “children” get out, they will not create puppies or kittens elsewhere nor become pregnant themselves, if that is the case. Our new family members, Kona and Kai, appear to be out of a Labrador mom with Kai’s dad being possibly Rottwieller and Kona’s dad being possibly Border Collie. They certainly don’t have the same dad. So, someone’s Lab got out and got “caught”. After the puppies were born, the mom’s owners didn’t want them and dumped them in the country. We love them dearly and are thrilled that they have come into our lives but it was by God’s grace that we found them when we did as they were destined to be road kill or coyote dinner. That possible fate is vile and is, in itself, a good reason to spay and neuter your pets!