I had to put down my 10 year old cat a little while ago and my vet said something interesting to me that made me question a few things about getting cats fixed.
He ended up having kidney faliure and i had to put him down because the cost of keeping him alive for another year or two was huge.
It was hard to decide to do.
When i asked the vet "how does a cat get kidney failure?" and she told me it is very common in male cats who get neutered and that neutering them causes mineral buildups and all this other stuff that causes weakness in the kidneys.
Which is news to me, here i was thinking getting him fixed as a kitten was the right thing for him... But it's not?
It's been about 6 months since my old boy got put down, the daffodils i planted on his grave are starting to peek through the soil and im lonely. I want another cat but im torn over the getting it fixed thing..
Was my vet full of shit? is it better to keep male cats intact?
I dont want a wandering tom running around impregnating other cats..
im confused.
>>2139625
>Was my vet full of shit?
Yes.
Dumbasses and people who don't belong in medicine get into medicine. I had a doctor once have his eyes glaze over while he was talking to me and he started discussing his "reward" in christ that was waiting for him. How can a person like that be trusted to be a scientist? heh.
Even if it WERE true-- you can have the possibility of your cat getting sick or you can generate countless new suffering kittens in the world that will die and get eaten and run over by cars. pretty easy moral decision.
Always take the route in life that adds the least suffering to the world. There is never any reason to add new suffering and unfixed animals adds suffering.
>>2139630
by the way here is what your vet was referring to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_lower_urinary_tract_disease
I seriously doubt she was trying to scare you out of getting another cat and i certainly doubt she was trying to scare you out of neutering
but also remember that cats don't belong outside to begin with. if you get a cat, keep it in your house where it goes, so it's not out murdering hundreds of songbirds in its life.
>>2139630
If it is shit, what the fuck is she doing telling people that?
At the time i felt really guilty, like i had condemned him to suffer because of me getting him fixed
I had recently moved to a new town and she was one of the better vets talked about online so i thought she was a good choice.
>>2139636
Keeping cats inside where i am is almost considered animal cruelty.
You tell people you have an indoor cat and they look at you like some kind of weirdo
My old cat only ever came outside when i was gardening or smoking.
>>2139637
Being a vet just means you answered a lot of standardized test questions correctly. Once they've done that, there's nothing stopping a vet from using their position to promote some bullshit agenda.
>>2139637
>At the time i felt really guilty, like i had condemned him to suffer because of me getting him fixed
bro use a little bit of logic and don't be emotional like a woman okay.
read what wikipedia article says...very common disease.. .5% to 1% of cats will get it
>>2139648
I am a woman and that cat was a companion animal i needed due to illness.
Even if this was true (to my knowledge, it isn't), the pros of neutering greatly outweigh the cons - especially if you're going to be letting him outdoors, where he absolutely find fertile females to knock up if there are any in the area. Spaying/neutering is always the responsible choice.
But if you need more convincing, here are more reasons to neuter: unneutered male cat urine absolutely fucking reeks, decreased likelihood of territorial marking behavior, zero chance of testicular cancer/reduced chance of prostate cancer, decreased aggression against other cats, less likely to wander and get hit by a damn car.
>>2139625
>Was my vet full of shit?
Yes. Maybe they worded it wrong I don't know, but as long as you wait til they are developed in the testicular region (usually 4.5-6 months old) its the right choice for neutering as you'll avoid the spraying and wanderlust and aggression they will get. I've heard of issues with blockages in the urinary tract if you neuter too young (4 months or younger), not sure of the % of cats afflicted though.
>>2139640
Well whoever considers that cruelty needs some knowledge laid on them. Even if you're in the country where there aren't many (if any) cars around, the parasites/fleas, and wild animal dangers are pretty bad. When indoors there are plenty of things to keep a cat entertained like cat trees, grow fresh catnip, playing with them alot, even an outdoor run area fenced in or something if thats doable. They live a much longer and healthier life indoors thats for sure.
