Friday, May 21, 2010

Vet wants me to have my cat spayed but thinks she's pregnant?

Isn't that unethical? I asked him if he could tell me for sure if she was pregnant and he didn't offer any help. Don't they make cat pregnancy tests? Just so you know, I adopted my cat and the law says that when you adopt a cat; you have to have her spayed at 6-10 months of age. The vet said according to my signed agreement I have to have her spayed. Isn't that like abortion?
Answers:
Are you going to take care of the 6 - 12 kittens she may have? Can you afford to get them shots, get them spayed, feed them for the next 20 years? Buy litter for the next 20 years? What about the other folks in this forum who think it's murder to abort unborn kittens? Are they going to feed that litter for the rest of their lives? Yeah, I thought so.

Oh, well maybe you plan to find homes for them! Do you have any idea how many unwanted cats are euthanized every day in America? There are way too many of them and not enough of us. I run a shelter, and most of my friends do, too. Some of them have 60 or more cats, thanks to soft-hearted or ignorant people who think kittens are just adorable. We have to beg, borrow and steal every week to come up with money for food, because other people refused to be responsible.

If the cat is pregnant, the fetuses have no concept of what's going on. The vet knows what he's doing. It's either now, when they are oblivious, or later, when they've developed personalities, they know what lonely is, no one wants them, they're sitting in a pound with a thousand other cats no one has room for, and they get the needle.

Please be responsible. We could argue abortion ethics all night long. You need to do what's right for the cat and your own situation. Unless you're fabulously wealthy and can take care of her litter all by yourself for the next twenty years, and NOT dump them off on other people, get the cat spayed and enjoy her!! Lavish your love and time and money on this one cat. She will really appreciate it and you won't have a nervous breakdown trying to care for a bunch of felines for the next two decades.

Those of us struggling with other people's irresponsibility will also be very grateful for your decision.
That will kill the kittens Yep that's abortion.
if you have homes for the kittens fine if not let the vet do his thing
It's not a question of ethics.but if you want to go that route; is it ethical to allow a cat to bring even more unwanted kittens into an already overpopulated world?

Vets routinely perform spay surgeries on pregnant female cats. And yes, it is basically aborting the kittens because the cat is given a full hysterectomy.

If you're uneasy about it (and think you can find GOOD homes for all the kittens after they're weaned), then you could try talking to the people at the facility where you adopted the cat and see if they won't let the spay surgery wait a little while until the cat has her kittens. If they won't budge, you're probably going to have to have her spayed..pregnant or not.
when i got my kitten they wanted to spay her, but she was sick. so they letme take her home without her being spayed (i got her spayed when she was better). if you don't want your kitty to get an abortion. you should tell them that you don't want the kitty to have an abortion and that you will give the kittens to good homes.
It would be like abortion, if she is pregnant, but it's only a cat, not a human. (Of course human abortion is perfectly legal.) The same thing happened to me. I postponed the operation. The cat either was not pregnant or didn't carry to term due to the fact she was starving when I found her. When I took her in again, the vet said she was pregnant again. I said by whom? She hadn't been outside, and both my dogs were neutered! So I approved the operation and she wasn't pregnant.
I think you could postpone the spaying a few weeks; what are they going to do to you? Or else go ahead (it's only a cat.) and tell the vet you don't want to know about it if the cat was pregnant.
Yes it is an abortion. I'd let the cat have her kittens then give them to good homes. Then have her spayed as per your signed agreement. Good luck
I would find another vet. They can do an ultrasound and see if she is pregnant or not. If she is, then wait until after the cat has her kittens, which will only be a couple more months, then get her spayed. If she is pregnant, then having the surgery done now will kill the kittens. I would go to a different vet, and get the ultrasound then take that to the people that you adopted her from, and tell them that you will have her spayed as soon as the kittens are born, and that you don't want to kill them, and maybe they will not take action on you if you go over the 10 months in age. Good luck, and you do what you feel is right for the mom and babies though.
wait a few weeks and see if she is, she is your cat and those will be your kittens, no one can force you to force the cat to have an abortion. just wait a few weeks it only takes 6 and let her have the babies then get her fixed. Tell the vet and law to kiss your , your having babies!!
Its kind of how you think about the situation. Are you going to hate your self the rest of your life if you do? Some people think its OK if she is not very far along but if she only has a couple weeks to go its best to wait. others will not do it at all. When I was a tech we did a couple spays where the kittens and pups were so close to being born it made me angry. I shed a silent tear for each and every poor aborted pups and kittens we did. So even if some people think of them as just animals you need to do what you think is right. But also think of the over population and all the animals that some one gave away that they thought was a "good" home. Read all the I can't afford a vet questions and you may wonder what kind of life they might have. So you do what is best for YOU after weighing all the pros and cons. I am sorry you are in that situation.
it is unethical to bring more unwanted kittens into this world and contributing to the pet overpopulation problem! Get her spayed.
I'd go ahead %26 have her desexed. She may not be pregnant %26 if she is, well, caring for a whole lot of kittens can be a really tough %26 expensive job. There's so many abandoned, neglected %26 abused animals in this world, sometimes it's best to stop it before it really begins %26 it sounds like this is why the agreement you signed is in place. It may sound cruel for your cat to have a kitty abortion if that's what it comes down to but would you rather have these potential kittens, watch them grow %26 then take them to the shelter only to have them euthanised anyhow (which I think is worse than having the pregnancy terminated before the fetus really knows what's going on) or for them to go to homes where people abuse or neglect them in the future %26 keep this cycle going? Yes, I appreciate it's a heart wrenching matter but I really think your cat shouldn't have these kittens in much the same way a lot of people shouldn't have children.
Some people may not agree but I certainly think that getting the cat spayed while she is pregnant is unethical. Your sign agreement says that you have to get the cat spayed, but surely you donly have to do it immediately since the cat is pregnant? If I were you, I'd go to another vet, schedule spaying for after cat has her kittens. I would NOT allow anyone to pressure me into violating MY OWN conscience! If the adoption place gives you a hard time, just say:
1) to get the cat spayed while pregnant violates your conscience
2) you will take responsibility for the new-born kittens and find them homes.

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