Co1byjack1
Lurker
So my significant human other and I are looking into getting barn cats. Is it ethical to get them spayed/neutered, to prevent a crap ton of cats in the future?
Getting barn cats
- Thread starter Co1byjack1
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saddlebum66
Supreme Citizen of ZV
Unless youre totally invested in vet bills forever, yes, its ethical....if you don't do it you'll have trouble with inbreeding....extra toes are kinda cute....extra feet are a horror. The scenario of not snipping means flea issues, worm issues, potential problems with any neighbors you have. Cats can spread toxoplasmosis, which can cause spontaneous abortion under certain circumstances, may have intramuscular worms like trichinella, and generally should not be left to breed indiscriminately. If you start with a pair and let it happen, you could have several hundred in a year. The local chapter of the ASPCA can give you some suggestions for cheap neuters....and sometimes issues coupons for discounts from area Vets. I like cats....not crazy about Barn monsters.
Co1byjack1
Lurker
Barn monsters made me actually laugh out loud. Thank you for that and the rest of your reply. We want to spay/neuter because the cats we are getting will be a mix of males and females from the same litter...incest is not best!!!! But still wanted a few opinions of people not in the "all animals shall have their junk removed mindset".
saddlebum66
Supreme Citizen of ZV
Ordinarily, if I wouldnt do it to me, Id say don't do it to them....but Ive seen the result first hand. It isnt pretty....the good thing is, most don't live long. Some are still born, some are taken by owls and foxes or coyotes. And without action it just becomes a vicious cycle. I had a cat years ago that was part of such a litter. Twenty-six toes. She was pretty bright, as cats with extra toes often are. She was a great mouser, as well. But of the twelve in the litter she and a sister were the only tenyear olds. The others were dead by their fourth year. Its NOT ethical to let that happen...
Mazikeen_x
Tourist
personally I'm against it in general but I would also be in heaven raising a whole litter..
also inbreeding also isn't actually as terrible as you'd think, happens all the time in nature, hell it used to happen a lot in human history to keep the bloodlines of royalty 'pure'
saddlebum66
Supreme Citizen of ZV
Actually, unless the creatures in question are in a closed environment, it DOESNT "happen all the time in Nature". Generally there are sound biological reasons why it doesn't. As to human Royalty, thats the very Epitome of "closed environment".
Unless youve got experience raising a litter of inbred kittens, AND a hard heart for when they die one by one, you'd be best not to interfere with how mother nature weeds things like that out of the gene pool. Its really horrible that for us we have only Darwin to depend on.
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Estafantom
Citizen of Zooville
Cats are terrible for the wildlife so please neuter and spay your cats if they don't live inside, females will have non stop litters if you don't and can even get pregnant before being totally grown up which can be really stressful for them
Cat populations can get out of hand VERY quickly. Personally I have had cats for the better part of 30 years and I absolutely advocate for spay/neuter.
Male cats will spray their territory with urine so the area will quickly begin to stink, and that’s not even beginning to think of the numbers of kittens they can produce.
If you want to avoid cute fluff balls with murder mittens I highly recommend doing a spay neuter before things get out of control.
Male cats will spray their territory with urine so the area will quickly begin to stink, and that’s not even beginning to think of the numbers of kittens they can produce.
If you want to avoid cute fluff balls with murder mittens I highly recommend doing a spay neuter before things get out of control.
saddlebum66
Supreme Citizen of ZV
Heyyyyy, they missed Chuck3 and Cammie, hopefully the last. Id had hopes that hed be back as her knickers LONG before the Coronation
Dogdaddy69
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
Just be prepared to do a re-supply every now and then. A Barn Cat's life is fraught with danger. Hawks and iggles get hungry too.
Alternately, you could also only "fix" the males of any kittens, that leaves you the possiblitiy of more cats, without the inbreds.
Alternately, you could also only "fix" the males of any kittens, that leaves you the possiblitiy of more cats, without the inbreds.
To neuter only the males assumes one can find/catch and kittens that are produced. I can tell you from experience, that can be a lot more difficult to accomplish than one may think.
Dogdaddy69
Esteemed Citizen of ZV
lol....
No argument. When we had them, long time ago, they weren't exactly that close to feral cats though mama still did a lot of kitten moving and hiding.
And, catching the bastards after they're half grown or more is no easy task either.
PatchyNerd
Tourist
I personally have all of our cats fixed. I've never had problems with inbreeding, but the shear number of babies the mommas pop out is mind boggling (about 7 every 5 ish months) and quickly becomes an issue in a number of ways.