This article isn’t aimed toward those who rescue a pregnant cat. It’s for those who refuse to have their cats spayed or neutered, especially those who want their female cat to experience the miracle of kittens being born. Many cat owners think it necessary to allow their cat to have one litter before being spayed just so the cat can experience being a mother.
Here’s what REALLY happens when you refuse to spay your cat. A female cat reaches sexual maturity anywhere from around five months to one year and can become pregnant. An unneutered male cat can pick up the scent of a female in “heat” or estrus cycle from up to a mile away.
Once every unneutered male within that radius picks up the scent, the male cats head off to find the female, where she is repeatedly chased then raped by every tomcat who can catch her and pin her down. Repeatedly. For DAYS!
Don’t count yourself lucky if you only have an unneutered male cat. Tomcats are known for getting into vicious fights with competing males, making them susceptible to injuries as well as FIV/FeLV.
Female cats are seasonally polyestrous, meaning they go into heat every two to three weeks, usually between mid-January through August. After delivering a litter of kittens a female will go back into heat within weeks. It’s not unheard of for a female cat to be nursing one litter when she becomes pregnant with another.
This “miracle of birth” later leads to the litters (and sometimes the mama cat) being dumped at the shelter when the family decides the cats/kittens aren’t so cute anymore. These cats are called “owner surrenders” and aren’t subject to state hold time as strays are. The shelter already knows who the owner is, meaning they can kill the family at any time.
Many of these cats and kittens are euthanized for space or the kittens get sick in the shelter environment and die on their own or are euthanized. So please consider the problems you’re creating for everyone involved when you’re considering the decision not to spay or neuter your cat.
Communities usually have low-cost spay/neuter clinics. You may have to ask around to locate one near you but it’s well worth it. Your cat will have a healthier life and you can thank yourself for being part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
Anything I missed? Please leave it in the comment section. This is an excellent article if you’d like more information about what happens during estrus.
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Source for idea: petplace.com
After see this happen I got every few in the colony in my area spay. So no more kitten and I still feed the colony. Anytime a female comes around even the neighbor cat I get it spay. Its the least we can do.
Spay and neuter. Cat sex is violent, but is not rape. This is how free-roaming cats mate. Purebred cats are one male and one female to better the breed. I used to raise Sphynx cats, and Siamese as well. Now I just have happy altered household pets who can enjoy a large outdoor run any time they want. I’m also an advocate of early spay/neuter. I fixed mine before they even knew if they were male or female.
Well, the author wanted to get people’s attention. I guess she succeeded. It is hard to get the attention of people on the massive and expanding internet.
Don’t call this rape. Mating for cats and many other animals is a biological imperative. The males and females cannot control their responses to the hormones.
We and some other species can.
You made your case with the other points
Shame on you for not understanding the internet and the problems with irresponsible cat owners.
It is not about making money but educating cat owners. The page has probably made about $1 over its entire lifetime in advertising revenue! Big money. I am so motivated by money….