Kitty abortion that is. Before he could get her spayed, my roommate’s cat escaped the house while in heat and became pregnant. I suggested a kitty abortion, during the course of which she would also be spayed, because we already have enough stray cats in the neighborhood to find homes for, without letting new homeless kitties be brought into this world. Although I strongly suspect that I will end up one those old ladies living alone with 30 cats, I really want to pospone the inevitable as long as possible.
My roommate was horrified at the thought. So was my mother-in-law (“Don’t you dare get that cat an abortion! You let her have her kittens!”). They were quickly brought around when the vet told us that Hailey has underdeveloped lungs and a deformed pelvis, although she is in good health otherwise. The operation was performed today. The poor thing is staggering around doped-up, disoriented, and miserable.
A friend of a friend announced that he would rather put his cat to sleep than let it have an abortion (of course, his cat is a neutered male). I am astounded. Is there anyone else out there against domestic pet abortions, whether for population control or for the health of the mother? And why?
Wouldn’t putting a pregnant kitty to sleep constitute an abortion “plus one”?
As for your question: I am not against either…Since we have thouroughly domesticated these furry critters, the natural checks and balances of nature don’t apply to their population control and health. Therefore, since we, as humans, have put them in this situation, we must help them stay healthy. Additionally, their overpopulation is our fault, therefore, our responsibility to control.
I sure wouldn’t deny my cat something I wouldn’t deny anyone else. Especially since it sounds like the cat wasn’t in the best condition for having kittens. Why add to the pet overpopulation problem? Is it better to let the kittens be born, then killed? Better to get your pet spayed or nuetered long before they go into heat. It can be (and should be) done as soon the pet is weaned. Most shelters will not adopt out kittens and puppies who have not been altered, wisely refusing to leave it up to the new owner.
One vote here for kitty abortions.
I’ve been in exactly the same situation. I once had a cat escape for a day shortly before she was to be spayed, and while she was out she was brutally raped by a six-toed orange biker cat that lived in the alley. When she recovered (he was actually so forceful that she had pavement burns on her chin), I took her in to be spayed and discovered she was pregnant. The vet took everything out.
Your kitty was raped? If some neighborhood tom even looked at either of my girls the wrong way…well…nevermind.
I’ll weigh in and say kitty abortions are acceptable when the need arises. I think you made a wise decision.
MR
I think your decision was a good one. Aside from the fact that I could not in good conscience be pro-choice for humans and against it for animals, it’s a sound population control measure. Not as sound as spaying/neutering (good job doing that as well), and catch-spay-release programs for strays.
Well, what was your kitty wearing, lissener? I mean, she’s a young runaway, out on her own for the first time, probably got into some catnip…
No doubt, she was screaming for it, lissener.
OP: A friend of a friend announced that he would rather put his cat to sleep than let it have an abortion (of course, his cat is a neutered male).
Meephead: *Wouldn’t putting a pregnant kitty to sleep constitute an abortion “plus one”? *
You’d think so, wouldn’t you? Maybe the friend’s objection was on the grounds that the cat, unlike a human, wouldn’t be able to understand why she wasn’t pregnant anymore and would be traumatized by it, so it would be better to let her give birth and then put the kittens to sleep? Anybody with half a clue about feline psychology know whether this is a reasonable objection? (my guess, although I don’t meet the abovementioned qualification: no.)
I couldn’t do that, myself, unless, like in the situation described by the OP, the cat was not a good candidate for having kittens.
However, I’d make SURE the kittens went to good homes…
There ARE places that will take in kittens and find them good homes. Kitty Foster Homes. We got two of our cats from there…and they’re GREAT cats. This one woman takes in cats that no one wants, and she made my dad sign an agreement that if we decided we didnt’ want the cat after all, we’d bring her back.
The other one, we got from a cat farm, called The Tiger Ranch.
One problem with cats is that they can be vicious killers. Actually, maybe not a problem if you live in the city and the cat takes a rat or two. But, if you live in the suburb or the country, those cats tend to kill birds.
They’re good at it too. I remember once many years ago, had a pair of birds build a nest in a tree close to the house I was living in. From the upstairs window, you could actually see the eggs and later the chicks with binoculars. There were three chicks in that nest. One day I was out in the yard when I see the neighbor’s cat with what appears to be a bird in its mouth. I ran around the house to the tree, only to find the scene of a massacre. Two young fledglings, dead on the ground. I guess the cat just killed these two for fun and took one home as a prize. Cats should definitely be controlled. Abortion has my vote. Neutering too.
NiceGuyJack: Are you saying that because cats are natural predators and that they still stalk and occassionally kill prey based upon very natural instincts that are so ingrained in them as a species that thousands of years of domestication could not get rid of those instinct that abortion for cats is okay?
I don’t find fault with the conclusion per se, but the method you used here to reach that conclusion is puzzling to me. Please elaborate and tell me how you would treat an animal that did not do this as a species with regard to the abortion issue?
Yer pal,
Satan
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Actually NiceGuyJack, most cats who are raised by humans and fed from a bag don’t know that the little critters are supposed to be food. They still have hunting instincts that will cause them to frantically run down everything that is little and moves, from bugs to birds to the assorted objects I toss around for them. They know what to do, just not why they are doing it. Sort of like my neutered male cat, who every once in a while will grab the female by the back of the neck and get on top…and kind of stand there for a while. He knows that this means something; he’s just not quite sure exactly what.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against cats. I think they make great pets. But as Satan pointed out, thousands of years of domestication could not remove the killer instinct. In all honesty, I think that killer instinct was desired because they were good at killing rats and mice. The circumstances for keeping cats may have changed a bit today. People have cats purely as pets, and their rat catching tasks has diminished somewhat. The point is, people bring them into the various environments. This means people are responsible to ensure that their cats don’t reproduce unplanned. If my neighbor’s cat takes an occasional bird, I’m not going to blame my neighbor for that, I realize that is what cats do, and perhaps the birds that built that nest will have learned a lesson and build their next nest in a more concealed place. However, if that cat produced a litter of kittens and those kittens become feral, then I would have an issue with my neighbor, because those cats are going to take more birds in an environment where this particular predator is not indigenous. I’m not sure if I am making myself clear. Basically, enjoy your cat, but be responsible for it. Better to abort that litter off kittens rather than having them potentially go stray and wreck havoc in the local fauna.
Oh I agree wholeheartedly, and am actually in the middle of just such a situation. Here’s the thread from Opal’s Fathom board if you are interested.
Seeing as how I am most in favor of choice in cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother, it would appear at least one if not two of the criteria was met.
I think you did the right thing, too.
I love kitty refuges and that that’s where my last cat came from. I too have a contract that says I will take him back there if anything happens or we change our minds about him. And while a place like that is an excellent way to place kittens, what would haunt me (in your shoes) is the fact that these kittens, which didn’t have to be brought into the world, and were a huge accident, are displacing others. Maybe the refuge or foster home won’t turn away an equivalent number of cats because of these kittens, but every home one of these kittens gets is a home another cat won’t. I may have gotten them good homes, but probably ruined the chances of other cats by doing so.
That’s why it bugs me to hear people congratulate themselves on coming up with a “great resolution” such as adopting their pet out or finding a no-kill shelter or a rescue group when they’ve irresponsibly gotten a pet, didn’t take care of it, didn’t train it, and then had to get rid of it because a wild, desperate-for-attention pet is too much for them. Don’t they realize that their “solution” is simply pushing another needy animal’s fate one notch worse? If they’d trained their animal, given it what it deserved, etc, maybe they wouldm’t be in this position. But yikes, I’ve veered off into another rant!!
Back to this abortion situation. I guess, when push comes to shove, I think of kitties as different from human babies. And believe me, I do love animals. I don’t think my argument would fly if applied to humans, but then I don’t intend for it to.