Spay & Neuter
 | "Our kittens Bhima, Sati, Gauravani and Krsangi were technically born feral cats, but since the Humane Society also puts a 'nick' in the cat's ear to identify them as feral, we opted out of the free service. So, we went the more expensive route." |
We live in Hawaii and there is a big problem with feral cats here. The mild weather makes it easier for them to thrive on their own and if you go to certain parks or ocean side areas you will find colonies of feral cats.
In order to keep the population down, the Humane Society runs a Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage (TRNM) program, which provides spay and neuter services for feral cats. The cats must have a microchip implanted to be eligible for this program, so that the Humane Society can track them. This program is offered for free.
Our kittens Bhima, Sati, Gauravani and Krsangi were technically born feral cats, but since the Humane Society also puts a 'nick' in the cat's ear to identify them as feral, we opted out of the free service. So, we went the more expensive route.
We were fortunate that our vet accepted 'spay neuter certificates'. We had never heard of them before but he told us that if you use them it's a lot cheaper. He sent us down to the local city hall to purchase the certificates. We then presented them on the days of the surgery for spay or neuter (3 spays and 1 neuter in our case).
Not all vets accept the spay/neuter certificates but if they do it makes the whole thing a lot more affordable, (check with your vet or city hall for info on this in your area). The surgery is the same regardless of how much you pay for it.
However, if you want your cat to have an IV and pain medication post surgery then that is an extra cost. The vet said that for the boys, the extras are not a big deal because he is not really going inside the body but for the girls he recommends it.
Based on the vet's advice we purchased the additional IV and pain relief medication for all the girls but not our boy Bhima.
During Bhima's neuter we were feeling pretty guilty about this decision. But to be honest, as soon as we brought him home it was business as usual. He was jumping and running the same day he was neutered - maybe just slightly more gingerly that first day - but that was it. So, maybe it was okay for him after all - he still loves us anyway…
The girls had to stay overnight, while Bhima could come home after the surgery. But if you love your cats, you are going to worry about them no matter what. So, if it sets your mind at ease, pay the extra cost for whatever the vet is offering and be done with it.
There were two reasons, why we had our cats spayed and neutered:
- We keep our cats outside and with 3 girls, we didn't want to end up with bunch of kittens.
- Because we have three girls and one boy, we had to do something to avoid inbreeding, which is unavoidable when the cats go into heat. (We have seen what happens when cats get inbred and it is not pretty. They can get really crazy. Maybe not always but why take the risk?).
Some people - okay, men - are reluctant to neuter the males, but if you don't they will go into heat and spray their territory - even if that territory is inside your home! Trust me when I say that this 'spray' is unlike anything you may have encountered before and you definitely don't want it on anything.
Neutering also seems to make male cats slightly calmer and keeps them from getting all the girls in the neighborhood knocked up. All around we see that as a good thing.
We believe that it really is in everyone's best interest to get your cats fixed regardless of their sex. They will still be the same loveable creatures they were when they went in for their surgery. None of our cats got 'mad' at us for getting them fixed - not even Bhima. But if your cat does give you some attitude about it…. Well, he'll get over it.