Why Do Your Cats Need To Be Vaccinated
Ans: Massive use of vaccination prevents death and disease in millions of animals. The vaccine is still the safest way to protect your animals from todays most widespread diseases.However, vaccines contain live or dead bacterial matter, helping the immune system fight them later. With few exceptions, animals that have been vaccinated become resistant to the disease upon exposure to it.
Does Spaying Cause My Cat To Get Fat
Spaying does decrease the metabolism of your cat and may lead to a more sedentary lifestyle. This will cause your cat to put on weight however, if you monitor their body condition and make appropriate adjustments to their nutrition and lifestyle including regular exercise time you can prevent this weight gain.
Pros & Cons Of Spaying & Neutering Cats
Its time to start thinking about spaying or neutering your cat. But, you are not quite sure if it is the right thing to do. If youre wondering whether you should just leave your cat as nature intended, consider the positive and negative aspects of spaying and neutering before making your decision.
Spaying The Positive Side
Spaying removes the risk of pregnancy.
Pet overpopulation is a serious problem and by allowing your cat to have litters, you are adding to the problem. Finding homes for your new family additions is not as easy as you may think. Even if you choose to keep the kittens, you will have the additional cost of vaccines, parasite control, toys and food for several pets. In addition to costs, the health of the mother can be in jeopardy during delivery. Some new mothers can have serious complications delivering kittens and can even develop health problems during nursing. All these potential problems can be avoided by spaying your cat.
Spaying makes for a calmer cat.
Without the drive to mate, your cat may be quieter and wont be prone to cat calls and the incessant need to seek out a mate. The spayed pet no longer attracts males and their annoying advances and serenades. Spayed cats are also easier to get along with. They tend to be more gentle and affectionate.
Spaying keeps your cat healthier.
Spaying The Negative Side
Spaying means sterilization.
Spaying may cause weight gain.
Neutering The Positive Side
Neutering removes the risk of pregnancy.
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Are There Other Benefits To Spaying My Cat
The most obvious benefit is the prevention of unplanned pregnancies. There is no behavioral, medical, or scientific reason for letting your cat have a litter before she is spayed.
“There is no behavioral, medical, or scientific reason for letting your cat have a litter before she is spayed.”
Once a cat reaches puberty, usually at around seven months of age, she will have a heat or estrous cycle every two to three weeks for most of the year, unless she becomes pregnant. She will be ‘in heat’ or receptive to mating for approximately one week in each cycle. During heat, she may display unsociable behavior such as loud and persistent crying and frequent rubbing and rolling on the floor. She may also urinate outside her litterbox as a marking behavior. This behavior coupled with her scent, will attract male cats from miles around. Removal of the ovaries will stop her estrus cycles.
Getting Your Female Cat Spayed
To stop your female cat from having kittens, she’ll need to have a simple operation known as ‘spaying’ before she turns four months old. This is also known as ‘fixing’, ‘neutering’ or ‘being done’.
When your cat is about four months old, she’ll start to attract the attention of tomcats, who’ll want to mate with her. This is why it’s important to have her spayed before she reaches four months, so she doesn’t get pregnant while she’s still a kitten herself.
You may have heard that it’s good for female cats to have a litter of kittens before they are spayed, but this isn’t true. Once she’s been spayed, your kitten will be able to do all the things cats enjoy doing, like going outdoors, climbing trees and playing.
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Will My Cats Personality Change After Being Fixed
Other than the previously mentioned behavior changes, spaying or neutering your cat is unlikely to change his or her basic personality, though male cats may become more docile following neutering. Cats playfulness and general levels of activity, excitement, and vocalization do not typically change following spay/neuter surgery.
When Should I Spay/neuter My Cat
Healthy cats as young as six weeks of age can be spayed or neutered safely. Studies have shown that cats altered at less than six months of age do not have an increased risk of physical or behavioral problems, as compared to those that undergo surgery later. Early-age spaying and neutering may prevent problem behaviors before they occur. If it hasnt already been done, spaying or neutering should be considered for any pet with a behavior problem, regardless of age. For certain behaviors, surgery may reduce or eliminate the problem, even in older cats. Consult with your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist for further information.
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What If I Dont Spay Or Neuter My Cat
Some people choose not to neuter their cats. If you decide to keep your cat intact, bear the following points in mind:
- Unneutered cats roam away from home more often, so theyre at increased risk of being hurt in a traffic accident if you let your cat outdoors.
- Male unneutered cats are more aggressive than their neutered counterparts.
- Female cats go into season once every three months. While in season, theyre noisier, more anxious and far more demanding.
- Unspayed female cats have up to three litters per year, with as many as six kittens in each litter and that can get expensive.
- Many unspayed female cats develop mammary cancers by the time theyre six or seven years old. If you decide to leave your female cat intact, check her regularly for lumps and speak to your vet if youre concerned.
My Cat Vaccinations May Contain
Vaccinations have a scientific basis, and they can provide the specific protection your pet body needs, so only use vaccines recommended by the veterinarian. Here, we are sharing some information about vaccinations.
- Live organisms : The organism has been improved not to cause any disease but can repeat for a little time after the vaccine has been administered to inflame a good immune response.
- Killed organisms : The organism has been killed and is commonly combined with other chemicals to inflame a good immune response.
- Recombinant vaccines: This is a newer type of vaccine where parts of the organism may be incorporated into another organism, used to vaccinate a cat.
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Reasons To Spay Your Female Cat
1. No more kittens – A visit to any cat shelter should convince you that we dont need any more kittens brought into the world. Whats worse is that kittens as young as 5 months can become pregnant themselves and some will not be able to give birth naturally. The cost of a Cesarean is high and may happen unexpectedly so the next reason.
2. Reduces the chance of unexpected veterinary bills – Seriously, a C-section can cost a four-figure sum!
3. Reduces exposure to disease – Female cats in heat only have one thing on their mind, and theyll make sure every Tomcat in the neighborhood knows. Tomcats will flock from miles away and your usually well-behaved female kitten will make every effort to escape.
Tomcats can carry diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukemia Virus due to promiscuous contact with other cats. Even if they dont pick up these diseases, your female cat may be exposed to cat flu viruses, which are unpleasant at best.
4. Reduces the risk of cancer and other diseases of the reproductive organs – Mammary cancer is reduced by 90% when a female cat is spayed at a young age. Mammary cancer is nearly always malignant in cats, so its vital to reduce the risk. To do this successfully, they need to be spayed before their first heat cycle, which can be as early as 5 months. Cancer of the reproductive system is rare but nasty, and the risk is eliminated by spaying.
What Is The Vaccination Schedule Of Kittens & Cats
All kittens require vaccination to keep them healthy. By keeping far from the viral disease, we have divided two types of vaccinations.
- Core Cat Vaccinations: Core cat vaccinations protect against common and particularly dangerous diseases and are recommended for all kittens and adult cats.
- Non-Core Vaccinations: Non-core Vaccination is not necessarily suggested for all cats. Instead, these vaccines are recommended only for those cats or kittens with a high risk of infections. In the case of noninvasive vaccinations, your cats lifestyle should be assessed to determine the risk of disease and whether the risk associated with vaccination outweighs the risk of your cat getting the disease.
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The Latest On When To Spay Or Neuter Your Pet
When do you spay or neuter a dog or cat? For years, youve probably heard that the best age for this reproductive surgery is six months, but times change. Veterinarians and pet owners are taking a closer look at when it should occur. And the answer isnt what you might think.
For kittens, the answer is easy: the earlier the better. As soon as they are five months old or weigh one and a half pounds, tiny as that might seem, they can be surgically altered. Thats important, because kittens reach reproductive age very early in life, sometimes even before they are five months old.
In a time when kittens are the most vulnerable animals in shelters because of the difficulty of caring for them until theyre old enough for adoption, reducing the overwhelming number of kittens is job one. For them, early spay/neuter surgery is safe and timely. Surgery takes less time, kittens are anesthetized for a shorter period, and they recover rapidly.
Dogs, however, are another story. Because of their wide variability in size and developmental maturity, as well as documented links between certain diseases and age at which they are spayed or neutered, its much more important to determine the optimal age. And rarely is it as early as six months.
Because there are so many variables, there are no hard and fast recommendations. A good baseline is to wait until 12 to 14 months of age, when growth plates have closed.
When Should You Neuter A Cat
The traditional age for a cat spay or castration is 5-6 months. This is fine if it actually gets done then and your cat stays indoors until that point. The age of sexual maturity though can be as young as 4 months of age. This clearly leaves a window of opportunity for your cat to get pregnant if they are female, or start competing and fighting for the attention of any entire female in the neighborhood if your cat is male.
Why then not neuter your cat earlier? Well, early age neutering is endorsed by many international organizations, including the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, and Australias Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The American Veterinary Medical Association also currently recommends that cats not intended for breeding should be desexed before 5 months of age.
Ideally to reduce the euthanasia of healthy but unwanted kittens though we would be going a step further and castrating or spaying all cats before about 16 weeks of age, that is before they become sexually mature.
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How Will Spaying Affect My Cats Diet
As soon as your cat has been spayed, youll start to notice changes in their behaviorincluding their feeding habits. Their appetite can increase by 20-25%, but their actual energy expenditure reduces by 30%. This means its very easy for your queen to overeat and store the extra energy as fat. If you decide to spay your cat while they’re still a kitten, they will still be growing and therefore needs a food that supports this without encouraging them to put on weight unnecessarily. Specific food, formulated for spayed/neutered kittens, is one of the best things to feed them at this point.
Benefits Of Neutering Your Male Cat
Population Control
While male cats don’t actually have kittens themselves, one unneutered male cat in your neighborhood can make many female cats pregnant. That’s why neutering male cats is as important as spaying females when it comes to population control!
Health Issues
Neutering your male cat may help slow the spread of serious cat diseases such as Feline immunodeficiency virus and Feline leukemia virus that are often spread between cats during fights. Neutering can help to reduce cat aggression and may mean fewer injuries from fighting. Neutered males also tend to stay closer to home which helps to reduce their risk of being injured by vehicles.
Deter Undesirable Behaviors
Unneutered male cats typically spray inside the home more than neutered males and may be aggressive towards their owners. Having your male kitten neutered while young can help to prevent these behaviors from starting. Also, male cats who are not neutered, frequently roam over large areas in search of unspayed females to mate with. These males will spray to mark their territory and often fight with other male cats which can be bothersome, noisy, and smelly.
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What Are The Benefits Of Neutering Or Spaying My Cat
The primary reason to spay or neuter an animal is to prevent overpopulation. Each year, millions of cats and dogs enter animal shelters in the U.S, and nearly half of those animals are euthanized. The majority of the animals that are euthanized are healthy, but shelters struggle to manage and find homes for the sheer number of cats and dogs they receive. By spaying or neutering your cat, you can prevent unwanted animals and contribute to ending this very sad cycle of euthanasia.
Another benefit of neutering or spaying your cat is that doing so can eliminate potential health problems down the road. Spaying female cats before their first heat cycle has been shown to dramatically lower their chances of developing mammary neoplasia, which is a common cancer among cats. Spaying or neutering also eliminates the risk of disease of the testes, uterus, or ovaries. Studies have shown that spayed or neutered cats have a higher life expectancy than intact cats, although there are many different factors that likely contribute to this.
Finally, there are behavioral benefits to fixing your cat. This is especially true for male cats, who are more likely than females to display unwanted sexual behaviors such as roaming, urine spraying, vocalizing, and fighting.
The Truth About Spaying Or Neutering Your Cat
An estimated 5 million to 8 million animals are euthanized in shelters across this country every year. Many organizations are working to decrease that number by opening low-cost spay/neuter clinics that will prevent more litters of cats that need homes. One such organization is LifeLine Animal Project, an Atlanta-based nonprofit shelter and clinic where more than 25,000 spaying and neutering procedures have been performed since 2005. Here, executive director Rebecca Guinn answers the most commonly asked questions about spaying and neutering cats.
Q: Why should I have my cat spayed or neutered?
A: Shelter euthanasia is the number one killer of companion animals. Spaying and neutering is the only way to reduce or eliminate that. Its also better for your pets health. And having a cat thats spayed or neutered will make your life easier.
Q: Shouldnt I let my cat have a litter before I spay them?
A: No. It greatly reduces the risk of certain cancers if you have them spayed before the first heat and certainly before they have a litter.
Most places are overrun with kittens. There are millions of cats and kittens that need homes and millions more that are abandoned. There simply arent enough homes for all the cats that get born every kitten season.
Q: Should I let my cat have a heat before I spay them?
Q: Is it OK to spay my cat when they are just a kitten?
Continued
Q: It can cost more than a $100 to get a cat spayed or neutered. I cant afford that. What can I do?
Continued
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When Should I Spay/neuter My Cat Or Kitten
In previous years, theres been a lot of debate on the proper timing of feline spays and neuters. So much so, that if you lined up 5 vets and asked them, you may get 5 different answers. This debate can lead to confusion and a reluctance to go ahead with the procedure. If you have previously owned a cat, the advice now is probably different from when you last asked.
A recent report by leading veterinarians has persuaded many governing veterinary bodies to call for neutering before 5 months of age. This is the time before kittens reach sexual maturity and holds the best chance of avoiding the problems listed above. For further reading on this, check out the Feline Fix by Five website.
When Should Kittens Get The Vaccine
Your kitten will need two sets of vaccination starting their first set at nine-week weeks old and a second booster set at three months old. After this, kittens and cats usually need booster vaccinations once a year for a healthy body. Until your kitten is fully vaccinated , you should keep them inside.
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