My pregnant cat was nuetered

Question
I recently took my female cat to the vet to be neutered. She had a preliminary visit as this was her first time to the vet. (She was a stray that adopted me.) When I went to pick her up I asked why the charge was so much. I was told she had been pregnant. I was never told or consulted about this. Was this an unfortunate incident that could not be avoided or did the vet overstep their bounds? I have some real moral issues about any taking of life.
Thank you,
Gerry

Answer
Gerry,

I'm terribly sorry about this, I suspect that the situation was simply a misunderstanding between the vet clinic staff and you. In most cases the consent that you sign when you drop off a pet for spay surgery has a clause that gives consent for the surgery to continue in the event that the cat is pregnant. As far as I know you would have had to specify that the vet was to perform an examination which may have included x-rays and ultrasounds prior to the spay surgery to avoid this situation. While I agree with your view on the sanctity of any life it must be understood that there is a severe pet overpopulation problem affecting shelters, rescue organizations, vet clinics and good samaritans such as yourself which leads to perfectly adoptable pets being euthanized due to time and space constraints, I can assure you that the vet most likely has as difficult a time with the moral issues inherent in having to end the lives of any animals in any circumstances, sadly in our society cats are often seen as disposable pets and they suffer greatly from acts of cruelty, abandonment, neglect or injuries suffered at the hands of uncaring guardians. In future to avoid any mix ups I'd recommend that you have a specific conversation with the veterinarian about your wishes in case another pregnant stray adopts you. My recommendation would be that you request examinations and x-rays to determine whether or not a cat is pregnant prior to making an appointment for spay surgery. Again, I'm so terribly sorry about the loss of the kittens in this case, a more direct line of communication would almost certainly have prevented this misunderstanding.