Spaying Neutering Cats + Ferrals

Question
Hi,

You might remember me from a while ago, I had a problem with my cat finding her kittens. You are a very good expert so I have put 2 issues to you I hope you don't mind.

1. I have been reading information on the benefits of spaying/neutering cats, and they all seem to be positive, however I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm doing something unnatural to my kittens. I have 2 6 month old kittens, one male, one female, from the same litter. I keep thinking "What if someone came along and gave me a hysterectomy when there was nothing wrong with me?" as a human being. I know it may be better to spay her, to help with the cat population, but I can't help feeling that I'm taking away her natural right to bear children and to care for them. Cats can't talk back to us, but I feel very close to my kittens and understand when they are down or are feeling tired or cold and so on. Is it my given right as a human being to take away my girl's instinct to have children of her own? I'm having a moral dilemma about this. Also, what age can females start to get pregnant? Also, she recently vomited (only once) and she has been drinking a lot, could she be sick). We have wormed and flead them but they haven't been vaccinated against anything yet, what do cats get vaccinated against? Also, my kittens are brother and sister, but do they KNOW this, they won't try to mate when they get a little older will they?

2.We were feeding some ferral cats, we managed to tame them though to some degree, and we feeding them every day for about a year. They weren't tame enough to sleep them inside, they used to sleep outside on some chairs we had.

The female had kittens, but because I couldn't get her inside on the night she had them, she had them outside in a building site next door. I kept putting food out for her and I saw the kittens around a little bit, but when they were about 2 months old we had to move house and couldn't take her with us as we couldn't trap the kittens and couldn't take her away from them.

The house we left was left empty for ages, as they were planning to knock it down. So, after we moved, I went back every day or two to the old house and left the cats a lot of food and water. When I went back recently, the house had been knocked down, and the cats were nowhere in sight. The area has been fenced off and I can't see them anywhere. I have not been back there now for a couple of months, and have left a note and talked to people in the neighbourhood to call me if they see them.

I feel really bad about leaving them, I feel like I have abandonded them, but I have heard that cats generally go where the food is eg someone elses house. I want to know whether the cat and her kittens, which would now be 6 months old, would be ok, whether they would be starving or not, and whether they would be able to survive. Also, if the female cat falls pregnant again but she doesn't eat properly, would her new litter die? Should I go back and look for them again...I just don't know where they are but I feel like I need to rescue them and also to stop them from breeding, as there are now 5 stray cats in that neighbourhood.  If I call the RSPCA (that's what we have in Australia) they can provide cat traps but I don't know whether by now the cats would be gone. Where would they be getting food? There is one male, one adult female and 2 6 month old kittens. What to do?

Thankyou!!!!!

Answer
Hi Laura, good to hear from you.

First, I think it is essential that you get one of those six month old kittens fixed as soon as possible. Ideally you should do both but if you can't afford it just do one and that will prevent accidents. The fact that they are brother and sister will make no difference once those hormones start to kick in and they are at an age where this could happen any time and may already have happened.

Since you seem to trust me, I'm going to throw this next statement out without supplying a lot of backup but if you want it I can dig some up and provide it. Please believe me when I say that one of the most important and beneficial things we can do to improve the quality of life for our pet cats is to spay and neuter. Cats are so intensely hormone driven that when cycling or a male stimulated by a cycling female, they can think of nothing else. Think of them as raving nymphomaniacs. This is not a pleasant state to be in.
By removing the source of the hormones you turn your cat into a happier, more relaxed animal that is not constantly at the mercy of urges that it can't understand or control.
Furthermore, neutered animals are less likely to develop certain problems in later life; example: spayed females almost never develop mammary cancer, which is an issue in unaltered female and occasionally in males. It is possible to spay a pregnant cat if the pregnancy is not too advanced so please get that girl in to a vet ASAP. And yes, they definitely need vaccines. Your vet can tell you what the protocol is in Australia -- I would assume that it is the same as it is here, 3 vaccinations for rhinotracheitis and calici (two types of upper respiratory infection) and panleukopenia (also known as distempter. This can be given in one shot known as a 3-way vaccine, so each cat will need a total of 6 shots. They may also need rabies shots and feline leukemia shots -- follow your vet's recommendation.

With regard to the cats left behind, I think you have done all a reasonable person can do. If you feel compelled to make one more effort, you might try the trapping route, baiting the traps with food. If you don't catch anything, you can probably conclude that the cats have left the area and simply hope they found a more hospitable environment somewhere else. Cats are very resourceful and the ones you describe sound old enough to fend for themselves. I suggest you work on providing the best care for the ones you did rescue and adopt and let the others go.

I hope this helps

iris