RE: Should I spay Ginger?

[Hideyo Yamamoto]

Hi, Ginger did not go in heat like normal other kitties are either – as she was very under-size and under nourished when I first found her – If you notice any decline in your kitties’ health – you might want to wait and see how she does.. no matter what my vet says, I don’t take spaying/neutering surgery lightly – when spaying and neutering clinic, it’s not uncommon to lose a kitty from the reaction from anesthesia.. and I had to live with the pain and I still do, when I lost 9 month old very healthy baby, Suzi to the spaying surgery – please trust your gut feeling -   I don’t believe “breeding animals” – but if it’s better to wait because of their health condition to go through a surgery, I don’t feel that there is nothing really wrong with waiting either.  One thing I am going to do, and I would like to recommend that you do, prior to surgery, if you decide to do for her in the future, to run a blood panel to find out their condition prior to the surgery – if she is too anemic, I would not recommend a surgery – (Suzi’s PCV was very low for some reason )… or any abnormality which can be considered to be serious..   I also had an opportunity to talk to Dr. Addie who does research for treatment for FIP at Glasgow – she strongly recommend that any virus compromised kitty whether it’s FeLV or corona virus, postpone the spaying/surgery as long as you can – as their immune system will be stronger.   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Susan Loesch Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 1:58 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: RE: Should I spay Ginger?   Julie - you said you waited until they were close to a year -- did you wait as long as you could - until they first came in heat and then spay?  I hadn't really thought about this til today -- I've always spayed and neutered negatives and positives, both feleuk and FIV and not given it a thought - nor had any problems.    But I have here at work with me today Daisy, one of my "library cats" that I bring to school (work) at AR School for the Blind.  She is actually a foster kitty but has become not only one of my extra special kids but also a favorite of my kids at school.  She is about 9 months old - no sign of going into heat.  And as she has gotten older she has been full of energy  - but I just have a gut feeling that she isn't going to be one of the super-healthy, long-lived feleuk babies.  She has lost some weight recently - I don't have anything else to go by - just a feeling.   So for the first time ever I am wondering about spaying - and I don't believe in unaltered animals at all! So I am watching everyone's answers here very closely.    Julie Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Hideyo,   It's so hard sometimes to know and do what is best for them.  Is Ginger positive?  Is there something else going on that could be compromising her appetite?  Intact females are statistically more susceptible to mammary cancers, aside from the obvious reasons why spaying is good.  I waited with Little Evie and Trixie, both were probably close to a year old (they were just so TINY I couldn't bring myself to make the appointment) before they were spayed and they sailed through without a problem.   Julie Hideyo Yamamoto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I guess my bottom line is ...I want what's best for Ginger - and I don't know what it is - I guess no one will really know for sure, will they. I never thought of neutering George because of his liver problem and because of his weakness at that time, and I knew that I made a right decision not make him go through a surgery, because it was a "right thing" to do.. and it was not a right thing to do for George at that time.. Ginger looks healthy and she is so beautiful.. but I also know that she can be very fragile and just don't know what the best thing for her ----I don't want to risk anything if I could avoid and I don't know what it means..... -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nina Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2005 1:03 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: Should I spay Ginger? Well I certainly wouldn't spay her while she's in heat, or when she's not eating. It may be that she's eating less because she's in heat, they get so focused with the hormonal surges and need to find a mate. How is she otherwise? Is she strong and healthy now? It's so stressful having them go through surgery. I had all my felv kitties spayed before I knew they were positive, otherwise I'd have been biting my fingernails too. And you've had that horrible experience with a perfectly healthy kitty passing after surgery. I think my bottom line is that I can't sanction having intact animals under my protection. If they cross my door, they don't go back out intact. Nina Hideyo Yamamoto wrote: >Hi, My Ginger is almost one year and a half now and I waited to spay her >as she was extremely weak and underweight -----but she recently became >in heat and I felt so bad that she needed to go through it - I know it's >stressful to go through heat process, but I did not want her to go >through surgery because it will stressful as well -...she really does >not want to eat anything right now which happens once a while.. but I am >not sure if so because she is in heat.... any suggestions as to what I >should do for Ginger is very appreciated.. she is my dearest >baby...thank you! > > > > > > > > "I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man. " "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Paws Come WITH Claws!!! If you're thinking about de-clawing your cat, you need to re-think your decision to acquire a pet. 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