Can't believe I'm asking this, but CAT abortions?

[pookiebunny]

I’m new here. I’m trying to solve the problem of a growing population of feral cats in my neighborhood. I did a ton of research and put together a plan that is both humane and affordable, in which the feral animals are trapped, neutered and returned to where they came from. They can continue to live here, but won’t reproduce.

The problem is that some of them might be pregnant. When I called to ask what happens then, the clinic responded that they can abort the kittens? I nearly choked when they said that, but they told me it’s more humane to abort them if the kittens won’t have a home.

Is this right?

One mother cat already had five kittens in my yard. I was able to find a foster home for them, but it is incredibly hard. Most shelters are filled to capacity these days due to fewer adoptions and more abandonments, which they say is caused by the economy. There is wildlife that comes into my yard, such as a fox, raccoons and possums that are dangerous to the kittens. Is it better that they are aborted than subjected to being eaten? Or is abortion abortion, even when it’s a cat?

Thanks for entertaining this question, I know it sounds absurd but I want to do the right thing!

 

[MarkThompson]

I’m new here. I’m trying to solve the problem of a growing population of feral cats in my neighborhood. I did a ton of research and put together a plan that is both humane and affordable, in which the feral animals are trapped, neutered and returned to where they came from. They can continue to live here, but won’t reproduce.

The problem is that some of them might be pregnant. When I called to ask what happens then, the clinic responded that they can abort the kittens? I nearly choked when they said that, but they told me it’s more humane to abort them if the kittens won’t have a home.

Is this right?

One mother cat already had five kittens in my yard. I was able to find a foster home for them, but it is incredibly hard. Most shelters are filled to capacity these days due to fewer adoptions and more abandonments, which they say is caused by the economy. There is wildlife that comes into my yard, such as a fox, raccoons and possums that are dangerous to the kittens. Is it better that they are aborted than subjected to being eaten? Or is abortion abortion, even when it’s a cat?

Thanks for entertaining this question, I know it sounds absurd but I want to do the right thing!

I believe (though I don’t know) that the Catholic position would be that abortion is the taking of a life, whether it’s a person or an animal. Since it’s not okay to kill a newborn baby, you cannot kill a human fetus. Therefore the answer to your question would lie in whether it would be okay to put down newborn kittens. I’m not sure of the answer to that, but I think this is at least the correct way to approach the issue.

 

[ProVobis]

My cats’ vet told me (I forgot how it came into the conversation) that he would never put down a healthy animal. I never asked him if he would abort if an owner brought a pregnant animal in, but I would suspect he wouldn’t want to take any chances on a healthy mother.

My family’s cat went to get spayed a long time ago and in the process they found that she had already been pregnant. They went ahead and did the spaying anyway.

 

[Rascalking]

Althought the idea of putting down any animal is heartbreaking to me, I don’t think it goes against Catholic teaching to abort a cat fetus. It’s not against teachings to sterilize our beloved pets, but I think it is against church teachings to get a human sterilized.

Once again, notice the words, THINK . If I’m wrong, I’m sure others will tell you!

 

[rwoehmke]

Animals can be euthanaized, aborted, sterilized, killed and eaten. It would be a sin to cause an animal un-necessary pain, but cuteness aside they are still animals and nothing more.

 

[Gothic_Catholic]

Cats, are wonderful as they are, were not purchased by the blood of Christ. They are not creatures with a supernatural aspect to them as is the case with humans and angels. One of the reasons why sterilizing and killing human beings for convenience is that it is to deny their humanity and degrade them to being beasts. Animals are a separate category from men and angels, since they the latter two have a rational mind (though some people act like they were indeed descended from a worm or amoeba) and therefore it would be unjust to give to them the same dignity that is given to human beings. :twocents:

 

[ProVobis]

The Pope is a cat lover. Wonder what he thinks. I heard he intended to write a book about them before he became Pope.

As far as importance of animals, the very best (lambs, sheep, etc.) were used as sacrifice to God in the OT. And Christ, after all, is the Lamb of God.

 

[Onegin]

As cats are not human beings (and therefore do not possess an eternal soul), I don’t see an issue with cat abortions. People may kill animals but they should do so ethically.

I think the issue is making the decision that would cause the least amount of harm to the animals (ethical) so that would be a good place to start. If being a good steward of creation means that a cat abortion is necessary to prevent homeless or neglected animals running around or spreading disease, then that might be the right decision to make.