Neutering animals

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We have a small colony of feral cats living in our backyard. We have decided to use TNR (trap, neuter, release) to keep their population from growing. So far we have trapped and neutered three cats – one young female that we plan to release and two kittens that we want to tame and keep as indoor house cats – and have three more to TNR (two males and a mama cat). The low-cost clinic where we take the cats has the following on their price list: “There are additional fees for pregnant females.” We assume this means they will abort the unborn kittens in the process of spaying the mother. :mad: We would rather pay to have each of the kittens spayed / neutered after they’re born (and adopt them out) than to have them aborted.
  1. It’s not a sin to spay / neuter an animal, is it?
  2. If it’s not a sin to neuter and animal, would it be a sin to allow a pregnant female to be spayed knowing the unborn animals will be aborted in the process?
 
It’s not a sin to neuter animals,
but the pregnant cat will know she’s pregnant.
Any chance of catching her and getting her to an animal refuge where perhaps she can have her kittens and these can be neutered and homed? Animals can grieve over lost babies.
Others mightn’t think that is necessary, but it could be kind.
As you seem willing to keep her until she has the kittens, you seem to feel as I would.
 
Catholic_Wife said:
We have a small colony of feral cats living in our backyard. We have decided to use TNR (trap, neuter, release) to keep their population from growing. So far we have trapped and neutered three cats – one young female that we plan to release and two kittens that we want to tame and keep as indoor house cats – and have three more to TNR (two males and a mama cat). The low-cost clinic where we take the cats has the following on their price list: “There are additional fees for pregnant females.” We assume this means they will abort the unborn kittens in the process of spaying the mother. :mad: We would rather pay to have each of the kittens spayed / neutered after they’re born (and adopt them out) than to have them aborted.
  1. It’s not a sin to spay / neuter an animal, is it?
No. Where would you get the idea that it might be?
I make my living, in part, by spaying and neutering pets.
  1. If it’s not a sin to neuter and animal, would it be a sin to allow a pregnant female to be spayed knowing the unborn animals will be aborted in the process?
No.
However, the logistics of keeping a feral pregnant cat throughtout gestation and nursing the kittens until weaning can be problematic. It is noble to want to find homes for the kittens, but sometimes it simply cannot be done.

I always let owners know of the risks vs. benefits of spaying their pets, pregnant or not. Sometimes they choose to wait and find homes for the kittens, which is great if it works out. It can be exceedingly difficult to keep a feral cat confined until such time as the kittens are ready to go to new homes.
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PS

From a surgical standpoint, I find it easier and quicker to spay a pregnant cat. However, the increased price probably reflects the increased risk of spaying pregnant cats as the blood vessels that need to be tied off are HUGE in a pregnant cat vs. a non-pregnant cat.
 
  1. It is not. God told us to subdue (Gen 1:28) and care for (Gen 2:15) the earth and everything in it. Spaying/neutering animals for their own health and the health of people, pets and wild animals in the area is one responsible means to that end.
  2. Animals have no spiritual soul. At times, a seriously ill animal will be euthanized to end its suffering but there is no moral problem. Still, I understand the difficulty of killing kittens that may be rehabilitated into good pets.
Do what you think is right. Thanks for bringing your frustrations here.
 
Spaying an animal is fine…

But the thought of aborting kittens bothers me, oddly enough. I wonder if mama cat has any understanding…does she wonder where the kittens go? Maternal instincts in the animal are pretty strong.
 
One should think of the good of the animal.

We are charged with being responsible stewards of the earth, which includes looking after the animals on it.

Now being a responsible steward is a ‘management’ process: we shouldn’t allow things to get out of balance, or let animals do things that will harm themselves or other animals in a way that is out of the natural order of things.

The way humans organise their lives distorts that natural order of, say, feral cats since they are partly dependent on us - eating our trash, for example. It therefore pays to control the feral cat population because our trash can present other problems, such as public health issues.

It’s a problem of balance. It seems logical and good sense to keep the numbers of domestic, but feral, cats at bay - for the good of the cats (so they don’t starve to death), for the good of local wildlife (so that birds, small mammals, etc aren’t decimated), etc. I see no problem in preventing the cats from breeding, provided it’s done in a sensible and humane way - i.e not causing unnecessary suffering for the animal. If we don’t do such things, then culling becomes necessary and that can frequently be far more distressing, not just to the animals but also concerned people.

It seems that you are being far more responsible towards these cats than most other people would.
 
Mary_Gail_36 said:
Spaying an animal is fine…

But the thought of aborting kittens bothers me, oddly enough. I wonder if mama cat has any understanding…does she wonder where the kittens go? Maternal instincts in the animal are pretty strong.
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No, they don’t understand or care about their unborn kittens. Maternal instictual behavior kicks in after the kittens are/would be born.
 
Newbie2 said:
No, they don’t understand or care about their unborn kittens. Maternal instictual behavior kicks in after the kittens are/would be born.
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Would that be the case for dog as well? I’ve seen documentaries where non pregnant dogs get a nesting urge and even steal stuffed animals to put in the nest.
 
Mary_Gail_36 said:
Would that be the case for dog as well? I’ve seen documentaries where non pregnant dogs get a nesting urge and even steal stuffed animals to put in the nest.
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To be more correct, let me say that shortly before birth in both dogs and cats, they will seek out a “nesting” place.

Unspayed female dogs physiologically go through “pregnancy”, meaning that their hormonal patterns are similar up to the time they would have had puppies, in both pregnant and non-pregnant females.
 
There is nothing with spaying and neutering your animals. In fact, it is the responsible thing to do when it comes to most animals. Strays live a horrible life and in many cases are killed on the roads or in other ways.

My Precious was spayed when she was about 6 months old. Spaying a female cat also reduces or eliminates the chance of them getting cancer of the reproductive system which was a big plus for me.

As far as aborting unborn animals, I personally think it is wrong. I can’t stand it when people abort those beautiful unborn kittens. In my opinion, they are just as deserving of life as a kitten or full grown cat. The same goes for dogs and puppies.
 
Mary_Gail_36 said:
Spaying an animal is fine…

But the thought of aborting kittens bothers me, oddly enough. I wonder if mama cat has any understanding…does she wonder where the kittens go? Maternal instincts in the animal are pretty strong.
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Cat lover here. Saw a special on cats on NatGeo. Cats lose maternal instinct in one week. So even if they have live, healthy kittens, if they are separated for days the mother will lose the maternal instinct and even if she sees her kittens later on, she will not recognize them.
 
Newbie2 said:
No, they don’t understand or care about their unborn kittens. Maternal instictual behavior kicks in after the kittens are/would be born.
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Ooohhh, nice new info. Thanks!

Although if the mother and child stay together for a long time, usual for pets, there seems to be some recognition between the mother and child. Our mommy cat still licks the head of her children even though they’re bigger than her now. I’ve also had big cats who still had the urge to nurse from their mom, and quite surprisingly the mom would let them.
 
Holly3278 said:
There is nothing with spaying and neutering your animals. In fact, it is the responsible thing to do when it comes to most animals. Strays live a horrible life and in many cases are killed on the roads or in other ways.

My Precious was spayed when she was about 6 months old. Spaying a female cat also reduces or eliminates the chance of them getting cancer of the reproductive system which was a big plus for me.

As far as aborting unborn animals, I personally think it is wrong. I can’t stand it when people abort those beautiful unborn kittens. In my opinion, they are just as deserving of life as a kitten or full grown cat. The same goes for dogs and puppies.
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I agree. I spay all my animals - well the mammals. There are so many poor strays in this world and for the females, both cats and dogs, certain cancers are prevented. As for procuring the aborting of the unborn kittens, I am surprised at how casual some here are about this. aren’t we the ones with free will made in God’s image? Even if the mother cat won’t know, we should know better.
 
This is a question that has bothered me, the morality of cat abortions. My previous vet had a few jars with cat foetuses that he had personally aborted in various stages of gestation.

However, as stated, animals only have a mortal soul, so while it may be unsavoury, I don’t think there’s a sin committed with cat abortions. As for teh cat mother, I’m not sure what she feels or understands of any of this, but chances are good, she’ll just get on with life and try to mate and produce some mroe cats if she remains capable. I mean, just check out animals in the wild, if their offspring die they may seem a little “sad” or try to revive the dead animal as much as their instincts allow, but they’ll soon be back in heat and back out on the animal town.

But I do think a lot of our qualms about cat abortions, is because cats are animals we keep as pets and get quite attached too. They also do rat abortions, and while some people would cringe at a rat and have no moral hinderance in putting a shovel down on a litter of baby ratties, I find the idea unsettling because I love pet rats. Yet, I would imagine, if you go to China, or some other country where cats are on teh menu, they’d probably wonder what all the fuss is about.

Just look at Hindus and cows, how do they feel about McDonalds?
 
vera_dicere said:
This is a question that has bothered me, the morality of cat abortions. My previous vet had a few jars with cat foetuses that he had personally aborted in various stages of gestation.

However, as stated, animals only have a mortal soul, so while it may be unsavoury, I don’t think there’s a sin committed with cat abortions. As for teh cat mother, I’m not sure what she feels or understands of any of this, but chances are good, she’ll just get on with life and try to mate and produce some mroe cats if she remains capable. I mean, just check out animals in the wild, if their offspring die they may seem a little “sad” or try to revive the dead animal as much as their instincts allow, but they’ll soon be back in heat and back out on the animal town.

But I do think a lot of our qualms about cat abortions, is because cats are animals we keep as pets and get quite attached too. They also do rat abortions, and while some people would cringe at a rat and have no moral hinderance in putting a shovel down on a litter of baby ratties, I find the idea unsettling because I love pet rats. Yet, I would imagine, if you go to China, or some other country where cats are on teh menu, they’d probably wonder what all the fuss is about.

Just look at Hindus and cows, how do they feel about McDonalds?
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Really what has the souls of cats to do with it? What has what happens in the Wild to do with it? We should look at our own actions as the ones with free will made in Gods image.Animals have had to suffer te consequences of Man’s all. It is not whether they are cute etc They are sentient beings and God’ creations too.

Lets not talk about China please, the country with a terrible human rights and environment record. They do not serve beef in India’s McDonalds but of course have a great veggie burger. Its all about the market and profits.

My apologies if I sound harsh.
 
I want to thank everyone for their replies. I guess I thought that since it’s a sin to sterilize humans and abort human fetuses, there might be some wrongness in sterilizing animals and aborting animal fetuses as well. 🤷 I mean, it seems like the responsible thing for us humans to neuter our pets to stop irresponsible breeding, but I just wanted to confirm. And I guess that it doesn’t make sense to me to abort a living creature – even if it is ‘just’ a cat – whose only ‘sin’ was to be conceived.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Ooohhh, nice new info. Thanks!

Although if the mother and child stay together for a long time, usual for pets, there seems to be some recognition between the mother and child. Our mommy cat still licks the head of her children even though they’re bigger than her now. I’ve also had big cats who still had the urge to nurse from their mom, and quite surprisingly the mom would let them.
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My mama cat, Ruby, still mothers her grown kitten (Max). He’s 2 years old and far bigger than she is!!! 16 pounds to be exact! He’s a big baby who loves being treated like a little kitten.:o I forgot to mention that I had her spayed after the kittens were weaned and him neutered when he was 6 months old.
 
What about killing insects in the house.Should we put them out in the garden and not step on them or swat them.They are part of God creation.But what if they otherwise scare us,may bite us or bring germs to our homes?
 
I volunteer at a low-cost spay/neuter cat clinic. We do a lot of feral cats. Because of the assembly-line procedure used, the vets usually don’t know a cat is pregnant until it is already under the anesthetic, & sometimes not until the the cat is opened up. Either way, the kittens are already dead from the anesthetic.

Sometimes I think it would be kinder to give the less healthy ferals a little extra anesthetic so they don’t wake up at all. I’ve seen a couple of cases where that was discussed, but they (the vets) decided the cats weren’t in pain, so they didn’t do anything.

Because (as has been mentioned) cats don’t have eternal souls, I would rather see kittens aborted rather than drowned or neglected after birth. All of our cats were abandoned or feral at one time.

Animals, unlike humans, don’t gain anything from suffering.
 
Not only is it moral to neuter the cats and abort the unborn ones, it would not be immoral to round up and euthanize the entire feral cat population on your property if they were a nuisance or posed a sanitation or safety risk. The Catholic prohibitions against sterilization and abortions are based on the dignity of the human person and in no way applies to animals.
 
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