There are several discussions about whether pregnant cats should be spayed or not. On one hand, the killing the kittens is considered immoral; on the other hand, there are a lot of kittens that have no homes and end up in shelters.
Cat Pregnancy
Cats can get pregnant starting from a very early age (i.e. 6 months) as soon as they get their estrus or the heat cycle. Most owners don’t think about neutering this early in the cat’s life, considering that she is still a kitten.
Cats can get pregnant almost throughout the entire year; a cat that is not fertilized will get in heat cycles periodically, until she will mate.
Cat Spaying
Cats may be spayed as early as 6 weeks old or when they weigh at least 2 pounds; however, some vets will refuse to spay cats before the age of 6 months considering the procedure dangerous. However, early pregnancies (i.e. when the cat is 6 months old) are also dangerous, both for the health of the mother and the kittens.
The spaying procedure is a simple surgery that will be performed in less than 30 minutes and it is an outpatient procedure. The cat will be unable to conceive kittens. The procedure can be performed at any age during the cat’s life; however, the younger the cat is when spayed, the easier the procedure.
However, if the cat is already pregnant, the spaying procedure will be more complicated, as it also involves removing the kittens and killing them. This is considered an unethical procedure by the animal rights’ activists.
However, if the pregnancy is advanced, some vets will try to save the kittens. In shelters, the kittens are killed, regardless of the stage of the pregnancy.
Spaying Pregnant Cats Is Inhumane
The main problem about spaying a pregnant cat is that the kittens will be aborted. This issue is considered inhuman by numerous animal rescue groups and humane societies. However, these societies try to stop the overpopulation of cats by spaying and neutering the cats on the streets.
On the other hand, spaying a pregnant cat may spare the lives of other cats that live in shelters.
Overpopulation of Cats
If pregnant cats are not spayed, this will lead to cat overpopulation. The issue is more severe if the cat is thrown out on the streets and gives birth to kittens which will continue to mate and the number of cats can rise dramatically. Calculating the number of cats a single cat and her descendants can give birth to can give an astonishing result of over 400,000 kittens in a timeframe of 7 to 10 years. This number is huge and there are not enough homes and shelters to house all of them.
All in all, if you have a pregnant cat you should decide if you should spay your pet. Consider all the issues the spaying of a pregnant cat raises and try to think for yourself.