I'm taking my cat in to get an abortion tomorrow.

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

Well, I guess it's my cat now. It's a stray, and we just kind of took it in. I took her to the vet to get her spayed, and he told me I was a bit late. She's already pregnant. The last thing this town needs is any more kittens at the humane society. I'm really not about to try to find homes for a litter of kittens. The humane society already has a very hard time placing them, and the place barely stays afloat as it is.

The vet told me the abortion won't cause the cat any harm, and if I did it, he'd spay her for free. So that's that.

The perils of pet ownership, I guess.

[mike_c]

1. god loves cat rescuers....

Good for you-- thanks! :toast: :yourock:

[China_cat]

2. Very responsible thing to do.

And wonderful vet to give you that break.

Thank you, and thank him for me.

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

4. Thanks.

Seems like a nice vet. He was very concerned about the cat population here. I guess there's a real feline AIDS epidemic around here. Who knew? I guess cats don't use condoms--and abstinence is totally out of the question.

[China_cat]

8. Feline AIDS isn't an STD

as such. It's spread by infected urine and feces, bites, scratches, cat fights...many more ways than the human version is.

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

9. I know; I was being sardonic.

[DanCa]

3. Be sure to were a hood and dark glasses

They might try and take your pic and put it up on one of those anti abortion sites.

[guajira]

5. I had to do that a few years ago

Stray female cat, needed spayed. I took her in and afterwards they told me she was pregnant. I said "really??". I knew it before but didn't mention it.

No damage to her and no heartbreak for me, seeing kittens put to death by "Humane" Society.

[Solly Mack]

6. Naturally this will piss Frist off...fewer cats to experiment on

[HockeyMom]

7. We were feeding a very young stray female

She had just come into heat when we saw her mating with a tom cat. She was such a nice, friendly cat, but since we already had 3, we couldn't take her in. So we took her to the humane society. They said they would spay her (complete hysterectomy) and if she was pregnant, that would abort the kittens and take care of any future problems.

They put her up for adoption, but I later heard one of the shelter workers fell in love with her and adopted the cat herself.

[hallo]

10. My dog

Had an abortion when I adopted her. She was pregnant when they spayed her - and she was barely a year old (I refer to my dog as the former teenage mother). No lasting effects I could tell.

Anyway best wishes for the kitty

[kestrel91316]

11. Cat vet here, quibbling over terminology ..........

You won't find any of us using the term abortion, because that connotes ending the kittens lives while leaving the cat free to breed at a future date (in the case of most cats, tomorrow, lol). We would NEVER do that. We refer to it as a "pregnant spay" or "pregnant OVH" as opposed to a "routine spay" or an "in-heat spay". In a pregnant spay (which I will do up until about halfway, at which point I don't like the risk to mom)we do an ovariohysterectomy (remove ovaries and uterus) like a routine spay, but the uterus might be slightly enlarged and more muscular with no obvious kitten-lumps, or it might be like a fat rigatoni with jumbo pearls along the length, or it might be like a narrow necktie width with golf balls along the width. Whatever. We remove it all the same. At the stage I do this, the kittens' movements are not apparent from outside the uterus, nor are they very kitten-shaped. We do not normally open the uterus to inspect the fetuses, nor is there any need to actively "kill" them. When the blood supply is cut off, they gradually succumb wothin a couple of minutes, never having had what we consider consciousness.

I have always been uncomfortable with spaying an advanced-pregnancy kitty, because you are much more aware those are KITTENS in there and because it is much harder on mom cat to do so. I encourage late pregnancies to be carried to term and we always then help place the kittens and SPAY MOM before she can get pregnant again.

Just thought this might help clarify what goes on and avoid misconceptions.

[HockeyMom]

14. Thanks for the terminology

In the case of our stray, she was very young (maybe 6 months?). From our observation, this was her first heat. We took her to the shelter only a few days after we saw her mate. I felt her belly and could feel nothing. The vet upon examining her couldn't tell either. So he told us that if she was pregnant, she would be in a very early stage. I guess that is why he said the spaying would take care of it.

But thanks, for the professional advice.

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

15. Thanks for the info. Now I think I'm getting played by the vet.

He made it sound like two separate procedures: the "abortion," the spaying. But what you're saying is that they're one and the same thing. If true, and I have no reason to doubt you, then this vet. is feeding me a load of crap in terms of doing me a solid. He said he'd charge me for the "abortion" but that the spay would be free of charge. But if the "abortion" is already a spaying, then I am indeed being charged for a spaying--or an abortion.

I don't mind paying; I just don't like games. Is there any chance that these could be two separate procedures?

[kestrel91316]

17. Not a chance in hell, my friend. Perhaps you misunderstood the vet???

[ithinkmyliverhurts]

19. Perhaps.

And perhaps I'll seek a clarification from the good vet.

Thanks again.

[mike_c]

20. hey kestrel....

This is a bit OT, but I just wanted to chime in and say thanks for helping take care of cats. My cats are my family, and I have a very warm place in my heart for anyone who cares for cats. It's a constant struggle for me to not become one of "those people"-- I'm sure you know what I mean, LOL. And kittens are truely the finest form of life on earth-- I just wish people would be more responsible about caring for them! :hi:

[kestrel91316]

24. Well thank you! 8-D

[Booster]

12. Hope the right-wing fundies don't give you too much of a hassle

getting in the place.

[Cocoa]

13. the cat pope doesn't approve

[Sal Minella]

22. The Cat Pope is female!!! (tri-color) Hooray!!! eom

[cliss]

16. Heh.. you know, that's a controversial headline....

We've also got a little stray who's headed for the vet in about 3 months. About 2 months ago, one of my kids left the garage door open. It sat like that for about 2 weeks.

A stray cat came in and had 3 little kitties in there. We found them, and gave 2 to very good homes. We kept the one -- too cute to give away!!! She's going to get neutered as soon as she's 6 months old.

I've heard that the other people who took the kittens are going to do the same thing.

[Pepperbelly]

18. An abortion! Why do you hate America?

:D

[BeHereNow]

21. Please research the risk thoroughly-

so you don't end up crying.
If she is very far along, it could kill her and the kittens
and then your very best intentions will end up making
you feel
like shit.
Approach with caution, I speak from a bad experience
with a pregnant dog that I could not care for several years
ago.
BHN

[RPM]

23. at first i thought this was a joke that had strayed out of the lounge

i guess not - never thought about abortions for pets...

[BeHereNow]

25. Fact is, it is not a joke and can kill the mother

They do perform abortions on animals and if the pregnancy
is fairly advanced, the mother can die.
Something the vet never tells you until it is too late and
he is handing you the bill.
BHN

[ohio_liberal]

26. Me too

We took in a stray female cat about two weeks ago. I called and got her an appointment but had to wait until this Wednesday. The vet felt her belly and said she was already PG and in her first trimester. There wasn't even any discussion between me and the vet whether spaying was the morally correct thing to do. He just said he'd fix her up and I picked her up Thursday afternoon.