Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

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Joe_Danger
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Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Joe_Danger »

Fortunately she doesn't show any signs of even remotely being interested in mating though we all know that could come very suddently and when you least expect it.
Now I'm all for getting pets fixed because I know the associated complications if they are left intact, especially when it comes to female cats, but in Kala's case I fear there's a fairly big risk something would go wrong.

All 3 are doing great, no issues whatsoever, however back when we had Milla, the mom, fixed she almost died, it was horrible but the vet somehow managed to save her, she probably had a bacterial infection. The thing is, when we got Milla back in 2012 she already came with what I assumed was some sort of an upper respiratory infection initially, it wasn't bad and no vet would so much as lift a finger to do anything about it, they'd just give me a casual, disinterested response that it's just something she carried over from her mom. She'd sometimes close her right eye and you could hear her nose being stuffed up. 3 years later and this still happens from time to time. I suspected it might be a form of FCV or some such but bringing this up at the vets' never failed to label me as a paranoid cat owner who reads the internet too much.

Because of this I was very reluctant to having Milla fixed as I saw complications following the surgery, when my vet was convincing me to mate Milla with her Tom I brought up the issue again, told her it might be develop into a more serious problem and even affect the kittens after their initial incubation period and of course I was told I worry too much.

Of course as it always happens, everything I fear or believe would happen regariding my cats did happen. While Milla had a good, smooth pregnancy and a very easy, clean and smooth birth, when it came time for her to get fixed 2.5 months later we almost lost her.

I told my vet it might me FCV again, no dice.
Naturally none of the kittens who left the house at 2.5 months or so contracted this, but Kala, who stayed behind did so and she too has her nose stuffed up fairly often now, tho she doesn't do the eye thing as often as her mom did.

Casper who came back 3 months later does get stuffed up from time to time too but that's normal/different from what Milla and Kala have.

It's because of this that I honestly am terrified of getting Kala fixed, she is very healthy, happy, absolutely wonderful in every respect but she is a VERY small cat, much smaller than most cats her age and she doesn't even weigh 3Kg yet.
Milla is around 3.2Kg, Casper is 5.2Kg and Kala averages around 2.7-2.8Kg most of the time, she is again healthy, east well, no worms no nothing.

So I fear that because of what I suspect might be a form of FCV or something similar I'm afraid to have her fixed. Do I have a reason to be worried or am I just being paranoid?
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by booktigger »

I can understand your concern, but if she develops pyometra, you could be in an even worse situation, and you might find being unspayed is what is keeping her weight low. it might be worth giving her antibiotics prior to the surgery to be on the safe side.
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Lilith
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Lilith »

Hi Joe, I agree with Booktigger - and in the UK kittens of 4 months can be spayed, and I'm assuming Kala is a bit bigger than that?

I can understand your fear, but maybe better to go ahead with the spaying instead of worrying? Easier said than done I know!

All the very very best - and no you're not paranoid, just a normal worrybucket cat owner :)
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Joe_Danger »

Milla was given antibiotics before her surgery too, I'm hoping that maybe the thing Kala has, assuming it's what I think it is would clear up at around 2 or 2.5 years.
Vets here, at least most of the ones I've been to, refuse to spay cats before their first heat or at least before they're a year old, so the period for avoiding breast cancer by early spaying is void anyways :(

As for her weight, the vet says it's fine for her size, she is just a very small kitten for some reason even tho it may not seem like it at first glance :)
IMG_3079LR2.jpg
- Kala is in the middle

Yes Casper had to have a bit of a trim, he didn't have bad matts or anything but it's too hot and he isn't one for heat. :)
Joe_Danger
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Joe_Danger »

Kala is going through her first heat right now, 3 days in I believe.
It's very weak and tolerable, most of the time she is fine, playful, eats well and only calls at night, tho it's nowhere near as loud as what her mom did.

I would gladly get her fixed but I can't seem to find a moment when she or her mom are both clean and not stuffed up at the same time.

I'm all for getting cats fixed, I really am however I don't feel comfortable in this situation at all. I am not ready to lose a family member to a routine surgery like this, imagine the horrors of your happy, healthy cat being there one day and the next she is just gone because you made the decision to take her to this surgery on that very day instead of waiting for a better moment.

I couldn't live with myself if something like that were to happen.
It's one thing to lose someone to an illness or of old age and another to have their life cut short just because of something like this. That feeling that I could just reach back in the past and pull her out of there would never go away and I am in no mental or psychological state to live with such pain. I mean I'm not depressed or unhappy, quite the opposite, my life is incredible right now and has been for years, but losing somebody as important as Kala, a family member I've been with since the day she was born, not something I'd take well at all.

Here's a pic of Kala(in the back), Milla and Casper taking a nap on some plastic bag a friend brought some games in the other week :)
IMG_35462.jpg
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booktigger
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by booktigger »

But the longer you leave her, the more you put her at risk of cancers late in life, how would you feel then? Or if she developed pyometra and it was an emergency, risky surgery?
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Ruth B »

I have to agree that while there is a risk of something going wrong under anaesthetic, the risks of not being spayed outweigh the risk of spaying.

Not only is there the cancer problem, but also the chance that she gets out or an unneutered tom gets in and she gets pregnant. From what I understand a small cat is far more likely to have complications giving birth and require an emergency C Section, which would be far riskier than a planned spaying operation.

If your own vet won't listen is there another one you could go to for a second opinion and see if there are any alternative anaesthetics that could be used to reduce the risk, even something like an oxygen tent to help her breathing afterwards if she does suffer chronic respiratory problems.

Like was said previously in the UK it is now becoming more common to spay young as long as the kitten weighs 1kg and is healthy. It's been common in the states and Canada for years. The health is an issue but she is certainly big enough.
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Lilith
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Lilith »

Hi there Joe, I can't really add anything, but good luck with her, it's a dilemma :(

Fusses to them all x :)
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Re: Kala is over a year and a half still not spayed, I'm not sure what to do

Post by Joe_Danger »

Well she has no way of getting out that's for sure, we live on the 4th floor and always have screens on the windows :)
I'm more concerned about the bacterial infections that are caused by a virus like this more so than anything going wrong under anesthesia since my vet is exceptionally careful when it comes to doing everything right for pets under anesthesia.

We suspect Milla got some sort of bacterial infection as a side effect to the virus and if my vet didn't pump her full of all the right antibiotics (for free, no extra charges) we would've lost her. Although Kala appears very happy and playful the need for mating does put a stress on her and that activated the virus now and while she shows no major issues other than her nose being a bit stuffed up and her sometimes keeping her right eye closed(same as her mom used to) she is fine.

On the other hand Milla now that she is 3 shows less and less symptoms and when it does happen usually her nose just gets stuffed up and that's it, but the eye thing is completely resolved now I believe.

I have friends who refuse to spay their cats out of some dumb twisted and uneducated almost religious sense of morality rather than an issue like mine, their cats only go in heat once every few months tho but if Kala is anything like her mom she might be one of those cats that barely get out of heat :)

I WILL get her fixed, I just need to do it at just the right time when she seems the healthiest with her virus thing.

Oh btw, much like Milla did, Kala also reacts to my voice and my voice only and wants to mate...what is it with these cats, just hearing my voice makes her go "brrrrr" and she sort of kicks with her hind legs like her mom did, except not as often still. This does not happen if she hears a female voice calling her name :D

I understand the risks of not getting her fixed but I also understand the risks of getting her fixed at the wrong time and that's a decision I will have to make for her and losing her just isn't an option for me.
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