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 Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:46 am
Or you might also end up with unexpected babies!
So, almost two weeks ago I bought two female rats, to live with my other two female rats. I was very happy with four female rats, I thought it was a nice number. Yesterday, one of my new girls gave birth to 14 baby rats. 14! More babies than I thought could even fit inside a rat!
Had we known she was pregnant, we would have gotten her spayed. We certainly aren't interested in breeding rats, and there are plenty of pet rats in the world. This is the part that got me thinking, since I wouldn't personally get an abortion except for severe health problems. But I don't want my pets to breed, and I certainly would have gotten a "rat abortion" had I known.
However, now that all the rat babies are born, I'm certainly going to raise them well and find them loving homes (not inside any snakes!).
So I was wondering if other people had similar, or dissimilar, feelings on spaying pregnant pets.
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 11:52 am
I didn't know you could spay other pets behind cats and dog. My cat is neutered. I would probably get it done as soon as I got it but I don't know what I would do if it was pregnant at the time can you do that?
I had that happen a while ago my parent brought a ginnie pig and it turned out to be pregnant. I think it had five babies all but one was given away.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:55 am
Even though I think cats and dogs (and rats) are just as deserving of the right to life as humans, unfortunately unwanted adult pets are killed all the time in shelters. If an unwanted child is born, it'll at least have some kind of support, even if it's a homeless shelter or a food bank. Animals are left to die or killed, so I could see the logic in aborting a litter of strays. But I wish they were just given the same support as humans. There was a letter in my local paper just this morning from a DVM asking people to spay and neuter their pets. It's not that expensive, and really, it's a lot cheaper than buying food for kittens or puppies later. Or replacing furniture your cat sprayed, or treating them for prostate or ovarian cancer.
In related news, my uncle, a breeder who lives on the Gulf Coast, stayed despite the hurricane since one of his dogs just had puppies this morning. Thing is, they're purebreds that people shell out hundreds for, yet mixed-breeds end up abandoned in shelters. It's so ridiculous. sad
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:39 am
La Veuve Zin Even though I think cats and dogs (and rats) are just as deserving of the right to life as humans, unfortunately unwanted adult pets are killed all the time in shelters. If an unwanted child is born, it'll at least have some kind of support, even if it's a homeless shelter or a food bank. Animals are left to die or killed, so I could see the logic in aborting a litter of strays. But I wish they were just given the same support as humans. In some ways, many pets are treated better than humans, like when one makes the decision to put down an animal that is suffering, where they couldn't legally help out a human in that way (even though a human can ask for it). On the other hand, many animals end up as strays and can live hard lives. I love the ASPCA who does so much to try and help as many animals as they can. Unwanted animals can have it really tough, because there are less people to look out for them than there are for humans. La Veuve Zin There was a letter in my local paper just this morning from a DVM asking people to spay and neuter their pets. It's not that expensive, and really, it's a lot cheaper than buying food for kittens or puppies later. Or replacing furniture your cat sprayed, or treating them for prostate or ovarian cancer Intact female rats are more likely to get mammary tumors in their old age. But spaying them might be more expensive than getting these tumors removed. It is actually really hard to find a vet who has experience spaying anything that small. ryokomayuka I didn't know you could spay other pets behind cats and dog. It is far harder to find vets experienced in spaying "exotics" (why rats are considered to be "exotic" when you can find them everywhere, I don't know *wink*). But one can get all sorts of pets fixed: rabbits, rats, ferrets (who usually come neutered) along with just cats and dogs. ryokomayuka I had that happen a while ago my parent brought a ginnie pig and it turned out to be pregnant. I think it had five babies all but one was given away. I understand that Guinea Pigs are born furry with eyes open, too bad it isn't the same with rats! Rats are born pink (and blueish, where mine will get dark fur) and hairless. They'll be cute after 10 days, though. I'm hoping to give away the majority of these guys (especially the guys because I don't want any more rat babies, ever), but I'm willing to keep a couple. It's almost exciting, to see how they grow up.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:05 am
WatersMoon110 ryokomayuka I had that happen a while ago my parent brought a ginnie pig and it turned out to be pregnant. I think it had five babies all but one was given away. I understand that Guinea Pigs are born furry with eyes open, too bad it isn't the same with rats! Rats are born pink (and blueish, where mine will get dark fur) and hairless. They'll be cute after 10 days, though. And they're creepy, and see through, and their parents eat them if they die. o.o ...My sister had a rat with the same problem. xd
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:02 pm
I don't know if I could spay a pregnant pet for a two reasons that I can think of.
1. I wouldn't be able to bag a bunch of kittens into a burlap sack and throw them into a lake. If I found a litter of unwanted kittens and would be appalled at killing them and would instead work to find loving homes for them, I don't see how I can justify a pet abortion for the same reason just because they're not cute and cuddly.
2. I'm not sure how it would affect an animal to be pregnant, especially at later stages, and then suddenly not be pregnant and have no babies. I know it's not the same as humans because they don't have the same level of reasoning, but it seems to me that in "pet" types of animals, motherhood is a natural drive and where they'd naturally grow up and go out on their own after a certain point after birth, to go through everything leading up to birth and then have no birth and no babies seems like it would be upsetting. Then again I may be a bit unreasonable on this one, when our friends' cat miscarried her litter, the poor thing was depressed for a long while afterwards. There was nothing physically wrong according to the vet. She got back to her old self after awhile, but I hate to think of Isis being that unhappy.
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:49 pm
WatersMoon110 Or you might also end up with unexpected babies! So, almost two weeks ago I bought two female rats, to live with my other two female rats. I was very happy with four female rats, I thought it was a nice number. Yesterday, one of my new girls gave birth to 14 baby rats. 14! More babies than I thought could even fit inside a rat! Had we known she was pregnant, we would have gotten her spayed. We certainly aren't interested in breeding rats, and there are plenty of pet rats in the world. This is the part that got me thinking, since I wouldn't personally get an abortion except for severe health problems. But I don't want my pets to breed, and I certainly would have gotten a "rat abortion" had I known. However, now that all the rat babies are born, I'm certainly going to raise them well and find them loving homes (not inside any snakes!). So I was wondering if other people had similar, or dissimilar, feelings on spaying pregnant pets. No (for both spaying pets when pregnant or if they can spay other animals. you need to talk about to a vet about that) and I don't think you can anways if they are pregnant. They are living too so I wouldn't do it and once we were going to spay our cat and we couldn't do it because we found out she was having kittens. We gave one away, one ran away (as well as the mom) and we kept two. You can try a see if a pet store or something would take them. I guess it would be better then having them killed when they are older because they couldn't find a home for it but it's just a unpleasent thought.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:35 am
My dog isn't neutered, but he's pretty much a house dog anyway. He's an only dog too, if we did get another dog it'd probably be male. If not then one of them would be 'snipped'.
My boyfriend's mum keeps cats and always spays them. They're both rescue cats, one is semi-feral and the other has had two litters of kittens despite being quite young.
I saw something really horrible on TV about this guy who'd let his house get into an absolute state, there was 64 cats, three dead cats... and only four of the 64 got rehomed, the rest had to be put down because they were too feral.
I'd probably give the kittens/puppies away, then get the cat/dog spayed.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:33 pm
To be honest, it would probably depend on what kind of animal it was. If it was a guinea pig or something rodentia, I don't think I'd hesitate to have it spayed even if it was preggers. If it was a cat or a dog, I think I know enough people willing to take the puppies or kittens to leave it a while and spay it after it gives birth.
It probably would also depend on the individual animal and how long I've had it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:59 pm
Fran Salaska My dog isn't neutered, but he's pretty much a house dog anyway. He's an only dog too, if we did get another dog it'd probably be male. If not then one of them would be 'snipped'. It actually is supposed to be pretty bad to leave male dogs unaltered if you don't plan to breed them. I guess they can get sexually frustrated and act out in ways most owners find bad, such as humping and aggression (not usually at the same time). I would suggest, if he isn't purebred and you don't plan to breed him, to get him fixed. Or you can breed him about once a year, to relieve any sexual frustration.
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:05 pm
sachiko_sohma No (for both spaying pets when pregnant or if they can spay other animals. you need to talk about to a vet about that) and I don't think you can anways if they are pregnant. They are living too so I wouldn't do it and once we were going to spay our cat and we couldn't do it because we found out she was having kittens. We gave one away, one ran away (as well as the mom) and we kept two. According to our vet, they can spay a pregnant dog or cat up until the point in the pregnancy that their mammary glands fill up with milk. I don't know if they can do the same for rats or not (my rat doesn't look all "milky" like a mother dog or cat does). When I was young, we had our purebred golden retriever spayed and didn't know she was pregnant. They didn't know until after they saw the unborn puppies in her uterus after they removed it. Their father was the purebred cocker spaniel across the street, and the puppies would have been beautiful had we known in time to save them. sachiko_sohma You can try a see if a pet store or something would take them. I don't know if I trust a pet store enough to find them good homes. I plan on adopting them out to people nearby-ish through classified ads online after giving some to friends and family who want them. sachiko_sohma I guess it would be better then having them killed when they are older because they couldn't find a home for it but it's just a unpleasent thought. I wouldn't allow them to be harmed, if I can prevent it. I want them to have good, happy lives, and will do what I can to make sure that happens!
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:13 am
WatersMoon110 Fran Salaska My dog isn't neutered, but he's pretty much a house dog anyway. He's an only dog too, if we did get another dog it'd probably be male. If not then one of them would be 'snipped'. It actually is supposed to be pretty bad to leave male dogs unaltered if you don't plan to breed them. I guess they can get sexually frustrated and act out in ways most owners find bad, such as humping and aggression (not usually at the same time). I would suggest, if he isn't purebred and you don't plan to breed him, to get him fixed. Or you can breed him about once a year, to relieve any sexual frustration. Huh. My mum was told by the vet that if he was fine, then we should leave him. He's a mini dachshund, purebred, and I don't THINK we plan on breeding him. He's not aggressive although he does sometimes hump things, but generally he seems to be very happy. I see your point about the aggression, though, that might be a problem in some dogs.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:54 am
Fran Salaska WatersMoon110 Fran Salaska My dog isn't neutered, but he's pretty much a house dog anyway. He's an only dog too, if we did get another dog it'd probably be male. If not then one of them would be 'snipped'. It actually is supposed to be pretty bad to leave male dogs unaltered if you don't plan to breed them. I guess they can get sexually frustrated and act out in ways most owners find bad, such as humping and aggression (not usually at the same time). I would suggest, if he isn't purebred and you don't plan to breed him, to get him fixed. Or you can breed him about once a year, to relieve any sexual frustration. Huh. My mum was told by the vet that if he was fine, then we should leave him. He's a mini dachshund, purebred, and I don't THINK we plan on breeding him. He's not aggressive although he does sometimes hump things, but generally he seems to be very happy. I see your point about the aggression, though, that might be a problem in some dogs. It's good that he isn't aggressive. You still might want to ask your mother to think about breeding him in the next year or two, since he is a purebred, and it will help him to remain mentally healthy. Some dogs get to be a real problem, if they are unaltered AND untrained. I watch a lot of Animal Planet, especially the dog training shows. So that I'm prepared if we ever get a place that allows dogs!
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:45 am
Fran Salaska Huh. My mum was told by the vet that if he was fine, then we should leave him. He's a mini dachshund, purebred, and I don't THINK we plan on breeding him. DAWWWWWW if you ever wind up with puppies, I'll take them. whee They're like cocktail weiner dogs!
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 5:29 pm
I would have done the same thing if I were you mrgreen Maybe you can give them to your friends blaugh
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