Anyone NOT spay, nueter, declaw, or vax thier pets?????

[JesiLynne]

I have had several pets in my life and after my best friend got bit by my mom's cat right after getting its rabies vax, I have decided NOT TO VAX any of my animals.

I also don't declaw my cats, I find it a little inhumane to take away part of thier natural defenses. Unless they are STRICKLY HOUSE CATS.

Spaying and nuetering I find if you are gonna keep the cats ( and dogs) and not just dump them out in the country by the side of the road thenI don't do so.
I wont ever get an animal from the pound/humane society becasue they require getting fixed before you take the pet home.
But I like a lot of pets, and our pets have never been a problem, but then we were glad to have our cats take after the dog and do thier business outside.

Have you ever tried to buy a dog, from somewhere other than a pet store.
The prices are insane.
Why .... b/c very few ppl are breeding them.
The animal population is huge but not of pureblooded dogs.
They are almost to the point of becoming an endangered species b/c no one wants to breed.

OK I'm done

Anyone else think like this.

[Vermillion]

I wont ever get an animal from the pound/humane society becasue they require getting fixed before you take the pet home.

I am sorry you feel that way I've found that the best pets come from the shelter.

I only get my pets from the shelter, I find it irresponsible to do otherwise as there are just too many unwanted animals waiting for homes and I can not justify going out and buying a pet when I can adopt a wonderful one… That means any pet I own will be fixed, be current on shots and many time declawed. While I wouldn’t do these things (other than neutering/spaying) on my own, I am willing to deal with it because I think it is worth it.

JMO!

[the_lissa]

I don't declaw, but I do get them fixed and vaccinated. Although I might change my mind on vax.

[Ambrose]

i dont vax ot declaw or spay becasue i cant afford it. but i need to update her shots in order for me to declaw her so i'm trying to save up for that

[Arduinna]

No vaxing here, unless I had a very good reason to. We do not have heartworm or fleas here so luckily I don't have to worry about that, although I have used those meds before when we lived in places where it was an issue.

If you want to get educated on the long and short term risks of vaxing, and the horrendous overuse of vaxing in pets I highly suggest the book Vaccine Guide for Dogs and Cats: What every pet lover should know

Declawing is barbaric IMO.

[Vermillion]

Originally Posted by lasiuslightning

i dont vax ot declaw or spay becasue i cant afford it. but i need to update her shots in order for me to declaw her so i'm trying to save up for that

You are planning on declawing? Please reconsider.

http://www.declawing.com

[FoxintheSnow]

I have a question for the OP. If animal shelters require you to spay or neuter before you bring an animal home (and they do)
and

The animal population is huge but not of pureblooded dogs.

Then where are all the millions of unwanted animals coming from?

And fwiw I vax and neuter my animals. When I volunteered for the spca I saw way too many animals come in only to be put to asleep because of rabies or heartworm, among other things that could easily have been prevented.

[darkpear]

I'd never dream of declawing a cat, and my kitty hasn't had vaccines since his very first round; the vet wouldn't neuter him without also vaccinating... he's 100% indoors, so he hasn't had any since, I just don't see the need. We do treat him with Advantage for fleas; we live in the South, 'nuff said.

I wasn't going to have him neutered, either, till he started spraying all over the house. But I don't see altering animals (especially males - castration is pretty simple as surgeries go) in the same light as declawing at all. My mom had a couple of female cats that were never spayed. They were in heat for literally years on end and were miserable. I'll take a calm, altered cat over a yowling, grouchy one who's constantly bolting for the door and spraying horrible-smelling urine on all my things...

[DesireeH]

I spay/neuter (and my dog had to be fully vaccinated to get the spay). Other than that, Zeke (my male) has had a 3 year rabies (and his puppy shots) but thats it. They get really itchy and lick the hair off their paws after vaxes and my Zoe's nose ran for a week!

We dont have any fleas here either and I've never had any problems with heartworm. I would never declaw an animal and my boxers have natural ears because I think it's barbaric to cut their ears for looks (and tails...... but they are already done cause whoever bred them did it.) Zoe has her "extra" toes too. Why the heck do they cut those off anyways??

I think spaying is important. There are such an overpopulation of pets and I sure as heck dont want to contribute to the problem or use my poor dog as a breeding tool to make money.

[JesiLynne]

Originally Posted by Jokerama

I have a question for the OP. If animal shelters require you to spay or neuter before you bring an animal home (and they do)
and


Then where are all the millions of unwanted animals coming from?

And fwiw I vax and neuter my animals. When I volunteered for the spca I saw way too many animals come in only to be put to asleep because of rabies or heartworm, among other things that could easily have been prevented.

Animals who are
1.) not wanted so they are just dumped out in the country ( adn yes it does happen)

2.) Animals who are allowed to just wander aimlessly.
I dont believe in "caging them all the time" but just leting them round around the neighborhood is irresponsible for many reasons, in my opnion.

Such as pet-napping, car accidents, accidental death, and harm by maluicous individuals.
As well as impregnating every other pet who may be in heat.

Furthemore, just b/c your pet is fixed DOES NOT mean they cant go in heat and all the other 'yowling,growchiness, and bolting for the door " does happen.

And if you fix a cat WHILE THEY ARE IN HEAT they will stay that way permently.

For the record my dh has lived with over 350 animals in his 26 years of life,

[Kleine Hexe]

There are places that will spay or neuter for a reduced price and some places even free. So if you can't afford look around a bit. I think it's irresponsible to not get your pet fixed. On that note I have nothing against good breeders. There are a lot of great breeds and I see nothing wrong with continuing the breed. I bought my dog from a breeder because we wanted to know exactly what we were getting. We did not want a dog if we did not know what breeds it was a mix of. This is because we have small children. Where I live just about every dog has some pitt bull or bull terrier in it. It's a huge problem here. You can go to the shelter and get a "lab" but it's a lab/pitt bull. I don't want a dog with pitt bull blood near my children. (Call me prejudice against pitt bulls.) That's why we went to a breeder. If you are not going to breed you pet I believe it should be fixed.

Declawing in cruel as is clipping tails and ears. Vaxing is your choice. I choose to vax against rabies and my dog gets treatment for preventing heartworm and fleas. I live in FL and heartworm and fleas are rampant.

My friend has a male cat that he lets outside every day. The cat is not fixed. His wife thinks it's cruel to fix an animal because the animal has no say in the matter. Here is my big fat eyeroll : I think it's pretty cruel that thousands of cats and dogs are killed simply because they do not have a home.

[FoxintheSnow]

Right but if most animals coming from shelters are mixed breeds and fixed, where are all the animals who are fertile and left in the country and allowed to roam around coming from?

[Ann-Marita]

Declawing is, in my opinion, inhumane. Doesn't matter if it is an indoor-only cat. It's equivalent to removing all your fingertips from the last knuckle down. Those claws are as close as your cat has to hands - don't take them away. I've never had a problem teaching cats not to scratch the furniture.

I, too, have seen way too many unwanted pets put to death to ever let an animal pass through my hands without getting it neutered. I believe it is irresponsible to allow your pet to breed. (I'm not talking about show-quality papered animals here - I'm talking about the ordinary dogs and cats that comprise 95-99% of the pet population.)

I personally do vax my pets and fosters. But I only give rabies vaccine every three years, and I'm beginning to stagger the other vax's as well.

[granolamom]

I would NEVER declaw a cat.........


But I am a FIRM believer in making sure animals are spayed and neutered. I am involved with a spay/neuter and release program for feral cats. I believe not spaying your pet is irresponsible. Even an inside dog/cat could get out and impregnate another pet.


We vax our dogs/cats because our small town sits in the middle of hills and hollows and we have had more then one racoon, skunk and opposum visit our deck at night. The dogs have gotten in fights with these critters and our dogs seem to be the ones who come out on the short end of the stick!!!!
All these critters are know to carry rabies..Something I wouldn't want to risk our furry friends catching....

[LizaBear]

My kitty is "fixed", and has some vax's (we stopped that though - we figured it was kind of silly to vax the strictly indoor pet, but not our children).

I will not declaw her - that's inhumane.

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

Originally Posted by JesiLynne

Animals who are
1.) not wanted so they are just dumped out in the country ( adn yes it does happen)

2.) Animals who are allowed to just wander aimlessly.
I dont believe in "caging them all the time" but just leting them round around the neighborhood is irresponsible for many reasons, in my opnion.

So true. I live in the country and trust me, it's a dumping ground for animals of any kind. We've even had an exotic cat out here as of late. I haven't seen it but I've heard it.

And, like I mentioned in my thread about dogs in the road, people don't take responsibility for their pets during the day when nobody's home. That would be why I witnessed the accident I did a few weeks back. The same dog causing the same problems and the owner's not caring enough to do what is right and that is making sure he's taken care of during the day and NOT hiding in the ditch and running out in front of cars.

[JesiLynne]

I dont mid if other ppl get thier pets from the pound but I wont.


I think responsiblity is key.

My mom's dog got pg b/c some other neighbor let thier dog run wild for 1/2 a mile adn he broke into our HOUSE!!!!!!!! to pg her.

Literally ripped apart the screen door!

Our dog was show quality pure bred Keeshound( i think I spelled that right)

The puppies were given to friends who had the same mentality and responsibilty.

[kimmysue2]

I HATE declawing and I had to help do it when I worked for a Vet. The poor kittens would cry and cry when they woke up from the surgery. Its like cutting the first joint off all your fingers and then they dig the extra stuff out just in case it "might" grow back. Then you glue it shut, and wrap with gauze. Please only paper little. YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!

As for spaying and neutering YES YES YES. I don't like cat pee all over stuff, I don't like the humping of everything, I don't like the weird animals that show up because they can smell a cat in heat a 100 miles away.

Vaccines are Yes IF the pet goes outside and then only Rabies for indoor since my house is also a preschool.

[Kleine Hexe]

Originally Posted by Jokerama

Right but if most animals coming from shelters are mixed breeds and fixed, where are all the animals who are fertile and left in the country and allowed to roam around coming from?

There are a lot of animals roaming around and being bred by people who are not good responsible breeders. Also people like my friend who lets his cat roam every day even though he has no intention of breeding. I think the only people who should not spay or neuter are licensed, responsible, and reputable breeders.

[laprettygurl]

Originally Posted by lasiuslightning

i dont vax ot declaw or spay becasue i cant afford it. but i need to update her shots in order for me to declaw her so i'm trying to save up for that

Oh, please don't declaw your kitty!