Kitty Abortions

[Justin86]

So I'm kinda bored right now, and this memory popped back in my head. I'm still confused as to what the right thing would have been, and decided it would make a good topic for phatmass.

Growing up I remember our barn cats. We started out with two one male, one female, and they had kittens (which we were kind of hoping for). A few months after she had the litter we took her to the vet to get her spayed, and apparently, as we were told after she was spayed, the vet discovered on the operating table that our feline had gotten herself pregnant again. She went ahead and removed everything anyway, meaning she had a kitty abortion. My mother later told me that if she knew our cat was pregnant she probably would have let her have another litter, and get her spayed afterwords.

Now, we apparently are allowed to have our animals spayed with the intention of preventing pregnancy, so is there really anything wrong with a kitty abortion for the same reasons? If the answer is "no there isn't anything wrong", was it still right for the vet to assume we wouldn't want the kittens, or because animals are our property should they be required to ask the owners before hand regarding their wishes on the manner?

[prose]

No, there isn't anything wrong.

Now, the vet, in my opinion, should have told you the cat was pregnant. However, I don't think. in the legal sense, he/she did anything wrong. The cat was to be spayed to prevent pregnancies, so he/she did just that.

[Justin86]

I was actually meaning wrong according to Catholic teaching, not the law.

[homeschoolmom]

I don't think that the Church has an opinion on animal abortions... but I could be wrong.

[Mr.Cat]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1682732' date='Oct 21 2008, 04:43 PM']So I'm kinda bored right now, and this memory popped back in my head. I'm still confused as to what the right thing would have been, and decided it would make a good topic for phatmass.

Growing up I remember our barn cats. We started out with two one male, one female, and they had kittens (which we were kind of hoping for). A few months after she had the litter we took her to the vet to get her spayed, and apparently, as we were told after she was spayed, the vet discovered on the operating table that our feline had gotten herself pregnant again. She went ahead and removed everything anyway, meaning she had a kitty abortion. My mother later told me that if she knew our cat was pregnant she probably would have let her have another litter, and get her spayed afterwords.

Now, we apparently are allowed to have our animals spayed with the intention of preventing pregnancy, so is there really anything wrong with a kitty abortion for the same reasons? If the answer is "no there isn't anything wrong", was it still right for the vet to assume we wouldn't want the kittens, or because animals are our property should they be required to ask the owners before hand regarding their wishes on the manner?[/quote]My personal opinions:
([b]1[/b]) The neutering of animals in my personal opinion should be done out of necessity ([i]for example: animal population control[/i]), likewise done safely and painlessly as possible.
([b]2[/b]) The veterinarian should have informed the party that their animal/pet was pregnant, receiving their decision from this new information, before proceeding forward.
([b]3[/b]) Animal abortions I think I would be personally opposed to; in part because I have the tendency to not like killing, [i]in a lesser sense[/i], of animals.

Edited October 21, 2008 by Mr.CatholicCat

[Justin86]

[quote name='Mr.CatholicCat' post='1682749' date='Oct 22 2008, 05:59 AM']([b]1[/b]) The neutering of animals in my personal opinion should be done out of necessity ([i]for example: animal population control[/i]), likewise done safely and painlessly as possible.[/quote]
Well, when you spay a cat, they go completely under, so there really is no pain. Here's a slideshow of the operation if you want to take a look at it.

[url="http://www.healthyhomesforkidsandpets.com/Howtoarticles/spay1.html"]http://www.healthyhomesforkidsandpets.com/...cles/spay1.html[/url]

Population control isn't the only reason to neuter or spay an animal though. Sometimes the father will view his sons as competition for his mate and actually kill them (I know that can happen at least with cats). Also, if you're keeping your pet indoors animal period on the carpet is simply disgusting, and they get really moody when they're in heat. What about in those situations?

[quote]([b]2[/b]) The veterinarian should have informed the party that their animal/pet was pregnant, receiving their decision from this new information, before proceeding forward.[/quote]
This has always been what I've leaned towards as well.