this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2023
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It reduces suffering of potential unwanted offspring and the suffering of local bird populations so I would argue that it’s unethical to not spay or neuter your cat, even if the individual cat suffers a bit from it.
I think there is an interesting argument on whether it’s ethical to keep pets at all however
I'll consider that argument once we have a healthier society. Until then, I need my cat to make it, and my cat seems pretty damn fond of me.
Even if you don't let your cat outside?
I had an indoor female cat that I left unfixed. In about three years of getting into heat without getting pregnant, her hormones went wild. She was in constant heat, losing weight, getting gland flare-ups and other serious health problems. In the end I had to have her fixed to save her. If I did it in the beginning, it would have been much less suffering for her.
#1 Pets are like teenagers, they are gonna try to have sex without you knowing.
#2 I don’t think it’s healthy or ethical to keep an animal indoors 24/7. Even pet animals need unstructured (not unsupervised) time outside to have play and use their instinct beyond just taking them for a walk. I’d apply that equal to dogs and cats although it’s probably more important for dogs.
Would you propose waking on a leash then? We don't want the cat to kill everything around. We walk our dog a lot, but not our cat. Maybe we should.
An open area where he can run around is probably best. Depends on where you live and your cat’s preferences. I’ve heard of cats that have no desire to leave the house and others that will dart out the door at any opportunity. If you have an apartment or no fence in the back yard then it’s not a great option. Some cats do like to walk, our neighbors’ cat usually joins us on our nightly walks through the neighborhood. Off a leash of course.