Tuesday, January 1, 2013

What I know - Being neutered is a good thing


Spending time on the internet in the world of cats and dogs (and any other animal that is routinely neutered) you come to realize there is a lot of people who like to joke about the animals being upset at the lack of sex organs...



I have to tell you, every time I see something like this I cringe.. I just want to stand up and yell - do you have ANY idea what you are doing??

Yes, it fun to anthropomorphize animals, and this in particular is so easy. Who can't imagine what it might be like to wake up and find ourselves altered and our reaction to the situation..

But really all you are doing is adding fuel to the fear that having animals altered is bad for them in some way. People actually fear how their pets will react to being altered. They think male cats and dogs care about 'being a man' and will miss their testicles once they are gone. They fear that that the pets will be traumatized some how by it all. So they don't do it. (as seen in the show My Cat from Hell, season 3 episode 6 with Khrys and Michael)

We know what happens when you leave animals intact. They breed like.. well like animals. and if you do keep them inside so they can't get in contact with another intact animal, well they still act like hormone driven animals and less like pets. The spraying, the marking with claws, the restlessness, the wandering, the defensiveness... (yes, there are people who keep intact animals for reasons of their own choosing and put up with these side effects, but I am talking about the general public and the general feelings about this)

Hormones are incredibly powerful things. Males are driven to mark and defend their territory and seek out females. Females also defend their territory to protect the resources for rearing offspring. Heat cycles are uncomfortable, and cause pets to act much like teenagers hopped up on hormones, but with out any moral center to guide them...

I so wish we could change the conversation. Instead of anthropomorphizingthese animals into being upset that they have been neutered, why can't they be thrilled? no more fights, no more scraping to defend territory. no more time trolling for babes or going into heat.. they get to relax, settle down, and enjoy the finer things in life like a warm bed and a full meal and not be distracted by procreation.

Please, let us change this conversation. Tell everyone you know that a neutered animal is a happy animal. That they do not regret or lament the lack of sex organs nor the overwhelming and uncontrollable urges that come with them. Let us look at this as a right of passage. An assent into "manhood" or "womanhood" if you will. All cultures have their rights of passage for children becoming members of society.. lets make this one a good thing for the pets..



(and while I'm talking about neutering, please note I did not say spay/neuter or the new designer term of speuter. While the general public calls a female operation is called a spayed and a male surgery is called 'neutered' it is just the politically correct way of saying castrated - for the exact same reasons as above. People just do not like the term. "Neuter" is actually a gender neutral term for removing sex organs and works perfectly in both instances.)

12 comments:

  1. Good points. We really do need to encourage people to be responsible pet owners and have their pets spayed or neutered. This would help decrease the number of unwanted animals that end up in shelters.

    Happy New Year!

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  2. Great Post Connie,Happy New year

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  3. so very true...... (and love the vet sign) I am still amazed by the people who fill out an application for our rescues and can't figure out why we won't approve them if their animals aren't neutered....really?? ugh

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  4. I agree wholeheartedly. While it's good that more people are aware of the importance of neutering, there's still a more work to done.

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  5. We agree with you totally! It still amazes me when I find people who don't want to spay and neuter, yet then complain of their behavior (spraying, etc.).

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  6. Great post! You are totally right. I'm surprised by some people who won't neuter their fur babies. I hope they will realize the importance of neutering.

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  7. We're horrified that the inventor of neuticals is from Missouri. Seriously - it's the very definition of anthropomorphism!!!

    If we could only educate more effectively, reach more people - pound it into their heads - if they could only see that by refusing to neuter they are exacerbating the reason for a horrific number of deaths each year....

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  8. Paws up for your post! When my human was growing up, all the pets got neutered as a matter of course, so it has never been anything but a positive experience here. My being spayed was treated as a rite of passage on my blog... wow, that was 10 years ago this month! Time flies when you are hormone free and having fun!

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  9. Anonymous10:20 PM

    So well said! :-D

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  10. Thanks so much for this post. I thought I was the only one who didn't think these jokes were funny.

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  11. Neutralized works for me. I hope someday we have no more rescue kittens to foster.

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  12. Done my part for the cause, just dropped a little kitty in for her op today. No kittens from her in the future.

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