The Importance of Early Age Spay and Neuter of Ragdoll Kittens
Sometimes it can be hard to have a site that supports purebred cats. I receive nasty emails from people who do not support breeding – and there are strong reasons why they don’t. Sometimes, I struggle with supporting breeding because of the emails I receive about irresponsible breeders.
Even breeders who think they are responsible end up causing irresponsible breeding.
How does this happen? They release a kitten that has not been altered to a pet owner who signs a contract that they will spay or neuter the kitten. However, something comes up – financial strain or the pet owner changing their mind and wanting to breed the cat.
Even if they sign a contract, it doesn’t stop them. Some people don’t care about contracts; the original breeder only has a little control once the kitten is released. Sure, they can sue, etc. But once the damage has been done, it’s been done.
No court of law can remove the fact that the cat has irresponsibly produced a new litter of kittens.
However, I support responsible breeders who do not release their kittens without early-age spay and neutering. Floppycats is nearly 15+ years old and in the process of receiving e-mails and comments from readers and visitors over the years,
I have come to the conclusion that it is CRUCIAL for breeders to responsibly spay and neuter kittens BEFORE they go to their forever homes. I get weekly emails from people who decided to breed their pet quality kitten “because she’s so cute” with their neighbor’s Siamese cat – and the kittens are so cute can I list them on my site.
Or people that couldn’t afford to neuter them now need to get rid of the cat because he’s spraying all over the place. It is heartbreaking for me, for all parties included, to think that it could be avoided if breeders just spayed and neutered their cats early.
Yes, many breeders have kitten adopters sign contracts saying they will spay and neuter the kitten they are adopting, but it doesn’t always happen. And if it doesn’t happen 100%, then it needs to improve. There are too many dangers involved in NOT spaying and neutering early on.
When my parents got Rags and Cosby in 1989, they signed a contract to neuter the two kittens, which they did when they were 6 months old. It’s just that only some people do this. Caymus and Murphy came neutered from their breeder, Bluegrass Rags. Charlie and Trigg came neutered from their breeder, Soulmate Ragdolls.
Some special vets know how to do this procedure, and responsible breeders will find them. Do you know a responsible breeder that does early spay and neuter? Please feel free to list them in the comments section below. Here are additional resources where you can learn more about it.
Further Reading on Early Spay and Neuter in Cats
- The Cat Fancier’s Association – Winn Foundation EARLY SPAY/NEUTER IN THE CAT
- Feline spaying pros and cons – the reasons for and against spaying cats
- THE ANTI-NEUTERING LOBBY – A STEP BACKWARDS FOR FELINE WELFARE
- Early-age neutering of dogs and cats in the United States (a review)
- AAFP Position Statement: Early spay and castration
There are always two sides to every argument. Be sure to do your own research and make an educated decision.
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
I pretty much fall on the side of “anti-breeder”. I also volunteer for a rescue that specializes in Persians, Himalayans, Exotic Shorthairs and occasional Ragdolls and Sphinx’s. We get a constant stream of abandoned cats from animal control, individual owners and even from the streets. My biggest concern is the irresponsible sale of kittens to buyers who are not suitably “vetted” and don’t understand the increased cost and labor of owning such breeds. Breeders are also in direct competition with rescues and shelters looking for homes for cats that were unceremoniously dumped, even though they were purchased at great cost from supposedly reputable breeders. To make it even worse, many breeders as part of their sales pitch degrade the cats in rescue as “defective”. Heck, they ALL came from breeders at some point.
So to me, the question of whether the kittens are being spayed or neutered before the check is handed over or left for the new owners to do it themselves is not even pertinent to the problem. Treating kittens as “stock” is the greater problem.
My kittens have always been spayed before I received them. My last kitten was not. I asked my vet, who is an incredible vet that I have 20 years experience with, and we decided together to wait until Milo was 5 months old. We looked at all of the possible consequences of early vs waiting and I am happy with my decision. Milo went through the neuter easily and is doing great.
My cat was neutered early by his breeder, Bluesky Ragdolls in North Carolina. They even put a tiny little tattoo on his tummy. He’s doing great!
I’m getting my first Ragdoll kitten from Thundering Paws Ragdolls in Port Angeles, Washington and he will be neutered before he comes home. I’m very impressed with these breeders and everything they do. The wait for Waylon is difficult but it is the right thing to do.
When the shelters I use now spay/neuter their animals before it is adopted because people are breeding (which I’m totally against being the amount of feral Cats that need home or for whatever stupid reason. Iidon’t believe in designer pets. Making profit on animals is just wrong. In any situation. People that need a certain breed is all about the person. We have a place called Pet Rescouce and it’s all about low-cost spaying, shots. Their goal is to keep pets and owners together. I had my dog spayed and paid the full price. Ii also had shots given to an already-neutered cat. I paid the full price. By doing so, it allows people that can’t afford it use it. Let me be honest. I care about animals and the others people that fight for the rights of animals. I don’t have much use for people who don’t. I’ve had many emotional problems in my life and animals have gotten me through. I have written, called and emailed the ASPCA when they show horrible things that happen to animals. I know why they do it, but they need to give a warning that this will be shown. I see one before I know it’s coming on. I run out of the room covering my ears. Then it haunts me for a long long time. I’m all about animals. Thank you Mom and Dad for showing the love of animals
I can’t stand ppl that get cats and let them out side to breed and spray and make loud weird noises nonstop all night ,outside all the neighbors windows. These ppl are the reason some people hate cats and abuse them. Cats don’t need humans to “Breed” them. They do a fine job on their own. People don’t realize that most of these cats are INBRED not purebred. Instead of trying to buy a so called purebred cat, people should drive to their local trailer park and pick out a kitten and save it. There is no shortage of stray cats and kittens. And if you don’t have the money to spay or neuter a cat then you shouldn’t get one in the first place because you don’t have the means to feed it and take care of it properly. That’s called animal abuse.