10/12/2023
ENG/ RU in the comments
Pregnant Cats and Sterilization
❗️ Trigger warning: sensitive topics are discussed in the text.
Well, today it's time for a heavy topic. Usually, such sterilizations are referred to as "complex" and even among Catebi participants, the attitude towards them is ambiguous.
Let's clarify right away - why is it important to sterilize even pregnant cats? Unfortunately, at this stage, it's a necessity. To begin with, there are many cats on the streets of Tbilisi, and most of them cannot find an owner. You probably see many ads about kittens looking for a home. Many of them don't find a home and end up on the streets or stay with those who found these kittens. Not all found homes turn out to be safe - often kittens die due to improper care, roaming, infectious diseases (including FIV and FeLV - these diseases they get from their street moms). By letting a cat give birth in your yard, you must understand that you are reducing the chances of finding a good home for the already born kittens. And if you are not ready to control the life of the adopted kitten until sterilization, there is a good chance that this kitten will soon become the parent of dozens of other kittens.
Cats reproduce quickly. Why haven't they overrun all the city streets yet? Because kittens die easily and often painfully. Many die from dog bites, get into car engines, get under wheels, fall from roofs, or get eaten by rats. Those living in quiet courtyards often fall victim to panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and other diseases. Survivors often remain disabled for their entire short lives - blind, lame, chronically ill. Rare lucky ones meet kind people willing to provide them with a happy life. Those who are lucky enough to survive on the street until sexual maturity produce new kittens and often also perish. Cats in fights with other cats contract FIV and FeLV; dogs tear them apart when mothers try to protect their kittens. Besides, there are still cars, malicious people, diseases.
In the "kitten season" (from spring to autumn), we receive requests every day to find homes for kittens. Sometimes, 10-30 kittens are reported to us per day! There are simply not enough people willing to take in such a number of cats. One of our volunteers lives with about 30 cats, some of which she adopted as kittens 3-4 years ago, and they are still looking for a home.
But that's not all. Street cats sometimes look relatively healthy but are sick. Malnutrition, hidden infections, and injuries - already born kittens from an outwardly healthy mother can turn out to be non-viable. The cat herself may suffer. The first pregnant cat sterilized by Catebi got stuck in the clinic's station for a month. It turned out that the unborn kittens were already dead, and if Masha the cat hadn't come to us, she would have died in a few days or weeks. This is not an isolated case. Many cats don't end up with any volunteers and perish unnoticed. Life on the street is dangerous, and even an unsuccessful jump can lead to the death of unborn kittens. And with them, the mother will also die.
Finally, not all people are kind to kittens. Often, those born in the yard are taken away and thrown away - it's good if in a box on a busy street, where they are sometimes picked up for feeding, but many end up drowned, buried, or thrown away in a tied-up bag like trash. Sometimes pregnant or recently gave birth cats are taken to the forest with kittens to get rid of the problem.
If you found a pregnant cat and still decided to let her give birth, be prepared that this cat and kittens are now yours, and you have to take care of them for the rest of your life; they won't find another home. If you want to deal with kittens, go to any animal chat and think again. Maybe it's worth taking in someone who already lives?
‼️ A pregnant cat can be sterilized right up to childbirth. It's a difficult forced decision, and we understand that it's very tough to make. If you can't afford it financially, and you don't have a place for recovery, you can still write to us - we allocate funds and try to react promptly.
