Intact female cat versus spayed female cat?

Big risk is pyometra (infection of the uterus)

Check out a recent series of questions by "Drangonfly" who had adopted an intact stray cat and the cat has turned out to have a severe case of pyometra (infection of the uterus) and could have died, She had an emergency spay, and there was possibility of permanent kidney damage due to the infection etc.. . ( i hope that wasn't the case)

Pyometra is not at all uncommon in female cats who repeatedly come into heat without being bred. Of course repeatedly BEING bred, especially if too close together, carries its own health risks.

Another risk for intact females is mammary cancer.

Plus of course if she is allowed to go out (or escapes), there's a risk of not only (obviously) pregnancy, but also FIV , FeLV etc from mating with stray toms who have diseases. .

From my own experience...the health benefits of getting her spayed have more to do with your sanity if she is an indoor kitty! I have a female that recently got spayed but I didn't have the money to do it earlier and she was a rescue. Man...what a pain in the butt!! Every couple of weeks or so she would go into heat for about a week, on and off. This would last on a cycle that seemed to happen in blocks of about three months at a time a couple of times a year. So, that being said, she was probably in heat a full three months each year.

During that time, I had to keep her in the house so she didn't get preggo. Even a house cat wants outside when she's in heat. She would pace/run from door to door to window, howling this loud annoying noise. She would attract males somehow that would be waiting outside in my shrubs for her to get out. She would roll around all over the floor and try to get frisky with me. Last but not least she would walk around in a weird crouch with her butt up doing this little dance with her back legs and lifting her tail. It was gross cause she seemed to be leaking at that time.

Hope this helps! :)

Btw...here are some health risks to be avoided by spaying:

Mammary cancer: Mammary cancer is the third most common cancer in cats. Reproductive hormones are one of the primary causes of mammary cancer in the cat. Cats who have been spayed have a 40-60% lower risk of developing mammary cancer than those who have not been spayed.

Tumors of the reproductive tract: Tumors also occur in the uterus and ovaries. An OHE would, of course, eliminate any possibility of this occurring. They are not commonly seen cancers in cats, but they do occur.

Infections of the reproductive tract: Unspayed cats may develop a severe uterine disease called pyometra. With this disorder, bacteria enter the uterus and it becomes filled with pus. The normal 6-inch long, thin horns of the uterus enlarge to 10 inches long and can become the diameter of a human thumb. Undetected, this condition is almost always fatal. In rare cases, when the condition is found early, hormonal and antibiotic therapy may be successful. This type of therapy is limited to valuable breeding animals. Generally, the treatment of pyometra requires a difficult and expensive ovariohysterectomy. The toxicities resulting from the infection can strain the kidneys or heart, and in some cases may be fatal or cause life long problems, even after the infected uterus has been removed.

Behavior and hygienic problems: During the heat cycle there are numerous problems to deal with. There are the behavior problems seen in some females searching or yearning for available males. Owners of females in heat also frequently have to deal with a sudden influx of male cats around the home and yard. The howling at 2 a.m. will affect your behavior as well as your cat's.

The samething happen to me. A stray cat kept coming around and I think it was the 2nd same as yours cause they are 3 weeks old anyways had kittens in our house. I called the vet she said that kittens need boosters at 6 weeks and deworming at 3. As for the mother when the kittens are weaned off her then go get her fix. If you decided to keep her she can't have kittens again as long as she stays in the house. But still get her spayed our dog had the worst probelm with that.

well i learnt the benifit the hard way

i almost lost my kitty due to pyometra

she was in a late stage (old vet kept diagnosing her with UTI)

untill my kitty lost alot of weight

and had a low tempreture (toxins released)

she had to have an emergency spaying

and it costs 3x more than a normal spaying

and the best hing my cat looks alot healthier (brighter) and happier ( i did not see her play like this in a long time)

and i don't have to deal with her being in heat

They are more susceptible to tumors. We left a cat unspayed once...it was a house cat, no chance of kittens. At the age of 6, she began to get a lot of tumors. The vet said, had we spayed her originally, she would have likely not gotten them. She died from the tumors, which turned into cancer, at age 7. Wish we'd have had her spayed to begin with.

open infection of the uterus where there will be leakage of the infection

Closed infection of the uterus where they will be no leakage and hard to detect until it is too late most of the time.

Female cat will spray just like a male if not spayed.

Just a couple left off the other list.

R P CAT

let's put it this way, how well do you plan on taking care of your pet? Let's be completely honest here, it's the bastardization of current society that causes animals to get cancerous tumors, through food additives and preservatives. if you treat your cat properly there are no risks!

And I don't know what that person was talking about saying the female will spray like a male, they must have never owned a cat b/c that's just retarded!!

pregnancy

fights if left outside

hormones raging

cancer