Still afraid spaying will change personality of my cat?

I have read all of the research about how spaying does not change the personality of the cat, but I think some of it's propaganda, to be honest. I am still feeling bad about spaying my cat because I am afraid that she will feel like a different kitty. Spaying is a nice word for hysterectomy, and that is a very severe operation. Spaying takes out all of the female organs; it doesn't just tie the tubes.





Please, I love this cat so much, and I know that being in heat is very hard on her. I just wish there was another way to go. She has such a wonderful cat personality ... adventurous and playful. I find it so hard that spaying is necessary. Can anyone give me their advice?Still afraid spaying will change personality of my cat?
Short version: PLEASE don't worry!


Longish version: I felt the same way. I got my cat from the pound and she was a very wild girl, very independent. She went into heat and went insane, we got her spayed and she slept after the operation for 2 days, the whole time I worried that she would wake up a different cat. When she did wake up she couldn't meow (which is VERY common). If I were to describe my cat now I would really just say that she is the same but slightly less on edge. She likes being pet more but she still races out of the house to explore and fight other cats, she still has all of her little quirks. idk, think about it: does a woman change her personality when she gets a hysterectomy? :)


Good luck and I hope you and your kitty enjoy each other no matter what you decide!Still afraid spaying will change personality of my cat?
Thanks for doing the right thing. cats getting killed is worse then the operation


That said





Your cat will still be a girl and have the same characteristics. She will feel better and she will love you as she does now if not more. In other words, she won't change. She will still be great
You're making it more than it is. Really, they don't even notice their parts are missing. Animals aren't like humans who are emotional and dramatic about being hurt and sick. They go to the vet, have an awful experience (which every trip to the vet is awful) then the come home and go back to normal life.





Please know - Her personality WILL change if you keep her intact. Because it's not just that her heat cycles are stressful. Those heat cycles are going to start coming closer together, and lasting longer until she gets pregnant. By mid summer, she will be in a continuous heat. For months. You think that won't change her personality? It does. She'll become desperate and cranky. She'll constantly ';present'; herself to you. She may start scent marking as she tries frantically to find a mate. She'll yowl. Constantly. She'll roll around and snap at you when you try to pet her. Does that sound like your nice, wonderful kitty? No!





Then there's the males.


They can smell her from miles off. Even indoors. Even with all the windows shut. They'll start gathering on your property. They'll pee on stuff. They'll fight at all hours of the day and night, and generally make a nuisance of themselves.





If you've ';cat proofed'; your house so your girl can't get out - they'll get in.





I once had a female cat tear through a window screen and jump out to get to the boys. A second story window. She was fine. Presented me with 4 beautiful kittens.





I had a different female in a cage (she was a rescue I was waiting for her to come off heat to have her spayed) A stray cat broke INTO my house and the cage and mated her!





Don't think you're protecting her or doing her any favors by not having her done. She'll be better off and have a happier life when she doesn't have to deal with her raging hormones, or horny males roaming around.
What are you five? I'm going to be brutally honest on you because I think you need it. For one speaking as a biology major a hysterectomy is not a severe surgery. It's quite simple and done every day. Yes like any surgery there are risks but it's not like your preforming open heart surgery. Same thing with animals. It is like the most simple and easiest procedure. It takes like 20-30 minutes to spay an animal. It also won't change her personality and no it is not propaganda. It's the honest truth. If you keep her on a healthy diet and keep her active she won't become lazy or fat. It's much better to the alternative which is getting pregnant, which she will if you don't fix her. It is near impossible to keep an unfixed animal from becoming pregnant sometime in their life. So just do yourself and her a favor. Spay the darn cat. She might be groggy and sore for a few days but she will be back to normal in no time.
Well, I used to breed Manx cats and have spayed and neutered at least fifty or more cats since I started owning them and I can't think of a one of them that changed for the worse. In fact, the only change I've noticed is that the males don't want to roam all over creation and come back to the house with wounds and scars. The females don't go into heat which means that they don't yowl constantly and try to sneak out of the house to go meet their boyfriends (and come back to the house with kittens that I have to find homes for).


I'm telling you the truth when I say that I wouldn't have an unaltered cat as a pet again--EVER. (Unless I started breeding purebreds again which is highly unlikely).


I've never noticed any particular personality change other than they are calmer. They also don't cost you an arm and a leg in veterinary bills because of the wounds and unplanned pregnancies. Also, there is no heartache because of the fact that you never know if the home you are giving the kittens to will treat them right. I NEVER want to go through the regret of worrying whether the person who took a kitten was really looking for animals to sell to hospitals and businesses for ';research'; or taken by someone who was really into taking cats and dogs so he could ';train'; his pit bulls with them. And you don't either--so get the poor kitty spayed before she breaks your heart.
She will still be the same kitty.. if you love this cat sooooo much help her out by fixing her. The surgery is an ovario hysterectomy. The vet removes the ovaries, uterus, and tubes. It takes about 15 minues or less for the ENTIRE procedure. You cannot leave the ovaries in because this will cause the cat to still have hormones and still go into heat even tho she cannot get pregnant. these hormones cause the cat to develop cancerous mammary tumors when they are older. the 15 minute surgery is FAR better then her being in and out of heat cycles every month and having TONS of babies her ENTIRE life. You are right tho.. spaying is not necessary.. but if a cat is NOT spayed they are prone to being pregnant and becoming a baby factory which is unhealthy for so many reasons, they will get mammary tumors which are cancerous which is life threatening and then will need surgery to remove the cancer so you might as well spay her in the first place, they are insane when they are in heat.. trying to escape to find a mate, yowling.. biting.. attacking..if they do get out and mate they are at risk to get feline leukemia and fiv which will be passed on to the kittens IF they survive. look up information on consequenses of NOT spaying a cat.. it isnt pretty.. the health risk for you beloved kitty is far worse if you do not spay
Yes, it will change her personality. She'll be a happier, healthier kitty, and she'll be less likely to develop certain cancers, too.





I've had my own uterus, ovaries, and tubes removed. I didn't enjoy the healing process, but I think that cats heal up much quicker and easier. After I was healed, I felt much better, and my husband says that I'm easier to live with now. Of course, there are differences in cat and human physiology, but I can tell you that having this operation was a good thing for me, and it will be a good thing for your poor cat, too. Right now, your cat is going through phases of being incredibly horny, and not being able to have sex. These hormonal changes are not good for her body, especially since she's probably cycling much quicker than she would if she were getting pregnant each time.





Even if you could find a vet that would only tie her tubes, she'd still go into heat just as often, and she'd be just as prone to those cancers.





I've had about 10 female cats, and about 5 male cats. I adopted some of them as unfixed adults, when they were too sick to get fixed immediately. Fixing cats will only improve their personalities. Make an appointment to get your cat fixed NOW. Don't make her suffer through another heat cycle, that's no fun for her, and it's no fun for you. She'll be more playful and affectionate after it's done.
I spay my cats when I have non neutered males in the house, or to reduce aggression problems.





Yes, it changes the personality.


Usually for the better--though I have had a few who become lethargic and cranky.





Then again, if you keep her intact, she will become pregnant. And that will change her personality dramatically also.





I must say, after witnessing the miracle of birth 100+ times with various rescue cats, it is no ';horrid thing';. It's enjoyable. But...of course...only if you have time for it.





It is a painful operation, no doubt she won't be herself for awhile after. Once the pain has wore off, she will be a changed cat. Probably in a good way. Maybe not.





But it's your choice. Yours alone. Don't let anyone (including me) make it for you! If your gut says ';NO don't do it'; go with it. If it says ';its for the best'; then do it.





Happy tails to you and your cat!! :)
What part of her personality are you afraid getting her fixed will change? The constant meowing, howling, ';dancing';, peeing on things, trying to get out of the house part? Then yeah, sorry, all that will stop and she will be free to be her happy loving self.





Getting a female fixed isn't that big of a deal, my cat was fine and back to herself with in a couple days. A few years ago I had an indoor female cat that went feral in the house because she was still intact, she got so bad we had to re-home her out in the country with my aunt. She got fixed and is still a crazy mean cat.
I love my cat a lot too! i ended up getting her spayed because i didn't want to bring anymore cats into this world, i feel really bad for all these cats around not having a home, where i was from, you see a dead cat everyday up to 8 sometimes and it makes me feel bad... but i really didn't wanna spay her because before she was in heat she played ruff and bites hard and when she was in heat, she was sooo loving and everything, i didn't wanna spay her, but i couldn't deal with her being in heat for sooo long and her crying everytime! but i did the right thing, but her personality didn't change it got worse, well my cat did, bites a lot and attacks use a lot, but its cute! it seems she has a favor for my husband more.... =( but i think it depends on the cat i think all cats are different,
Listen, spaying your cat will not harm it. After they have it you don't have to worry about have litters of cats. Too many are irresponsible in this.They let their animals roam and get on other peoples cars and into their garbage.Taking good care of your animal shows you love your animal.
She should be fine, I had both of mine done and there was no problem. If anything they were more happy to be family cats.