Shadow is due to be spayed tomorrow. (Scruffy will be neutered in the near future, but it seemed best to wait until he was healthy again.) I received the reminder phone call this morning, including the instructions to let her have no food or drink between 9pm tonight and her appointment tomorrow morning. And there are two things that leave me feeling a bit guilty: depriving her and her brother (both growing kittens) of food, and having arguably unnecessary surgery performed on her.
The surgery is the larger issue. It feels a little like playing God to decide for another animal whether it should be able to have offspring or not. Actually, it feels a lot like playing God. If the situation were reversed, I know I wouldn't want to be sterilized.
All of this is balanced against the understanding that if I leave both cats unaltered, I'll probably have a new batch of kittens in the not-too-distant future - kittens that I will have trouble finding good homes for (I don't have the room, energy, or finances to add several more cats to my home), as there is an overpopulation of cats and kittens living in shelters. And, on a more selfish note, If I leave her unaltered I'll have to deal her being in heat every month or so for several years.
Surgery is not without risks, though, particularly since it will involve what I expect will be general anesthesia. And I worry that she will be scared, with strangers pulling her out of her carrier and gassing her into unconsciousness, as she struggles against them.
My poor Shadow :(
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