Can a person be forced to spay their cat?

[KarenC]

I know this is a hot topic and I PROMISE it is not me. All my animals are done LOL.

My friend lives in a somewhat farm/rural area. She has this cat (that she calls Shakey) that has been showing up for the past few years. Apparently a neighbour down the road owns her and admits it but does not have her spayed. So my friend has been feeding her etc which I think we all would have done...except now she keeps going there to have her kittens and it seems like at the same time she is weaning her babies she is pregnant again!

My friend LOVES cats but is allergic and her husband is a bit of an ass and is REFUSING to let any of the kittens in the house. She has two right now (must about 10-12 weeks now) and Shakey is pregnant again (or I am pretty sure). She had 3 but they lost one already. I would love to help her find a home for at least the kittens before they get pregnant and then try and find some way to get Shakey spayed but considering she has an owner..how could that play out?? Is there some way we could force him to do it? Or maybe we should find a home for her and she could just "mysteriously" disappear? She deserves so much more than this On top of it all..my friend does not exactly have the money to start spaying a stray cat.

[BenMax]

I would source out a rescue that can help. I would remove this cat - so that she is never found again....I know I am promoting something here that is maybe not ethical - but I don't think that it is ethical that this cat be forced to breed over and over again and burdeon these people with the problem.

[aslan]

personal opinion, at this point it doesnt sound like the neighbour owns the cat anymore, your friend does. If she has been feeding the cat on a regular basis and taking care of the kittens imho kitty is hers to do with as she pleases. Don't think the neighbour will really care anyway.

[Love4himies]

I don't think you can be forced to spay a cat unless there is suffering of the cat.

Not sure of the laws in Quebec, but if you "find" a domestic animal on public property or your own, you are allowed to capture it and take it into your home, let the local shelter know you have it, or take it into the shelter if it is a no kill one.

I think somebody on this site got sick of somebody's cat inpregnanting stray females and accidentally neutered it. Maybe that could be an option too.

[krdahmer]

Originally Posted by KarenC

I know this is a hot topic and I PROMISE it is not me. All my animals are done LOL.



Or maybe we should find a home for her and she could just "mysteriously" disappear? She deserves so much more than this On top of it all..my friend does not exactly have the money to start spaying a stray cat.

Well IMO, outdoor cats 'disappear' all the time, especially those that roam out in the country. And yes she does deserve better, I mean who's to say that one of these times her having kittens doesn't go so well and she and the kittens suffer terribly or die? Follow your concience. And ya, be careful not to tip the so called 'owners' off because there could be trouble for you then.

[Soter]

I agree with Aslan, the neighbour doesn't seem to care, so I personally think that your friend could probably do what she wants, But if you say that she hasn't really got the money, then you could try finding a good home, and the people from the 'good home' will spay her if they are sain. Poor kitty!! All those babies so fast

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

Not sure of the laws in Quebec, but if you "find" a domestic animal on public property or your own, you are allowed to capture it and take it into your home, let the local shelter know you have it, or take it into the shelter if it is a no kill one.

I don't know about those laws here in Quebec either but who gives a sh** ? If a neighbor's cat keeps delivering babies in my yard , I would not think about it twice ! SHE ... NEEDS ... TO ... BE ... SPAYED !!!!!

[KarenC]

Originally Posted by Love4himies

I don't think you can be forced to spay a cat unless there is suffering of the cat.

Not sure of the laws in Quebec, but if you "find" a domestic animal on public property or your own, you are allowed to capture it and take it into your home, let the local shelter know you have it, or take it into the shelter if it is a no kill one.

I think somebody on this site got sick of somebody's cat inpregnanting stray females and accidentally neutered it. Maybe that could be an option too.

See that is what I was thinking..I think the BEST thing for this cat is to be re-homed - she has some characteristics of a stray but she is not wild. I think she could easily be re-homed. BUT Ben is right not exactly ethical but I would prefer that than her having even more babies AND staying out in the freezing winter. But we could spay her and hide her for a few days, ( I don't know how much contact Shakey has with her "owner") let the hair grow back..etc.

I am going to start calling rescues and see what they can come up. I had adopted Leo from CASCA out of Rigaud do any of you Quebecers know if they are still around? I e-mailed them some questions a few months back about this and they never got back to me.

[14+kitties]

If she is there long enough to have her kittens then by all rights she is your friends cat. Momma cat has to be sticking around long enough to look after her kittens, right.

Do what I did. I had a male show up when a couple of mine went into heat before their spay appt. No neighbour came around to claim him. He got castrated and released. (He couldn't stay with mine because of personality conflicts.) I knew he would stick around because food was available. Lo and behold, a neighbour showed up and claimed him. Didn't get told he was fixed either.
Obviously they aren't responsible enough to spay her they won't be responsible enough to worry about her if she doesn't show up for a while. Is there a place at your friends, a shed or something, where the momma can be confined in a large dog crate or something similar, while she recovers.
I would imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to track down a low cost s/n program?
Better yet, momma can "disappear". I have no problem in telling you this. Those owners don't deserve to have her.

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

I don't know about those laws here in Quebec either but who gives a sh** ? If a neighbor's cat keeps delivering babies in my yard , I would not think about it twice ! SHE ... NEEDS ... TO ... BE ... SPAYED !!!!!

Better way to put it, Frenchy.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by 14+kitties

I would imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to track down a low cost s/n program?

KarenC , I know of a program on South Shore , they deal with 4 vets , one is in Cheteauguay (near you) pm me if you need the contact. I think it's about $60.00 for a spay.

Originally Posted by Love4himies

Better way to put it, Frenchy.

It's the langage barrier , my english vocabulary is limited

[KarenC]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

KarenC , I know of a program on South Shore , they deal with 4 vets , one is in Cheteauguay (near you) pm me if you need the contact. I think it's about $60.00 for a spay.




It's the langage barrier , my english vocabulary is limited

Thanks Frenchy!! I will be PMing you.

[KarenC]

Oh I don't think I can PM yet. LOL.

[14+kitties]

Hi Karen. You can't PM yet but Frenchy can post a visitor message for you which you can then erase after you get info needed. Click your name and you will see what I mean.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by 14+kitties

Hi Karen. You can't PM yet but Frenchy can post a visitor message for you which you can then erase after you get info needed. Click your name and you will see what I mean.

ok done !

[bmxman]

wow I can't believe no one has suggested you talk to the owner...why not explain the situation and ASK them if you could spay the cat...all this talk about stealing or making the animal disappear....2 wrongs do not a right make!!

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by bmxman

wow I can't believe no one has suggested you talk to the owner...why not explain the situation and ASK them if you could spay the cat...all this talk about stealing or making the animal disappear....2 wrongs do not a right make!!

KarenC - talk to the owner and ask HIM to spay HIS cat...when the cat comes back unspayed by that 'person' (which will probably happen) do what you have to do.

[MIA]

If the cat is off it's property it's considered a stray, unless it's wearing a collar with ID. Legally you can collect the cat and take it to the shelter. Which is probably what I would do esp if it were delivering kittens on my property.

[clm]

The owner may not even be aware that the cat has been having kittens if they're not being born at his house, in which case his cat would be disappearing for weeks on end and you would think he should be out looking for it.
Be that as it may.....if a stray cat appears at my house and gives birth there, raises her kittens there and eats her meals there she would become my cat and would be vetted and spayed.

cindy

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by clm

The owner may not even be aware that the cat has been having kittens if they're not being born at his house, in which case his cat would be disappearing for weeks on end and you would think he should be out looking for it.
Be that as it may.....if a stray cat appears at my house and gives birth there, raises her kittens there and eats her meals there she would become my cat and would be vetted and spayed.

cindy

Well put CLM.

[Mat&Murph]

Bottom line is if you are a cat/dog owner the responsible and right thing to do is to get your friend fixed. If Shakey's owner is not even looking for her then she needs to be with someone that will care for and love her. I feel bad for the poor girl haveing all those babies. Thats not healthy for her. Poor thing