Cat - Spay Or Neuter Your Cat

You can avoid unwanted problems for your fluffy, furry friend when you spay or neuter your cat. There are surplus amounts of cats and kittens living in alleyways and wandering the streets, unhealthy, unclean and mean- all because an owner was not responsible and did not spay or neuter their cat. It is not necessary to wait until your cat matures in order to spay or neuter them. In fact, there are misconceptions about waiting to spay or neuter. A female cat does not need to have a litter of kittens or go into heat before being spayed. Both female and male cats should be spayed and neutered by six months of age. Both sexes undergo a surgical procedure to permanently remove the sex organs. In females, the spay or ovariohysterectomy is the removal of the uterus and ovaries and in males, a neuter is the removal of the testicles. Having this procedure done by six months or even earlier will prevent the cat from developing annoying mating instincts such as spraying urine around your house and/or yard and decreasing the need for the cats to escape outside, looking desperately for a mate- which can cause them to get hurt, lost or disoriented. Neutering your male cat will lower his desire to fight with other cats and prevent unwanted litters of kittens. Female cats, when spayed, have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, which tends to be fatal in cats. When you spay your female cat, you prevent her from contracting pyometra, a painful and very serious infection of the uterus that affects older females and requires surgery and intensive medical care. Of course, unwanted litters and difficult pregnancies in older cats are completely prevented if you spay your female cat early. In addition to all these health benefits, you will not have to listen to the awful, disturbing sound of a female cat in heat, slinking around the house with her tail in the air! Neither male nor female cats will gain weight after being spayed or neutered. Some veterinarians suggest early spay or neuter. This term refers to cats being altered at a very young age, between 6 and 14 weeks. This procedure has been in practice for 25 years in North America and is a safe operation for your kitten to undergo. Studies have shown that early spay and neuter does not affect the behavior of your cat in any way differently than spaying or neutering at six months. What it provides is the absolute assurance that your cat will not breed unwanted litters. Humane societies all over the world are overrun with unwanted cats and other animals. It is imperative that a responsible owner take his or her part in helping to control the population of unwanted pets and reducing the stress on the Humane Society in your area from placing these animals in friendly, loving homes. Many pets are euthanized when the shelter cannot find a home for them. If you want to breed your cat, discuss birth control options with your veterinarian. Eric Hartwell oversees "The World's Best Homepage" intended to be a user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit us to read, comment upon or share opinions on pets and visit our associated site articles for free Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell Cat - Hello from Rochester: A Discovery of Its Architectural Jewels My second day in Rochester started off with a lovely Park Avenue neighbourhood breakfast and an exploration of the ArtWalk neighbourhood. I only had a few hours left before I would have to hop back on the high-speed ferry, the CAT, to Toronto, and I definitely wanted to get a more indepth look at some of Rochester's historical architecture. Rochester is one of those North American cities that has managed to preserve a good portion of its historical masterpieces, despite the "urban renewal" efforts of the 1960s that saw many historic buildings razed and replaced with nameless, faceless skyscrapers and office buildings. We started our architectural tour right at the foot of the building that fascinated me the most: the Times Square Building. However, an equipment malfunction (i.e. empty batteries) forced me to search for a convenience store, and my local expert Patti came to my aid and took me to another historical building, the Reynolds Arcade, where I was able to replace my batteries and continue my photographic journey. The Academy Building was built between 1872 and 1873 and is a later version of Gothic revival. The building was originally a high school, later became the Municipal Court and Education Building and also served as headquarters for the Board of Education. Today it houses offices and features a dramatically sky lit central atrium. City Hall is the former Federal Building and was built between 1885 and 1889 as a superb example of Richardsonian Romanesque style. The building housed various government operations as well as Rochester's main post office. The City of Rochester acquired the building in 1975 for $1.00 and started renovation and construction of a 45,000 square foot award winning addition. The elegant three-story atrium inside City Hall features cast-iron work and marble columns and a stone mosaic. It has a glass roof and is often used as a setting for weddings and special events. St. Joseph's Park is another fascinating structure: it is located in what was the city's oldest Catholic church, built in 1843 by German immigrants, and was destroyed by fire in 1974. Only the exterior fa?ade remains and the inside of the former church has been turned into a park, with an enclosed courtyard and fountain. It provides a welcome tranquil spot in the downtown area. There would have been so many more buildings to see, but my stay in Rochester was rapidly coming to end. My departure on the ferry was scheduled for 3:30 pm and we still had to have lunch and check out the Charlotte area surrounding the Rochester ferry terminal. So we headed off on the green highways of the city, which is located about 13 km (8 miles) south of Charlotte on Lake Ontario. This time I really enjoyed the drive through the well-manicured streets of Rochester since a crystal-blue sky brought out the vibrant colours of the surrounding scenery. We had a casual lunch in the bright sunshine on the patio of the Pelican's Nest restaurant, located right on the Western shore of the Genesee River. The view from the restaurant is great - you get to peak out at an old, now unused swivelling railroad bridge that marks the center of the river. Families of ducks, sail boats and kayakers round out the serene picture. About half an hour before the departure of the ferry we checked out Ontario Beach Park which features a beautiful sandy beach, a boardwalk, various concession stands, a community center as well as the famous historic Denzel Carousel, created by Gustav A. Denzel, a German immigrant to Philadelphia who opened a cabinet making shop and found his calling in carving horses. He introduced a novel mechanism that allowed the animals on the carousel to go up and down. Today there are only 26 Denzel carousels left, of which 14 are still in operation. Interestingly enough, the only one left in Canada is located in Toronto, in the Centreville Amusement Park, just a ferry ride away from Rochester... Just minutes before getting on the ferry my local experts Patti and Carrie said they couldn't let me go before exposing me to another Rochesterian specialty: a sample of Abbot's frozen custard! I had never tasted frozen custard before, I guess it's very similar to icecream, just smoother and creamier. So after a very fulfilling taste of chocolate and almonds I made my way onto the Spirit of Ontario ferry, also referred to as the CAT, and I watched our slow departure from the ferry dock from the top open-air deck of the vessel. As the vessel sped up to its top speed of almost 80 kph (50 mph) I stood out there watching the Port of Rochester and the southern shorelines of Lake Ontario disappear. I thought that I had had a fabulous time in picturesque Rochester, and now that the ferry makes things so much more accessible, I am planning to come back to check out Rochester and its surrounding area in more detail in the future.