RE: To Spay or not to spay

[Hideyo Yamamoto]

Definitely spaying (anesthesia) is more stressful than going through heat – I am in a similar situation with my baby Ginger who is also felk positive.  I have another felk positive kitty, Tsubomi who has been spayed already, but I have not spayed Ginger due to the same reason as you are facing with Lucy.  Ginger is doing well right now, but she can be very fragile and don’t want to risk activating the virus and may trigger any serious symptoms… my vet agrees with me.  It’s a personal choice, but since I lost one of my babies after spaying surgery.. and hearing after someone else’s on the list who lost two of her kitties (who were both felk positive four days after the spaying surgery), I am so scared to take that chance…   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 11:44 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: To Spay or not to spay   Good afternoon everyone! I have a question about whether or not to spay my Lucy. She was symptomatic from when I got her at 4 months until about a month ago but now seems to be pretty healthy. Izzie was spayed a few weeks ago but they wanted to wait to do Lucy until she had been healthy for a while. The spaying was very stressful on Izzie and she got quite sick afterward but has recovered. We didn't know she was Felv + until after the surgery. Lucy has gone into heat twice already and I think we're gearing up for the next round. It is very stressful on her and the last time by day 7 her energy seemed really drained and she vomited a few times which I attributed to the stress on her body - the poor thing just can't relax!  So my question is, what is more stressful, going into heat or having the spay surgery. The vet doesn't think it's a problem to have her unspayed as she is strictly an indoor cat - although I do worry about what would happen if she got out. I am biased toward having her spay ed not just because of the stress on her but also because the stress of her being in heat on me, the constant all-night yoweling gets to be a lot. But can't help but feel that by deciding to get her spayed I could be killing her. Thoughts? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make being in heat easier on her? Thanks! Maggie