Is Spaying an Older Cat a Risk?

podperson

Hi all,

Looking for some advice here, I am going to discuss with the vets next time I go but after some opinions or people's experience in the meantime.
My cat is going to be 11 this year and has never been spayed, when we got her we were quite hard up and as she has always been a house cat we didn't really see the need to get it done. Where we used to live wasn't the best of neighbourhoods, there were a lot of dogs who were just allowed to wander the streets and some teenagers who were actually arrested for catching cats and doing some rather nasty things to them - so felt rather lucky that she had never shown much interest in going out!!
However we moved about a year ago to a much nicer area, we're on a cul-de-sac and it's mainly flats where dogs aren't enouraged. It's very quiet so would feel ok about letting her out and she has actually shown some interest - running for the door sometimes and she made a break out the window once when the weather was nicer - she wanted to sit outside and sun herself However there are a few cats round so would need to get her done before allowing her out. I'm a little worried though because of her age - obviously older people have more risks from operations so would the same apply to cats? She's quite fit and healthy for her age - but she's my baby and I worry!

Waterfalls

I would recommend a consulatation with ur vet to make sure she is healthy and so they can full explain the pros/cons, she may require some bloods to be taken and drip throughout the surgery in order to keep the risks as low as possible

925dancer

I would say as long as she's otherwise fit and healthy then there should be no issues and the benefits are likely for outweigh any risk.

She's already been at an increased rick of many diseases due to not being spayed, it's not just about pregnancy.

Imagine if she get out and get pregnant, poor thing having a litter at 11 years old.

For future reference, if you're on a low income, Cat's Protection League offer vouchers to help with some or all of the cost of neutering. That in itself illustrates the importance of getting it done.