I neuter and spay all my dogs and cats. I don't say that to get a patronizing round of applause, but to explain why it took me more than three years to spay Abby. I adopted her and her brother, Simon, when they were about 4 months old, rescues who were found living under a deck, trying to survive on birdseed. Both were frightened of people and terrified if touched. I worked with them on that. Simon got over it; Abby didn't. After three years, we could touch her, but attempting to pick her up resulted in a terrified dive for cover.
So spaying was delayed. No big deal, right? Everyone else was neutered. Uh, wrong. This is why you want to spay your cat: (If you can't see the picture, press play anyway. It works.)
Abby is complaining to Penny that none of the 4 male cats in the house is man enough to see what a hot babe she is. Penny just wants her to go away so she can play with her leaf. She will, but she won't shut up. She'll cry like this constantly for a week. Let me repeat that. Constantly. Then she might be back to normal for 6 months. Or maybe for a week. You never know.
It gets old after 3 minutes. After 3 days you want to crawl out of your skin. After three years you say the hell with her terror level, bait a cage with catnip, and let her whirl, cry, and climb the walls until you can hand her over to the vet.
This is Abby now. She's not happy. The rest of us are.
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