Why I have decided to neuter my Vinou (Galvin Klein)
Galvin, as a 16-day old kitten :-)
When I adopted my first cats I didn't know - well I wasn't thinking about it - they could like us suffer from many diseases (yes I'm sometimes stupid, but didn't we all believe that Santa Claus existed and became aware he didn't only as we grew older?) and I naively thought nothing serious could ever happen to them... I only thought they could be weaker every once in a while and catch a bad cold or get worms but never that they could really suffer and die as they were still young.
The other day I posted something about Rare Disease Day and I've come to realize that nowadays illnesses and death are still taboo subjects. Many people are reluctant to discuss those questions as if it was a shame to be sick or - even worse - as if you could get cancer from talking about it or talking to someone who has cancer... At one point death isn't an option and we all have to face it someday, so why not be prepared to it and take it easy?
Since I was young I have always been frightened to take the plane (but as it was the only way to go and visit my grand-parents who lived far away, I had to be brave!) and to be honest I am still a bit scared every time the plane takes off and lands, but the difference is now that I am a grown-up I know that fear doesn't drive back danger, it simply doesn't. Of course knowing that doesn't help overcome the fear either but at least then you can choose to let it go and make the most of life while you're still opening your eyes and breathing every morning instead of living in the constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow.
Many breeders resent others who dare to speak freely about their cats' sicknesses, while they never would - for God knows what reasons... In my opinion it is way more smart and better for the cats that we - breeders and owners - share about issues that can affect us all (by "us" I mean "our cats") rather than hide them to try and keep a "good reputation". What is a good reputation compared with a life?
I think there aren't many people in the cat fancy who like me (and even in real life - not because I'm a horrible person but because they judge me without knowing me), mostly because it's a very competitive world and that you can't really make true friends. But guess what, I really couldn't care less... or to be more specific I have stopped caring for a while now, I am not the kind of people who need to have many "friends": I'm not collecting so-called friends. There was a time - not so very long ago - when I used to be very hurt every time people offended me and that I felt I didn't deserve it (but life ain't fair, is it?)... it even made me go so far as to cry my eyes out about it. I am not ashamed to admit that I am vulnerable, I am a human being like any other and I have feelings. Besides I am - and like being - very sensitive, at least I know I've got a heart. Now that I have understood that I need to get stronger I just try and live my own life without caring all the time about what people may think about me.
And now for my little story... As an Asian girl (meaning "as a child from a foreign country") I used to be mocked when I was younger and to be called by all sorts of names, some children even threw dirt and sand at my face: kids aren't less cruel than adults, and like one of my wise and older friend would say, "kids are like adults, only with shorter legs". Indeed they can be very mean and it is terrible to think that adults are far worse.
Well life's too short to let things and people that aren't worth it bother you...
I am not perfect and I can't please everyone, so why should I care if some people don't like what I write or don't like me? As for me I just can't help saying out loud what I think. What matters the most for me is not to be liked or to be loved but to be true and genuine, not fake... To quote a French novelist "It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not".
Galvin as a young kitten
Why this long introduction?
(Yes it was an "introduction"... Congratulations to you if you're still currently with me reading these lines!)
I've been pretty upset by someone's reaction after I informed them about my decision regarding my Vinou. It's not as if I had taken a decision in a rush: it's been weeks (7 to be precise) since I first began to think about Galvin's case, trying hard to find out how the best way to handle the situation.
Galvin was supposed to be part of my breeding programme and not only mine as I had agreed to let two of my friends and the breeder of his father come with one of their females later to mate with him, and also many people were hoping to get a kitten from Galvin. My friends knew almost from the start about Galvin's heart as I had told them that vets suspected a heart murmur already when he was still young (when we went for the first shots). At that time his heart was checked by ultrasound and when the specialist couldn't find anything wrong, it was a big relief! I was advised all the same to check again later which I eventually did.
So for months I have known that there was a risk Galvin might develop a heart murmur. I've watched him carefully and prayed for him to stay just healthy, hoping his condition would remain good and not worrying.
That's how I took him to the World Show whereas I almost didn't go to Poland last October (I was devastated by Flint's death and not in the mood to attend the WS at all), and he did quite well since he finished among the bests and was nominated for the Best in Show. As a young breeder it was a big honour to have a cat of my own breeding in the top 5:-) And we all take it for granted (don't we?) that Galvin had real chances to win only if he hadn't wake up with a sore eye on that Sunday morning... Anyway I really enjoyed my time in Poland and it's the taking part that counts!
Galvin at the WS in Poznan (Poland) last Oct. 2011
I know that many people like Galvin - and actually I am his first huge fan! he's MY baby -, everyone likes Galvin with his big ears, his wonderful and long profile (perfect!), his amazing and sweet temper, etc. and I am thankful and proud my little boy is so very loved all around the world!
Sadly Galvin was diagnosed with a subaortic stenosis, which is a congenital defect. Unfortunately there is no way to determine if he can pass this defect on to his offspring.
At first I discussed with my vets and we considered putting him under Suprelorin. But after lots of reasearches and many discussions with other breeders, it has occured to me that it might be wiser and in Galvin's best interests that I neuter him now instead of hoping that his stenosis will disappear by miracle.
Obviously I could also try a test-mating before and have a litter sired by him, and pray to get healthy kittens... but is it worth it, really? Galvin is one of a kind cat but he's one among many others, and if the Suprelorin implant contraceptive seemed to present a good alternative to neutering him right away, there has to be a true meaning to keep him entire. Unluckily nothing can guarantee he'll ever be free from his stenosis, and taking the risk that the potential side effects of the Suprelorin implant affect him seems senseless to me.
Seven weeks ago I wasn't sure whether I would neuter him immediatly or not because I had hopes the stenosis would go as it came, or that it could be proven that the stenosis is not something that can be pass on to the next generation. Actually, the subaortic stenosis is very often a hereditary thing, even if the parents show no signs at all.
Of course it breaks my heart to give up on Galvin's future offspring because he's more than a promising boy, but I feel better knowing that I will not contribute to cause more suffering by breeding with a suspect line. Type is not everything and I prefer to be able to hold my head up knowing that I did the right thing for my cat and for the breed.
Kiddy may not be a top-show cat, she's beautiful all the same and I am very proud she already gave birth twice to beautiful and strong babies. I lost Flint because he was sick, and now I'm chosing to "lose" Galvin as a stud for I'd rather see him as a happy neutered and pampered pet than put him on a road to - maybe - nowhere...
And it is not as if the lines are to be lost forever without Galvin. I still have his sister Pomme to go on with them as well as my friend Céline also has Gina from the same litter. And to be honest, even if Galvin had been an only kitten, I would have sticked to the same decision: it took me weeks but after a lot of thinking I made up my mind to neutering him.
Pomme and Gina as kittens :-)
I was already upset that the most exquisite cat I have ever bred couldn't be part of my breeding programme, so I really didn't need someone to tell me that I would make "one of the biggest mistake of [my] life" by neutering a wonderful cat like Vinou. I am trying to be a good breeder (i.e. an ethical one) and it really pisses me off to be told that my decision only shows that I don't appreciate the chance to have bred a cat of such a high quality if in the end I decide to neuter him without having any offsprings... Sometimes I wonder what breeding means to some breeders: being successful, no matter what?? Some people just hear what it pleases them to hear because it's always easier to blame others than try and understand their decisions.
People are bound to react differently to the same situation and I know some breeders would never have taken Galvin to the vet to check his heart in the first place because knowing that there is a reason they shall not use him for reproduction would be unbearable for them. I remember in December when one of the vets, after she listened with her stethoscope to Galvin's heart, had told me that she believed very strongly that Galvin did have a heart murmur. She then had noticed how disappointed I looked and told "pretend I never said that" and I replied "even if I'm sad I just can't, even if you hadn't told anything, I have already planned for a long time to come and check next month by ultrasound"... which I did mid-January. You know the rest of the story... and my final decision.
For some it is too important to always be the best breeder and they would choose to breed with Galvin, ignoring the fact that he has a heart defect. For others like me it is way more rewarding to breed healthy cats, whether they are the typiest or not.
Hopefully I know that my friends - a chosen few - support me (thank you for that, it means the world to me) and I am sure I can breed wonderful babies again with ou without Galvin's contribution. And if it takes more time to breed another cat like him I will be patient. I am supposed to be a LH breeder and the only LH kitten I've ever had died so I've already proven my ability to be patient... Nevertheless I remain quite optimistic, and I am pretty sure I will have again LH kitten this year;-) So why couldn't I breed another Galvin in the future?
Here is a souvenir of my baby Vinou... at that time I didn't know he was "sick". By the way Galvin doesn't show any obvious signs of his illness, which means that he isn't suffering, he has a normal life but something in his body isn't perfectly healthy. The vet told that at this point his life isn't threatened, but it would be better not to let him sire any litter at all. There are still risks but worrying all day long won't change anything. So just keep our fingers crossed that Vinou will have a long and happy life! *Thanx*