{"topic_id":"companion_breeding_cat","category":"companion-breeding","context":"---\ntopic_id: companion_breeding_cat\ncategory: companion-breeding\ntitle: \"Cat — spay/neuter & stray-kitten prevention (intact outdoor cats breed; keep indoors from start)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version (merckvetmanual.com). First-hand consumer text saved to source_file; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3. Pulled/extracted 2026-08-01.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-01\ntokens_estimated: 560\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 11\n  passed: 11\n  date: 2026-08-01\nrecovered: false\npath: companion-breeding/companion_breeding_cat/01_companion_breeding_cat.md\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), pet owner version\"\n  title: \"Cat — spay/neuter & stray-kitten prevention (intact outdoor cats breed; keep indoors from start)\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-01\"\n  ref: \"Providing a Home for a Cat (Merck pet-owner version, Sept 2025)\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary manual (consumer version)\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T3\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T3:vet-ref\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n\n# Cat — spay/neuter & stray-kitten prevention (intact outdoor cats breed; keep indoors from start)\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Unspayed or unneutered outdoor cats often breed and add to stray-kitten numbers.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Because cats that get outdoor access are hard to keep inside later, keep them indoors from the outset.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Like puppies and human infants, kittens get maternal immunity — antibodies passed via the placenta and later through nursing.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Vaccines cannot reliably prime a kitten's immune system until maternal immunity fades.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* As maternal immunity wanes, kittens should follow a vaccination schedule starting at 2–3 months.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* This timing aims to vaccinate soon after maternal protection ends, for an effective dose.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* U.S. pet foods must carry a \"nutritional adequacy statement\" confirming complete, balanced nutrition for a stated life stage (growth, reproduction, or adult maintenance).\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* A dirty litter box may be refused, leading the cat to soil elsewhere.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The more cats share a box, the more often it must be scooped and the litter changed.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Litters vary (clay, pine pellets, recycled paper, silica crystals), but most cats favor small clumping particles.\n- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Scent-sensitive cats often do better with unscented litter.\n---\n## License & attribution\n\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is a copyrighted veterinary reference and is not openly licensed. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, every claim above is a paraphrased derived fact summary (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not a verbatim quotation.\n\n- https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat","sources":["companion-breeding — Cat — spay/neuter & stray-kitten prevention (intact outdoor cats breed; keep indoors from start) (retrieved 2026-08-01)"],"source":{"authority":"companion-breeding","title":"Cat — spay/neuter & stray-kitten prevention (intact outdoor cats breed; keep indoors from start)","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/cat-owners/selecting-and-providing-a-home-for-a-cat","retrieved":"2026-08-01","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","verification_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual — pet owner version","source_file":"pdf-raw/companion-care/cat_owner_combined.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T3","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"B"},"tokens_estimated":660,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}