Game 6 scenarios familiar to both Boston, Chicago

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) deflects a shot by the Boston Bruins in the third period during Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool)

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) deflects a shot by the Boston Bruins in the third period during Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool)

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) skates back to the crease after a goal by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period during Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 22, 2013, in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 3-1. (AP Photo/Bruce Bennett, Pool)

In this photo taken June 22, 2013, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, bottom, takes a hit above the shoulders from Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk during second period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals in Chicago. Patrice Bergeron may or may not be available for the Bruins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final, but Claude Julien is keeping that a secret. Toews' status for the Blackhawks might be a little clearer. Julien called Bergeron day-to-day with a "body" injury and added that his status was "really good news." (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville answers a reporter's question during a media availability Sunday, June 23, 2013, in Boston. The Blackhawks will face the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final Monday night in Boston. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien listens to a reporter's question during a media availability Sunday, June 23, 2013, in Boston. The Bruins will host the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday night in Boston. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

The Chicago Blackhawks headed for the East Coast, one win between them and the Stanley Cup title. The Boston Bruins, meanwhile, went home knowing they had to win the next game to avoid elimination, not to mention the bitter experience of watching someone else celebrate winning the Stanley Cup on their ice.

Sound familiar? It should.

Not only were those the scenarios for the Blackhawks and Bruins as they made their way to Boston for Game 6 on Monday night, they were the exact situations each team faced the last time they were in the Stanley Cup finals.

Chicago won Game 6 in Philadelphia in 2010 to give the Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup title since 1961. The Bruins won Game 6 at home in 2011, then beat the Canucks in Vancouver for their first Stanley Cup championship in 39 years.

"We could all take some experience from that and realize that, to win this game, we've got to make sure we leave everything on the ice," Boston forward Brad Marchand said, referring to the Bruins though his words could have applied to the Blackhawks, as well.

"We want to win the cup, and to do that, you've got to push to the last second of the last game," Marchand added. "We've learned that the hard way."

In 2011, the Bruins lost the first two games of their finals series with Vancouver. They evened it up with wins on their own ice, only to put themselves on the brink of elimination with a loss in Game 5.

The Bruins came out roaring in Game 6, scoring four goals in the first period on their way to a 5-2 win that forced a winner-take-all finale. Two days later, it was more of the same as Boston routed the Canucks 4-0 for the Stanley Cup title.

"You always have life until it's over," said Boston goalkeeper Tuukka Rask, who was Tim Thomas' backup in 2011. "This is a new season. Obviously, we know what we did in the past, but it's not going to help us (Monday) on the ice. We still have to go out there and make it happen."

But this current group has shown some resilience, too.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins were down 4-1 to Toronto with 11 minutes left in Game 7. Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron scored to give Boston new life, then Bergeron scored in overtime to send the Bruins into the next round.

Not that Boston coach Claude Julien planned to remind his players of any of this.

"I don't need to go in there and give this big speech and get these guys riled up because they know what's at stake," Julien said. "We've proven it in the past, and now we have an opportunity to prove it again. That's up to us to show it on the ice versus talking a great game in the dressing room and not showing up on the ice."

The Blackhawks didn't see much point in reminiscing, either.

In 2010, they took a 3-2 lead to Philadelphia after beating up on the Flyers 7-4 in Game 5. They were four minutes from winning the cup in regulation when Philadelphia tied the game, but Patrick Kane won it in overtime. After the puck crossed the goal line, it got stuck beneath the padding in the net and no one could see it. It took a video review to uphold the goal ? though Kane and Patrick Sharp didn't wait to start celebrating in front of the Philadelphia fans.

"It's a similar feeling, especially having the series tied 2-2, taking Game 5 at home and coming on the road for Game 6," Sharp said. "You've got to be careful. You've seen a couple years ago Boston was down 3-2, they won at home and then won Game 7 in Vancouver. We know this team is capable of coming back.

"For us, I know it's a big game," he added. "But you want to play it like it's any other game, play the way we have all season and try to pull one out here on the road."

While both the Bruins and Blackhawks acknowledge the rarity of facing identical Game 6 scenarios as they did just a few years ago, not everything is exactly the same.

The goalie for each team is different, with Rask and Corey Crawford both newcomers to playing in the finals. (Thomas may or may not be retired while Chicago's goalie in 2010, Antti Niemi, was a Vezina Trophy finalist this season with San Jose.) Salary cap concerns forced the Blackhawks to overhaul their roster after they won the Stanley Cup ? though Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa still make up Chicago's core ? and Mark Recchi, one of Boston's biggest stars in 2011, is enjoying retirement.

And if this series has taught anyone anything, it's that nothing works out quite like it's expected.

"You don't want to get ahead of yourself in the process," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "We've got some guys that have been there, they know the experience. ... There's some guys that they're so excited, you dream about this moment. We've got to keep everything in perspective. We want to make sure that we're confident playing the game and putting yourself in the now position as opposed to ahead of yourself."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-06-24-HKN-Stanley-Cup-Been-There/id-056a7ce695c94fe4b8cd9703b0e8f52d

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Infographic: New Auto Loan Amounts by State | Credit Karma Blog

June 22nd, 2013

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In this week?s infographic, we analyze which states have the highest new auto loan amounts and which states have opened up the most auto loans in the past month. It looks like many Americans will be sporting new cars this summer! Scroll down and see which states top our list.

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Are you planning to purchase a new car this summer?

Amy Leone is the Public Relations Coordinator at Credit Karma. Before joining the team in June 2012 she spent most of her career as a TV news producer. When she?s not helping promote Credit Karma on a variety of media outlets, she?s probably out running or exploring her new state of California.

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Archery programs gain popularity in schools ? Artesia News

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) ? Mississippi?s fastest growing sport doesn?t involve running or tackling or a ball.

Whether interest begins with 4-H programs or the movie ?The Hunger Games,? students are asking for archery in schools and trying out for the accuracy-driven sport.

With the growing popularity comes growing talent and three Northeast Mississippi schools ? each with archery programs only about two years old ? brought home state championships this year. Saltillo won the 5A championship, Hatley the 2A crown and Myrtle the 1A title.

Coaches Mark Davidson of Saltillo, Jennifer Taylor of Hatley and Keith Speck of Myrtle each give credit to students who were committed and gave their best in a stressful environment.

?I?m told archery is the fastest-growing sport in the state, if not in the nation,? said Davidson, who has been shooting competitively for more than 25 years.

Though some aspects of school shooting competitions are different from the traditional long bow and re-curve bow that he has used, shooters must use the same skills of shooting without a sight and using the fingers without an aid.

?Our program was in its second year,? Davidson said. ?We were able to win the state championship for the division and also the overall state championship back-to-back in our first two years because the kids were dedicated, put in their time and worked hard.?

Saltillo went on to compete in the nationals in Louisville, Ky., in May, where they came in 21st out of almost 10,000 shooters.

?We didn?t shoot to our potential there,? Davidson said. ?I think the big match pressure kind of got the best of them.?

Saltillo?s top scorer at the state competition was Landon Jones, with Caitlin Rigby joining him as a team leader. Rigby, 17, will be a senior in the fall and was Saltillo?s top female scorer. Her interest in archery started with 4-H.

?I?ve always been interested in sports and still shoot with 4-H too,? Rigby said. ?After I shoot it gets me excited to see most of my arrows in the yellow. It makes me so happy. The most advice I could give someone else is to take your time, not rush and have fun.?

Each school program has about 40 students overall, and the top 26 are able to attend state competition, 24 shooting and two alternates.

?What excites me about archery is that it?s a sport where girls can compete with guys,? said Hatley?s Taylor, a longtime bow hunter. ?It gets people who are not involved in other sports. They may think they?re not athletic enough for some other sport, but in this one all they have to have is accuracy.?

Two of Hatley?s team members graduated in May, but 24 will be returning. After tryouts for seventh- through 12th-graders, 40 students made the team.

Hatley?s top shooter, Braeden Eldridge, graduated in May.

?I got into archery because it was something new,? he said. ?I?d played baseball and tried other things, but when I tried this it stuck. The first year everybody was really young. I?ve always been around hunting, shotguns and been in the outdoors, but nobody else on the team shot bows or hunted. The next year they really stepped up, and when I shot bad they stepped in.?

Eldridge sees his archery career ending with high school as he moves on to college and hopes later the Marine Corps.

Myrtle, too, is fortunate to be bringing back all of its team except one graduate. Speck, a bow-hunter for more than 20 years, was tapped to start up the program just more than two years ago.

?There usually isn?t a lot of money for schools to start new programs, but we got two grants so the school was out very minimal cost to start it up,? he said.

Factors also mentioned by the other coaches ? that it?s a coed sport and that people who may not consider themselves to be athletic can represent their school in a sport ? also appeal to Speck.

The competition builds the student?s confidence, but the final outcome ?boils down to who is hot on that particular day,? Speck said. ?We were very fortunate the past two years to shoot our best score at the state tournament.?

Sixteen-year-old Kelsey Whitten, who will be a senior, has been his top shooter the past two years.

?I like archery because it?s something different,? Whitten said. ?I used to play softball a lot, then tried archery out and really liked it. I practice in my yard out back, make a target and do it until my arm starts hurting. I can?t really get tired of it.?

Whitten says that attitude of wanting to keep practicing and getting better is something she got from Speck.

?I probably wouldn?t be where I am now if the coach didn?t push us,? Whitten said. ?If we would miss practice or something, he?d impress on us how important it was, so I probably wouldn?t have achieved anything without him.?

Soon, though, archery shooters around Northeast Mississippi won?t need to fix a practice place in their own yards like Whitten does.

Bryan Ellis expects to open Mudcreek Archery, an indoor archery center in late June.

?There?s no other archery facility like it around here,? Ellis said. ?We were driving to Michie, Tenn., an hour and 15 minutes, and they only have a small range for one or two people to shoot. It?s nothing like what we?ve got.?

Mudcreek includes moving targets, pop-up targets, the computer simulation game, Techno Hunt, and more. With assistance from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, they also will have the same equipment and targets schools use.?

?They have been very helpful to me, providing me with data about the number of shooting licenses they issue and other advice,? Ellis said. ?We?re self-titling it as ?Mississippi?s most advanced indoor archery range.? We?re going to hold non-school-affiliated tournaments that kids can enter so they have a place to go to shoot after school.?

Some youths also are introduced to archery through 4-H programs of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, with Alcorn County 4-H agent Tammy Parker as the district shooting sports coordinator.

?We have about 140 youths from 23 counties in the archery program,? Parker said. ?It has increased over the past several years. Alcorn County has 10 kids, but the only holdback is adult volunteers who will agree to go through the certification training. We could probably have 50 kids if we had enough adult volunteers to work with them.?

Archery in Mississippi Schools is a program supported by the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Foundation, coordinating the implementation of archery programs in public and private schools.

?This is a continuation of the ongoing effort by the Foundation and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to attract Mississippi youth into the out-of-doors and to support Mississippi schools in their effort to improve the physical condition of the youth and to provide youth with a pastime that they can utilize throughout their lives,? the Mississippi Archery In Schools website says.

Program coordinator Waldo Cleland resides in Columbia, and conducts training programs for school archery coaches as well as volunteer coaches.

Davidson retired from Saltillo at the close of school, but is excited about the new shooting facility where he?ll be able to keep using his skills.

?It?s exciting that the new archery complex will be very friendly to the school competition style of shooting, with the kind of bows and targets schools use,? he said. ?Any area student who wants to get in practice outside of school will have a place to go.?

___

Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com

This entry was posted on June 22, 2013, 8:02 am and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.artesianews.com/2013/06/22/ap-news/sports-ap-news/archery-programs-gain-popularity-in-schools/

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Social media spreads and splinters Brazil protests

Social media

Caroline Stauffer Reuters

6 hours ago

UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERS

A demonstrator holds a sign next to street structures set on fire during a protest against the Confederations Cup and President Dilma Rousseff's government, in front of the National Congress in Brasilia June 20, 2013.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's biggest protests in decades are a confusing, conflicting mix of people and messages. Blame Facebook.

Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter enabled mass protests of the sort that have not happened in Latin America's biggest country in more than two decades.

As a result of the speed, efficiency and anonymity of online activism, though, an amorphous, unwieldy movement has emerged that is beyond the control of any of those who first began pushing for change.

"Social media has helped us organize without having leaders," said Victor Damaso, 22, demonstrating on Sao Paulo's main Paulista Avenue on Thursday night. "Our ideas, our demands are discussed on Facebook. There are no meetings, no rules."

The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but as more than a million Brazilians took to the streets on Thursday, vandals and looters cast a violent pall over some of the protests. Police and security forces have responded with teargas, rubber bullets and pepper spray.

Facebook pages set up for logistical coordination and Twitter hash tags have cropped up for protests in hundreds of cities across Brazil. Rival groups appear to be vying for control of one of the most-viewed organizing pages on Facebook and an associated Twitter feed.

"Any movement risks attracting unaffiliated groups and individuals," said Angela Alonso, a sociologist at the University of Sao Paulo. "It's a price of growth. In this case there is no centralized leadership, administration is more difficult and it is even becoming uncontrollable."

The Free Fare movement, a group of 40 activists who marched for - and got - lower transportation rates, said on Friday it was suspending any further marches for now because of mounting tension and violence.

Sparked by Free Fare's protests, the nationwide call for reform quickly evolved into what is now known online as Anonymous Brazil.

The group appears to use encrypted Web browsers that make it difficult to identify page administrators and has adopted the Guy Fawkes mask, the symbol for the global cyber group of hackers known as Anonymous, as its mascot, although it is not clear if the two have a formal link.

While that opens the door to all sorts of fringe groups, the people at the core of the protests generally share a commitment to better public services. Their rallying cries, found on Twitter and Facebook and on traditional signs at the protests, range from ending political corruption to lambasting more than $12 billion being poured into soccer stadiums and other preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

The demonstrators, mostly educated, middle class and under age 30, want nothing to do with established groups that were behind the causes of their parents' generation.

Online organizing
Unlike Brazil's movement for redemocratization in the 1970s and 1980s and protests for the impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello in the early 1990s, today's demonstrations have no clear leadership or political affinity.

"The recent protests are not partisan, and they do not have centralized leadership," said Alonso, the sociologist. "This has to do with new technologies that allow for organization without centralization, and also with the fact that the activists are from a new generation that is no longer guided by ideals like socialism, and doesn't want state power."

Indeed, Brazil's protests do not target any specific leader or political party. That makes them different from the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings against autocratic leaders in the past few years, or even this year's demonstrations in Turkey against the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

While some of the Arab governments blocked access to the Internet to disrupt the planning of protests, Brazil's intelligence agency, Abin, has beefed up efforts to monitor calls for demonstrations online and on popular smart phone chat tool WhatsApp.

President Dilma Rousseff, a leftist guerrilla in the 1970s, has praised the protests as democratic.

Anonymous Brazil's Facebook page, which has nearly 1 million followers, briefly disappeared from the Web on Friday. The group later said via Facebook that its Twitter account had been "robbed" by one of its own members, generating conflicts on its linked Facebook platform.

The group says competing Twitter accounts like @AnonymousBr4sil and #AnonymousFuel are run by "usurpers."

Of the 53.5 million Brazilians online, almost a third of the population, 86 percent use some kind of micro blog or social media tool, according to polling firm Ibope.

(Additional reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Paulo Prada and Mohammad Zargham)

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2da7054c/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Csocial0Emedia0Espreads0Esplinters0Ebrazil0Eprotests0E6C10A4180A84/story01.htm

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G-rated films are a tough sell in superhero era

Movies

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper NBC News

June 21, 2013 at 12:53 PM ET

Two family-aimed films are hitting theaters in the next two weeks. "Monsters University" is an animated 3-D movie about zany, friendly monsters -- one with just one eyeball -- and how they interact with humans. (Spoiler: They scare them.) "Despicable Me 2" is also an animated 3-D movie about zany, friendly monsters -- some with just one eyeball -- and how they interact with humans. (Spoiler: They work for them.)

Disney, Universal

That's Mike from "Monsters University" on the left, and a minion from "Despicable Me 2" on the right. Can you tell which movie is rated G and which PG?

From that description, is it immediately clear which film is rated G, for General Audiences, and which one PG, meaning Parental Guidance suggested?

If it's not clear to you ("Monsters University" gets the G), you're not alone.

"I do think there is less of a clear line between G and PG than there is between PG-13 and R," said Vincent Bruzzese, chief executive officer of the Worldwide Motion Picture Group, a consultancy serving the entertainment industry. "It's very clear what makes something an R. If you say the F-word X number of times, it's an R. But why are 'Cars 2' and 'Rio' G, and yet 'Madagascar' or 'The Lorax' PG? What is the difference there? I'm not sure."

The Motion Picture Association of America, which determines movie ratings, did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Bruzzese's company's research shows that not only do many parents not understand what makes a movie a G, to some of them, that family-friendly rating might even be a deterrent, especially if they have older children.

"We actually see that parents have no problem taking (5- or 6-year-olds) to a PG movie," Bruzzese said. "But they'll have trouble getting their 10- or 12-year-old to go to a G movie."

And if parents do want to seek out a G movie, good luck. Many movies that sound like they should be rated G tend to get the older rating. May's animated "Epic," about a girl who's shrunk to the size of a bug and helps a race known as the Leaf Men, was rated PG for "mild action, some scary images and brief rude language." July release "Turbo," about a garden snail who dreams of winning the Indy 500, is rated PG. (Does the snail swear?) August sequel "The Smurfs 2" isn't yet rated, but it'll almost certainly be PG like the 2011 original.

"The G rating has all but disappeared from theatrical releases other than one or two animated films each year," said Nell Minow, who advises parents about movies as The Movie Mom. "It's all about money. School-age kids think that G-rated movies are 'babyish,' so only Disney can get away with it."

With so much movie information available online, today's parents today don't need to rely only on the MPAA ratings. "(Parents) do their own investigation of films," Bruzzese said. "They're able to go online and look up -- whether it's user comments or more about the plot, more scenes -- they're able to find enough information to give them that (knowledge)."

Ben Boychuk of Rialto, Calif., is one of those parents. "I don't have a hard-and-fast rule about MPAA ratings," said Boychuk, who has an 11-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter. "I'll make a judgment based on whether I've seen the movie or barring that, by researching reviews and audience comments. IMDb is an invaluable resource -- what the Internet was meant for."

Wondering what has shifted since the days when kids saw only G-rated films? Experts point to many changes, including the addition of the PG-13 rating in 1984, the availability of movies of all ratings on home video and cable television, and the emergence of a generation of parents who grew up with such kid-tempting action films as 1977's "Star Wars." But a web-slinging, wall-crawling hero in tights might have something to do with it too.

"The family audience clearly has evolved in that it really, really started way back with the original 'Spider-Man' with Tobey Maguire," said Bruzzese. The 2002 PG-13-rated blockbuster "brought in a family audience to what would traditionally have been an older-skewing movie," he said.

Now, he said, "Today's 10-year-old is seeing what a 15-year-old would have seen 10 or 15 years ago."

Boychuk's family is a perfect example. Son Benjamin saw Maguire's "Spider-Man" on DVD at age 4 or 5. "He watched it at least a dozen times," Boychuk said. "The Green Goblin frightened him at first, but he wanted to see the movie again as soon as it was over."

But Boychuk notes that parents need to know their own children, who may be ready for different films at different ages. "My son was always great in movie theaters," he said. "My daughter (Isabella) is a different story. She can't handle most scary stuff, though she loves the classic Disney movies. ... I tend to be more vigilant with what we let her watch."

And the MPAA rating might not be the ultimate determining factor in how frightening a movie really is. In 2011, when TODAY.com asked readers to name the scariest scene in children's films, a scene from G-rated "Toy Story 3" repeatedly popped up. In it, Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the other toys are on what seems like an unstoppable moving ramp pushing them into a giant incinerator, with flames leaping high.

"As I think about it now, Bella was freaked out by the incinerator scene -- and so was I!" Boychuk said. "But Benjamin wasn't bothered too much."

The G rating will almost certainly continue to shift in meaning and usage, Bruzzese believes.

"If you look at the last 10 G-rated movies, half are either concerts or documentaries," he said. "More and more, as that becomes prevalent, the G rating will stand for not just the 'Winnie the Poohs' of the world, but will stand for things like (Disneynature 2012 documentary) 'Chimpanzee' or IMAX or a concert show. The G might start standing for non-traditional movie entertainment that's not offensive to any age group, whereas PG becomes the new G."

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/g-rated-films-are-tough-sell-superhero-era-6C10393646

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The Facts & Myths Of Spaying & Neutering Your Pet | Life with ...

When it comes to making a decision about a pet?s health, we naturally all want to make the best decision possible. Unfortunately, there?s a great deal of wrong information out there when it comes to spaying or neutering your pet, and that wrong information can make a complicated decision even more difficult.

Photo courtesy MowT.

So before you make a decision one way or another, take a moment to run through these myths ? and facts ? surrounding spaying and neutering.

First, take a moment to go over the?basics about spaying and neutering. And now, on to the myths, and the truths behind those misconceptions:

Myth: Spaying or neutering a cat can result in undesirable changes, including laziness, obesity, and more.

Fact: Most cats become fat and lazy simply because they are fed too much and don?t get enough exercise.

Reevaluating your cat?s diet and activity level as he grows will help prevent unwanted weight gain and lethargy. Also, taking the time to play with your cat on a regular basis will help him learn to enjoy exercise more often and will help build your bond.

Myth: Neutering a male cat will make him feel less ?manly? ? less of a male.

Fact: While it?s understandable for people to process a neutering this way, the fact is cats don?t have the same sense of sexual identity as we do.

A cat won?t face an identity crisis once he?s neutered. This holds true with females as well.

Myth: Female cats should have at least one litter before spaying.

Fact: This is a dangerous myth, and the opposite is true.

Photo courtesy slworking2.

Medical evidence shows that cats who are spayed before their first heat very rarely develop mammary tumors. This is a dangerous myth because cats? mammary tumors are much more malignant than those seen in dogs, and they have a worse prognosis.

In addition, spaying your female early can help reduce the risk of uterine infections and breast cancer.

Myth: I have to wait until my pet is 6 months old to be sterilized.

Fact: The American Veterinary Medical Association endorses ?Early Age Neutering,? which means an animal can be spayed or neutered at the age of two months ? or the weight of two pounds.

Sterilizing your pet at an early age not only protects their health, as mentioned above, but it also means they can recover more quickly.

Myth: Spay and neuter surgeries are risky.

Fact: If you go to an experienced vet, spays and neuters are some of the safest surgeries they can have, considering those surgeries are done so often. While there are always risks with any surgery, with a sterilization, the risk of complications is very low.

Myth: Spaying or neutering a cat deprives her or him from experiencing the joy of parenthood.

Fact: Again, this is simply an emotion or desire we as humans apply to our pets.

Animals don?t feel a sense of fulfillment by giving birth or being a mother or father; they won?t mourn their inability to reproduce. For them, reproduction is simply nature taking its course. Although mother cats do take care of their kittens for several weeks, it?s only to prepare them for life on their own. Similarly, father cats don?t recognize kittens as their children.

Myth: Breeding a cat will result in kittens that are exactly like the mother.

Fact: Just like with people, you can?t ever duplicate someone.

Even if you breed two purebreds, there?s no guarantee that the kittens will turn out exactly as their parents. This is even more true if mixed breeds are involved. Each cat is special in his own way. It?s important to enjoy your cat for who she is as long as she?s in your life. Grant her kittens the same respect, and appreciate them for their individual personalities and characteristics, too.

Myth: Watching a cat give birth and raise a litter of kittens can be a valuable life experience for you or your children.

Fact: This myth is particularly disturbing. As the ASPCA says, ?The idea that a cat should have a litter so that children can witness the miracle of birth is troubling.? And I agree.

Photo courtesy eaghra.

If you want your child to learn about birth, there are many other resources (books, videos, etc.) that allows them to learn about the topic in a responsible way. Allowing a cat to birth a litter of kittens simply for education or life experience is irresponsible and ignores the very real issue of overpopulation in the world. If anything, it teaches the child that our selfish motives are more important than the cat?s well-being and her offspring?s.

Myth: Spaying or neutering is too expensive.

Fact: Many vet clinics around the U.S. offer low-cost spay and neuter surgeries.?Click here to find a low-cost spay/neuter facility in your area.

If your current vet is very expensive, shop around and speak to other vet clinics in the area to find out their rates. While the cost may initially seem prohibitive, consider how much you?ll actually be saving in the long-run, considering your cat won?t need to visit the vet for other health issues that will arise from not being sterilized ? not to mention the costs that will come up if your cat has a litter of kittens.

Myth: Low-cost spay/neuter programs can?t be trusted.

Fact: Although some people are skeptical about low-cost programs, they must understand that the costs are low simply to encourage people to spay and neuter their pets. These clinics want to make the surgeries affordable to everyone. Many clinics that offer low-cost programs actually spay and neuter hundreds, if not thousands, of pets each year, which makes them experts.

Need a bit more convincing? Check out these?eight reasons to spay or neuter your cat.

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Source: http://lifewithchcats.com/2013/06/21/the-facts-myths-of-spaying-neutering-your-pet/

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