popcornbird - you sound like you're a bright, well rounded young person, and an asset to Pet Talk.

About the neutering. I really don't like to argue or even discuss religious topics on public Internet forums, but -

Yes, animals are God's creations, and he made them a certain way. But if you think like that, think about this. We came into the world naked, without any clothes. That must be the way God intended us to be, right? Yet you will find very few (if any) humans that go around naked all the time. Sometimes we (as thinking beings) have to bend the rules a little. In the case of pet overpopulation and the whole neutering/spaying debate, I think it is justified.

There simply isn't enough homes for them all. We need to take care of animals on this earth, and if there was any other way to keep overpopulation under control (even a little bit) we would do it differently.

I personally think it is cruel to keep an animal like a cat or dog intact if you are keeping it for a pet. The un-neutered animal will have urges that it cannot satisfy. It can't understand why it can't breed to relieve these feelings, and that can be very frustrating and even painful for the animal. Like an itch you can't scratch, only 1000 times worse.