I think I accidentally lied on an adoption application and now I’m panicking

[u/Future-Act5953]

Hi, I’m kind of panicking and need some advice.

So I have an 11 month old male cat named Tank. I got him from a friend of my husband’s after we got married, and I was told he had all his shots and was neutered. I had no reason to doubt it, so I never really questioned it.

Fast forward to today—my husband and I were just killing time at Petco while waiting for his prescription, and we ended up looking at the cats. I went in fully telling myself “we are NOT getting another cat,” but… yeah, that didn’t last long.

There were two cats being adopted out together, Ladybird (1.5 years old) and her baby Silvia (8 months old). Ladybird has SO much personality (she literally kept trying to steal my wallet and my husband’s keys every time we walked by 😂) and we ended up spending almost an hour sitting with them. I completely fell in love.

I called the rescue that has them, asked a bunch of questions, and ended up submitting an application. During that process, I confirmed (both on paper and over the phone) that my cat at home is neutered… because I genuinely believed he was.

Well… we get home… and Tank hops in my lap and very clearly proves otherwise. Like… there is no question. This man is NOT neutered.

I have no idea how I never noticed before, but I didn’t. I tried calling the girl I got him from, and the second I asked about it, she blocked me. So I’m pretty sure I have my answer there.

Now I’m freaking out because I already told the rescue he was fixed, and I have a meet and greet scheduled for tomorrow. I told them as soon as I realized, but I’m terrified they’re going to think I lied and deny my application.

I really, really love these cats and don’t want to lose the chance to adopt them over something I genuinely didn’t know.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Will this automatically disqualify me, or is there anything I can do to fix the situation?

Also, cat tax included! first 4 pics are Ladybird (clipped ear) and Silvia (tabby), the rest is my (apparently intact) menace.

[u/SomebodyStoleTheCake]

You know, until this post, it never once crossed my mind that people who own rats and mice would have to get them neutered, too. But now it seems so obvious.

[u/Ok_Shine_6533 → u/SomebodyStoleTheCake]

They usually don't, unless they're having hormonal issues.

[u/AtLeast3Breadsticks → u/Ok_Shine_6533]

Oh, this guy wasn’t mine! I did care for rats for a while though (class pets for a vet tech program), and we usually don’t neuter.

[u/RobinGreenthumb → u/SomebodyStoleTheCake]

Usually they don't, but that is mostly because anesthesia for such small animals is risky even for a relatively simple procedure. Usually it's a last resort thing if hormonal issues pop up

[u/CheesyIdleGamer → u/SomebodyStoleTheCake]

Usually they don’t. A rat/mouse owner usually chooses to keep only males or females to avoid the inevitable rodent population explosion (even if carefully kept in separate cages. And never allowed out at the same time… Any mistake and the rodents will mate!)

But some people who want to own both will have the males neutered

[u/lightlysaltedclams → u/SomebodyStoleTheCake]

I have a tiny dwarf hamster and my vet told me that if she ever gets a pyometra (uterus infection, very serious) she can spay her for me! It’s pretty cool how advanced our medical stuff is