Although controversial to some owners, the
neutering of your male or female cat is a
relatively simple and safe operation with
positive results for the pet and its owner.
Veterinarians usually recommend it unless you
plan to breed your cat.
Sometimes the operation disturbs the owner
psychologically or emotionally.
The cat is generally not bothered, quickly
recovers, and becomes an even better
pet. It might be in your pet's best interest to
have it neutered.
MALE CATS
A mature,
unaltered male cat or tom has an almost uncontrollable desire to roam
and fight.
It's part of his personality. His litter box will always have a strong
odor in
comparison to other fixed males. If you have an unaltered male and
you keep him
indoors, he usually will develop bad habits such as spraying
your walls and
furniture with a forceful stream of urine. This spray has the same
strong odor as
the litter box. The spray can ruin home furnishings. The odor is
obnoxious to
humans and difficult if not impossible to deodorize.
Products are
available, but they are rarely effective, even on neutered males.
Some
psychologists say this spraying by a male is his way of marking his
territory.
Males usually
spray while standing, but may assume a praying position as well.
A male cat may
howl and cry obnoxiously if it is not neutered.
Neutering or castrating a male cat is performed by the veterinarian after
the cat is
eight or nine
months old. Although a simple procedure, this operation requires
anesthesia and
perhaps overnight hospitalization. After the
surgery, the male cat
will be an
even better pet. He will be more playful and considerably less hostile.
He will be
less anxious and there will be less stress for him as those natural desires
will become
null. Howling related to mating activities will cease. He will stay at
home more with
less of a desire to roam. If neutering is done when the cat is young,
he may not
acquire spraying habits. If he has already established this habit, it may
remain after
neutering. The strong, offensive odor will no longer be present,
however. And
as offensive as the urine smell of a neutered cat is, it is not as bad
as one who has
not been neutered. After the operation, the male
cat may have a
friendlier,
more even disposition. He will be more playful and will not become
fat or
sluggish. Contrary to what may be said, he will not lose his charm or
intelligence
and will be easier to get along with and more pleasant as a pet.
FEMALE CATS
The female cat
matures much more rapidly than the male cat, usually coming into
breeding age
at about 7 months old. Some females may reach breeding age as
early as five
months old, so it's important to be alert to this fact. The female cat will
be able to
produce dozens of kittens in her lifetime if given the opportunity.
Unless you are breeding your cat purposely with guaranteed sales, you
will have
the
responsibility of finding homes for your female cat's kittens. If you do not
want
that
responsibility and if you do not want more cats, you should seriously
consider
having your
female cat spayed. Also, unless your female cat is
spayed or mated,
she will be in
recurring heat, not just a few times a year as you may think,
but every
three or four weeks. This will exhaust and distress your cat with her
natural desire
to mate. The most common symptoms that your cat is in heat
are
restlessness, nervousness, and tenseness. Some females roll on the floor
quite
a bit and
appear to be more affectionate than usual. Her voice changes and becomes
more piercing
and demanding during her period of heat.
Although the female cat experiences many heat periods during the year, she
usually only
has a few peak periods called estrus when she can become pregnant.
Usually there
are two, but sometimes three. These usually occur in late fall or early
winter and one
as late winter or early spring. Each normally lasts as long as 15 to
21 days. It is
possible for a female cat to come into heat ten days after bearing a
litter. Thus a
cat will be in heat as often if not more than once a month, but will be
in estrus only
a few times. This is very stressful to a cat who will not be allowed
to or be able
to mate. Many veterinarians feel that the ideal
age for spaying is
at about six
to eight months old, before the female cat has had her first seasonal
period. If you
would like your cat to have a litter or two before having her spayed,
you can still
have the operation performed safely at a later age. It is usually not
recommended
for a female to be mated until she is a year old.
In a healthy cat, the operation of spaying involves an anesthetic, an
abdominal incision,
and
hospitalization. After going home and until the stitches are removed,
activity
should be
restricted and care taken to see that the cat does not break her stitches.
The younger
female usually heals faster than the older cat.
Spaying will not usually
alter your
cat's disposition or personality except to make her less nervous,
less noisy and
more relaxed. She may become more playful and affectionate,
if she isn't
already. Weight gain and an increase in size are possible, but proper
diet control
and exercise will keep her energetic, sleek, and muscular.
In addition, spaying will probably lengthen the life of your cat since she
will
experience
fewer health problems. For instance, the spayed cat does not develop
pyometritis, a uterine infection not uncommon in unspayed, middle-aged
or
older female
cats. Pyometritis may require surgical treatment when the cat is quite ill.
The spayed cat
is also less likely to develop breast tumors which often occur
as the female
cat gets older, especially if she has raised a litter of kittens.
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