Spay/neuter an outside cat?

Question

We have a stray who pretty much lives at our house. We aren't really supposed to have pets in our apartment but we get around it by not letting the cat use the bathroom in the house so there is no smell. It works out well cause he likes to roam the neighborhood anyways. We keep food in the house for him and he usually spends the day reclining around the house being petted, then goes out to roam at night. But recently we noticed he has been spraying in the house. Marking his territory. So we had to kick him out again. What I want to know is would it be worth it to get him fixed? I'm under the impression that that would stop the spraying, but it seems a bit cruel to do that to an outdoor animal, as he is a fighter and hunter. And as my husband put it, if he had a choice of a free warm home or his balls he would be more than happy to live outside in the cold and rain.

Ok it is unaminous. I will spay him. Thanks everyone for the input.

Answer 1

After having cats my entire life, I can say honestly, that once a cat begins to spray it usually does not stop. There are cases where it does, but in my opinion not often.

I always have all my animals fixed (except a female dog I'm adopting, is pregnant and she will get fixed after that - purebred to purebred Chihuahua's) when they are 4-5 months old.

I love puppies and kittens like the next person, but I also know, that Feral Cats (or partially Feral) do not make good normal pets that anyone would adopt and/or keep. If he impregnates 3 females or more during a heat cylce that's about 12 cats or more he's fathered in one cycle (every 6 months or so), over his lifetime, that's ALOT of kittens! So regardless of how the hubby feels about the 'balls thing', it is the responsible thing to do, and it costs a whopping 20 bucks or something VERY cheap like that! Don't do it for him, do it for the unwanted kittens of the world, and do it so that HE has a better shot at someone adopting him too. I think about all those Mama cats that will raise Feral kittens and won't be wanted. Just do your part and fix the animal for his own health (less fighting - which they usually have to go to the vet for and that's a lot more money then fixing) and the betterment of the cat population around your house and overall.

Best Wishes!

Answer 2

If your husband had to fight every day of his life, get scarred ears, wounds that infect and could kill, dealing with cruel people, having dogs chase him, he might change his mind. The cat will still have all of these problems if you neuter him, but he will settle down and not get into so much trouble after being neutered. He will still hunt for food as that is their nature. It will probably not stop the spraying but you won't know that until you neuter him. Sometimes it works, but I have neutered males that still spray, and they were neutered before 6 months old. I also have neutered males that have never sprayed. You are not being cruel to do that, the important thing here is that he will not be making more unwanted kittens that will grow up and have more unwanted kittens. I realize that neutering one animal will not stop the problem but it will help. If cats had sex for pleasure then I would almost agree with your husband, but they don't.

Good luck, and thank you for taking care of him.

Answer 3

Have him neutered. It will help to control the pet population. He will definitely stop spraying if you get him fixed.
He will still be able to defend himself and fight if he has no balls. Why in the world would anyone think otherwise? Do you think he would become an instant 'gay' cat or something???? Totally unfounded thinking. Do men who get vasectomies become instant pu&&ies? I don't think so.
Males who are not fixed mostly fight over females — territory too, but they fight for mating rights. By having him neutered, he will not have a need to fight for the right to mate, because he will have no desire to do so. This will be beneficial for him since he will not be getting in as many fights, thus less likely to become injured. My 15-year old male cat is the king of the neighborhood and quite a badass. Nobody would think of him as less of a male because he can't reproduce. He is huge and big, almost looks like he is on steroids. His hunting skills are not diminished in the slightest. I come home every day to 'presents' he has killed and brought home and left on the porch for me.
Neutering is the kindest thing you could do for him. I hope you ignore your husband's opinion and get him neutered. There might be a low-cost spay/neuter clinic where you live. Most communities have at least one.

Answer 4

Vets will tell you that spay and neutering saves the lives of animals. Cats, however, are pretty independent animals. I don't know what you would consider cruel, but have you ever seen how a feral cat lives?

Because it is stray it has a 95% chance of becoming rabid.
People throw boiling water on them to get them off of their property.
They become unsocialized and will continuously having litters that will overpopulate an area, bringing rats due to the feces.
As inexpensive as it is to spay or neuter, I'd opt for that, if it was within my power. No man can understand neutering because it hits too close to home. My fiance gave me that argument too about my dog, but I'd rather have him neutered than tear down my fence, possible get hit by a car, just because he smells a female.

Answer 5

I'm sorry to say if your cat is marking his territory in the house, it may be too late to stop this behavior by neutering him. However, it does help about 50% of the time. It is still a good idea to neuter the cat because of the fact (a hard one, but true) that he will mate indiscriminately and the kittens that will come as a result are usually "throw aways." Unwanted kittens become unwanted cats... and the awful cycle continues. It would be extremely responsible of you to have your cat neutered.

Answer 6

well, your hubby is wrong. you are talking about a cat after all, not a human being. this cat doesn't know he has balls, he just follows the signals his balls are giving him. once the balls are gone, he won't miss them cos he won't even know, he'll just follow different signals. you'd actually be doing him a favour by neutering him, as it won't diminish his fighting spirit or hunting prowess (the most impressive fighter i've ever known was my neutered persian oscar, he ruled the roost in the neighbourhood, and another neutered tom of mine killed rabbits like they were flies) and will significantly decrease his chances of getting a number of diseases. also, we all know there are too many stray cats around, so by neutering him you'd save a lot of kittens from being born into a life of stray misery. go ahead and do it, he's not a human being so he won't know or care. the only thing you have to watch afterwards is his intake of dried food. either don't let him have any or make triple sure there's always enough water around cos otherwise he'll be in danger of developing kidney stones.

Answer 7

Get him fixed if you can afford it. It will cut down on the spraying and marking of territory. It will also cut down on a lot of unwanted, stray kittens. Male cats will also fight over females and he could get badly hurt. Guess your husband should be thankful he doesn't do anything bad to warrant being fixed!!! Kidding...we know how attached boys and men are to their balls...literally and figuratively!!! Hope this helps you and your "adopted" stray!

Answer 8

The only way to stop his spraying behavior is to have him neutered. This will not affect his ability to hunt or fight. Plus, you won't have to worry about him fathering a bunch of stray kittens. Your husband is wrong. A male cat does not think his balls are golden like human males do!

Answer 9

Neutering him would be best, because of the already huge pet overpopulation issue, however, that won't necessarily stop him from spraying. Adult cats, fixed later in life, usually continue any assertive male tendencies they've already begun, such as spraying. Get him fixed, get your carpets steam-cleaned, and close off those areas so he can't get to them to re-spray.

Answer 10

The only way to stop him spraying is to get him fixed. This way, the spraying will stop, and you wont have a bazillion kittens running around. It wont make a difference if your cat gets in a fight whether he's fixed or not.