Our cat is almost 11 mths and I am told his being a male and with us keeping him inside that he will spray urine all over and try to get out and is in danger of being injured fighting with other male cats when a female cat is nearby and in heat. I want to neuter him-but boyfriend says it seems inhumane and we should just let him out and be a cat. But so far kitty loves inside and is a people person! Is he old enough to be neutered? Does the procedure hurt a lot and what is recovery time?
2006-11-12 15:54:28 · 18 answers · asked by brneyes4659 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
The procedure is not painful. The kitten may be a little sore in the rump area for the next week, but he'll quickly get over it. There is nothing inhumane about spaying/neutering your animals. (The inhumane thing, is to let them populate, and have the kittens die due to illnesses or never find homes, and live their lives in a shelter, if not euthanized.) You can get a cat spayed/neutered as early as 2 months old. Take your kitten in, get him neutered. He'll live a happier and healthier (lowers risk of cancer) life.
2006-11-12 16:01:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Again - it depends on the vet. Technically, 7 weeks is OK, but some vets are not overly comfortable with pediatric surgeries, especially because of the full anesthesia, so they prefer doing the thing on older cats.
It is humane. Besides the reasons already mentioned, there is this - UNLIKE HUMANS, CATS DO NOT HAVE THE EMOTIONAL NEED TO HAVE OFFSPRING! And the male cats don't even bond with their offspring in any way. Copulation is instinctive and chemically-triggered.
The decision to have my cat neutered was difficult to me, because for a while I thought that if he couldn't have offspring, he would be unhappy. Then I observed other cats and saw there was no such thing. You're not too late to neuter him if he's 11 weeks; you may take a couple of weeks to observe other people with cats - both speutered (=spayed or neutered) and not - and make your own conclusions. It's easier in households that have different generations of cats - like mother and son, as what I saw.
I've read that neutering is best if done before the cat is actually sexually mature (i.e., he had better not be much over 6 months). There are multiple benefirts in that, including drastically reducing the probability of prostate cancer (even more so than later neutering) - and also not forming habbits like running away and spraying. So, if you are unsure, do take some time to see for yourself - but do not delay too long.
As for painful - my kitty's behaviour was back to normal before the day of the surgery was out, but I suspect he found the litter irritating for the next day or so. Not painful, though, for he didn't stop using it.
2006-11-12 19:16:52 · answer #2 · answered by AlphaOne_ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should have your cat nutered before his first year,or at the very latest before he begins to spray your furniture.
It is not inhumane to neuter a cat the most expensive thing is the blood work that needs to be drawn beforehand.They put the cat asleep and they wake up without the pouch.if you have ever had this done you will know that you felt no pain because they also numb the areas first.outdoor cats are 5 times more likely to be attacked by dogs other animals or hit by a car if outdoors,so if your cat is going to be outside i would get a location chip and a feline aids vaccine. If your cat gets this when fighting with other cats it is deadly!!the only reason your boyfriend is objecting is because the cat is a male just like him and he cannot imagine getting his pouch cut off or not getting a little action but cats have more than just 1 or 2 kids they have like litters and do you really want more hungry starving cats in this world?recovery time is less than a week with little care.
2006-11-13 10:50:29 · answer #3 · answered by nobodytotalkabout 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will depend on the vet; some do it very young and others say 6 months is min time. Is it cruel? No, absolutely not. It is more cruel to your cat to let him populate the area with unwanted kittens. (with other cats that are not fixed) It is cruel because your cat will be more apt to spraying and getting lost as he roams. It is more cruel to not do it because there are health reasons. (others have listed good sites) Keeping your cat inside shows you are the brains in your relationship. Show your boyfriend a few animal cruelty sites where cats have been abused on the streets and see if he still feels the same way.
Anyways...recovery time...a week or bit. Dont let him jump too much.
And to the person who said their farmer relatives did it...thats cruel and can cause MANY more problems. There was a case in Nova Scotia where a man tried to neuter his own cat. The cat died because of infection and it wasnt pretty. He was charged and convicted of animal abuse. Neutering a cat is very different from fixing the steers. I grew up on farms and all my uncles paid the money to get extra male cats fixed and also paid for the vaccinations.
2006-11-12 18:57:55 · answer #4 · answered by Cariad 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OK, now this is going to sound bad, and apologize to your boyfriend for me ahead of time. I grew up on the farm, and inhumane or not if the toms weren't neutered well......you get the picture. Anyway(cover boyfriends eyes) my uncle use to come out, put the kittens upside in a rubber boot and with a sharp buck knife "whack". It sounds way more awful than it is, and I usually ended up bawling, but kitty jumps out of the boot takes off at a high rate of speed and he's bouncing around and playing with the other cats almost immediately. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm sure the Vet would be more ethical. And honestly, being an animal lover and owner it's only right to have your pets spayed/neutered. Now I sound like Bob Barker off the Price is Right!!!! Good luck. P.S. you should do it soon, or otherwise it will be worse for your cat when you do have to get it done.
2006-11-12 16:09:00 · answer #5 · answered by brooklynsss 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can have him neutered now, as a matter of fact, when he was about 4 months old you could have. I would do it as soon as possible because, yes, he will spray and your house will smell like cat urine. As for the boyfriend saying not to get him neutered, well he is just thinking as a guy, he wouldn't wanna be neutered. LOL
2006-11-13 01:23:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, your friends are absolutely right. An un-neutered male cat will indeed spray all over your furniture and it's a stink that you can't get rid of. Your boyfriend is identifying too strongly with the cat. You can get him neutered (the cat, not the boyfriend, although you might want to consider that as well) it doesn't hurt as it is done under anesthetic and they recover very quickly. It also helps cut down on the local cat population.
2006-11-12 16:03:58 · answer #7 · answered by old lady 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
SAVE A LIFE, NEUTER YOU CAT! every little bite counts!! he will usually go in in the morning and be home by the evening! it is considered a minor surg., he will be groggy and a little sore the first day! by the 2-3 day, he will about normal! the strong male cat smell will go away in about 1 week and never come back!! I'm sure you know what i mean by that!! at this age, he should never spray if you get him fixed now!!! if you wait until he is older, some will still spray after they are fixed!!!!
2006-11-12 16:11:46 · answer #8 · answered by rblankenship_rblankenship 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is definitely time to have him neutered.
It is VERY humane to have him neutered -- it keeps him healthier an happier and friendlier.
No cat I have ever had (and that's a lot of them, all male, all neutered) showed much indication that it was painful. All were up and about and acting like nothing had happened within 2 or 3 days.
For what it's worth, I have never known an intact male cat to live longer than about 10 years before they die of feline leukemia, FIV, infections, being hit by cars, etc all as the result of being out raising hell in a furry way. Most of them have lived only about 7 years, and those are cats with otherwise good homes (I remember growing up as a kid, people thought cats only had a maximum life expectancy of 12 years. By comparison, all of my neutered male cats have lived into their late teens to early twenties, except for one who died of a cancer at 14, and my mom has one who just turned 23 and is still doing just fine.
Some references:
"As a result of the overpopulation, feral cat colonies are becoming more of a problem in both rural and urban areas. There are currently colonies in Bangor numbering between seventy and ninety feral cats. These cats are not living a good life. They have a much higher risk being ill and having parasites, they often go without food, and they pick up and spread disease. As a result of all of this, their life expectancy is greatly diminished."
http://www.greenacreskennel.com/pages/Articles/ART_WFMW_Spaying_Animal_Welfare.html
"The Humane Society of the United States was quoted in 1992 estimating the average life expectancy of free roaming pets to be between 3 and 5 years, while indoor cats can commonly reach ages of 17 years or more."
http://www.scvas.org/index.php?page=text&id=keepcats
"... intact feral male cats have a life expectancy of three years. On the other hand, neutered male, indoor house cats commonly live into their teens."
http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/Geriatric.html
This one has more good info than I can reasonably copy without grossly disrespecting their copyrights, so I'll just include the link:
http://www.staugustinehumanesociety.org/spay_or_neuter_your_pet.htm
2006-11-12 16:05:32 · answer #9 · answered by Mustela Frenata 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
kittens can be spayed or neutered at 3-6 months of age and it is very humane because it will stop unwanted breeding and believe it or not it will be a healthy choice for your kitten...sometimes males will spray in the house and they might get aggresive, but that's not always the case...if your kitten has sprayed in the house the best way to get the smell out is vinegar. as for the procedure ... it's very simple...your kitten will not be awake during the surgery and it only takes about 20 minutes...i highly recommend neutering your kitten...he will be more calm as he is growing up
2006-11-12 16:04:26 · answer #10 · answered by ? 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋