How can I tell if a male cat has been neutered?

Question

I adopted a cat from a shelter and they said he was neutered. I have doubts due to:
1) My spayed female utterly hates him and is aggressive on sight.
2) After scuffles with the female, he has a strong cat musk scent which is occasionally left as a drop or two on the floor in a very thick clear liquid.
3) He wrestles with my neutered male in a very rough & tumble way. Not aggressive, just that very rough is normal to him.
4) I noticed later on that the adoption papers indicate he is a shorthair with a short tail although it has always been obvious to be a longhair with long tail, he definitely has some maine coon in his line somewhere.

I think the shelter mixed up their cats. How can I tell if he's been neutered? Going to the vet will cost $35 for the answer, I'd like to avoid that if there is an easier way. Thanx in advance!

Thanx all. I thought the testacles were removed in that procedure. I just didn't want to go rummaging around my cat's nut sack until I was completely sure that's how you tell. Now I have to root through all that fur to find them, easier said than done on this cat!

Answer 1

Just like the other answers you will be able to tell!! If there is nothing dangling in the back they have been removed!! Just because a male cat has been fixed dose not mean that he can not secret the spray that they mark with. Depends on how old he was when fixed. That maybe what the stronge smelling liquid was that you described!!

Answer 2

Male Cats Neutered

Answer 3

Having been raising cats for over 30 years I can tell you, you sure have gotten alot of mixed answers. Some vets do remove the entire scrotal sac but it's not common. They usually cut into each side, remove the testicles, tie off the vas defrens, then shut it up. Because of the lack of testicles, the body will fill the sac with a fluid giving the appearance of remaining testicles purely by sight alone. At times the sac will shrink a little but not too often. Also, just like in humans, the testicles in intact males will go back inside of them at times during stress, playfulness, or coldness. You will have to check while the cat is nice and relaxed. Just simply feel the sacs and if nothing is there, chances are that he has been neutered. But you can bet that he is because I can't think of a single shelter that would adopt out an animal that is unaltered. As for the paperwork, they could have simply mixed up the paperwork on the cat but that doesn't mean they didn't neuter your cat. I would take the papers back though and point it out so you have proper documentation. Thanks for adopting and saving a life!!!

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How can I tell if a male cat has been neutered?
I adopted a cat from a shelter and they said he was neutered. I have doubts due to:
1) My spayed female utterly hates him and is aggressive on sight.
2) After scuffles with the female, he has a strong cat musk scent which is occasionally left as a drop or two on the floor in a very thick clear...

Answer 5

You can't always tell if a male cat is neutered just by looking. Some male cats have undescended testicles, which are fully functional. And when a vet neuters a cat, she does NOT remove the testicles. She snips the scrotal sac and removes the testes, but often the cat appears to still have testicles and you have to give them a little squeeze to see if they feel hard (not neutered) or soft and empty (neutered).

Answer 6

The first thing you should do is give the shelter a call and tell them that they may have gotten the information mixed up with another cat, shouldn't cost you any more money. Obvious a short hair and tail is a lot different from long-hair and tail. if he was neutered he would still have sacs, only smaller & as for the foul smell, cats like to mark their territory by spraying since there is other cats in the house.

Answer 7

If it is an older cat just look. If he has jelly beans he is definately not neutered, if he does not have jelly beans he is neutered. You can also look for the scar, it will probably be very small but it will be there. If the cat was neutered later on in life then he still knows he is a boy. There could also be a situation in which he did not drop.

Answer 8

Many of the answers you see above are misleading. I find it silly to believe that many of the answers say, if you're looking for a fixed male, look for testicles, or the lack thereof.

A neutered male cat is difficult to distinguish from a female, neutered or not.

You won't see testicles or any verifiable scars on a fixed male cat. This needs to be determined by the veterinarian. In most cases the cats will need a blood test to check for hormones, depending on the age of your cat.

The veterinarian will also check for the distance between the anus and the urethra, and will also note the shape of the anus (which is different between males and females) to determine the sex of your cat.

Answer 9

Shelters sometimes get the cats mixed breeds wrong anyway the way to tell is lift it's tail and see if there is a set of testicles. If so he hasn't been nuetered. If he looks just like your female from the rear he has been fixed. Normally shelters won't let the animal go without being fixed already unless it is a baby.If not the shelter will do it. He sounds like he has a different personallity than your previous cats and it may take time for him to get used to them Good Luck

Answer 10

Feel his testicles. If you feel two firm balls inside the scrotum, he is intact. If on the other hand the scrotum feels like soft flat "padding," then he is fixed. Neutered males can still display "mating" begavior (mounting another cat, spraying, etc.) if they were fixed after the mating behavior has set in. The mounting and shows of mock agression is a dominance issue... the cats are just establishing hierarchy in their society. You'll know if the fight were serious - it wil be very loud with lots of yowls and hissing and posturing and pouncing.

I suggest that you take the papers back to the adoption agency and tell them of your suspicion that they handed you the wrong documents mainly becuase of how they described the cat (short hair, short tail, etc.). Take a picture of the cat they handed over to you to show them too. Maybe they have the right papers somewhere in their files.