cat questions?

Question

OK YAHOO PPL I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO QUESTIONS THE FIRST ONE IS I HAVE A TWO AND A HALF YR OLD PRETTY GOOD SIZED CAT AND ALL HE EVER WANTS TO DO IS SLEEP AND WHEN HE GETS UP IT IS JUST LONG ENOUGH TO EAT OR BATHROOM THEN ITS BACK TO SLEEP FOR HOURS ON END JUST WANDERING DOES ANYBODY THINK THIS IS A PROB AND ALSO I JUST RECENTLY GOT A NEW KITTEN WHICH IS PROBABLY ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AND WAS WONDERING HOW OLD DOES HE NEED TO BE TO GET HIM NUETERED....THANK YOU!.....PS MY OLDER CAT DOES PLAY ALOT WITH THE LITTLE ONE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND IS ACTUALLY UP RIGHT NOW PLAYING AS I ASK THIS BUT STILL AM CONCERNED ABOUT WHY TO SLEEP SO MUCH FOR SO LONG IS THIS NORMAL??

Answer 1

Hi Angel & Angela,

Cats sleep on average of 20 hours a day. As they get older, they sleep more, so no, this is not a problem. Your new kitten should be neutered at 6 months of age, if you wait any longer than that, he may begin marking/spraying in your home. It's great that the two cats get along well.

Answer 2

About neutering: Any time a cat is neutered before six months of age, you run the risk of causing the cat to be more susceptible to Urinary Tract Infections, which easily leads to kidney infections ans disease in cats.

This is relatively new information. Just a few years ago, vets thought it was okay to neuter early. Then they saw a spike in male cats (the same is not true for female cats) getting UTIs and kidney disease.

The very unfortunate think about this is, that many owners do not pick up on the subtle signs of UTI and you could simply come home one day to find the cat dead. Once they go into renal failure, it is only a matter of hours before they die. You go to work thinking all is well and come home to a dead cat. And why? Because people at Yahoo Answers told you to neuter your cat as 6 weeks! Nuts!

Males should be neutered between six months to a year, depending on environment, i.e. if there are there impregnable female cats around. If the cat does not have access to impregnable females, you can wait until one year.

Personally, I still choose the earliest time that seems to be safe, which is six months.

About the lazy cat: Find a game he likes to play such as chase the string or jump at the feathery thing. Some cats even enjoy playing fetch with small round fluffy balls. My guess is that it may take interaction with you to get him moving. 18 hours of sleep a day is normal, but you do want to have him get exercise.

Answer 3

Many cats sleep up to 20 hours a day, so if your older cat acts all right, eats and uses his litter box, and plays with the kitten, you don't have anything to worry about. He's just laid-back and sort of lazy.

Get the little kitten neutered by age six months or sooner. You could probably do it as soon as a couple more weeks, if he's 2 and 1/2 months old now. Check with a vet.

Answer 4

Cats are individuals. They have different personalities. I have 5 cats (1 grown - 4 kittens). I have had them all my life. They are so different! My 2 year old male cat is a grouch lol and he sleeps alot. The kittens (about 6 months old) are all different. 2 of them are extremely playful. 1 of them is a brat and only plays when he can sneak up on you and your feet as your walking by! The other one is more serious but very loving.
The answer to your other question - they can be safely spade/neutered at 6 months. :-)

Answer 5

Cats normally like to sleep but the kitten should bring out his inner kitten lol all cats are different i have a 9 year old cat that runs around my house like crazy but i would wait till ur kitten is at least 4 months or 4 pounds

Answer 6

Here in Oklahoma we have a wonderful place called spay Oklahoma and they do cats of any age . I found the best is before puberty any where from six weeks to six months is a good time. If he is fixed before he gets the bad habit of marking ,life is better for all around him. And you will find older cats do sleep a lot but the kitten will encourage play time.

Answer 7

In the United States, most cats are neutered between 5 and 8 months of age. To try to control pet overpopulation, many humane shelters have started to spay/neuter all animals before they are adopted. This means they are spaying/neutering animals at a younger age, even 6-14 weeks of age. Many veterinarians in private practice have started early spaying/neutering as well.

Normal cats sleep 2/3's of their life away. They spend about twice as much time sleeping as most other mammals. The amount of time a cat spends sleeping can depend on age, weather, temperature, hunger, sense of security, and sexual influences.

If your cat seems to sleep more than usual, acts depressed when awake, has had weight changes or other signs of illness, contact your veterinarian.

You should also contact your veterinarian if your older cat is sleeping less. It could be due to a condition called hyperthyroidism. This disease occurs when your cat is producing too much thyroid hormone and his metabolism shoots into high gear.

Studies have shown that cats can enter into a deep sleep like us, and have similar brain wave patterns as we do when we dream. So if you see your cat asleep, whiskers twitching, and the eyes under the closed lids rapidly moving to and fro, your cat is probably out on the hunt in her dreams. Wish her 'Happy Mousing!'

Answer 8

My one year old cat only gets up from the window seat long enough to eat and use the cat box also. He does play with my older cat who is nine for little bits of time on occassion. Neutering for males is 6 weeks, spaying for females is 6 months.

Answer 9

Is the cat depressed because the younger one is invading his space? Not sure, but it sounds like a little too much sleeping. I would call the vet regarding neutering the little one and in the same call, ask the vet about the older one's sleeping habits. Good luck.

Answer 10

wow, very irritating to read the caps....

But cats sleep a lot.... It's probably fine. I'd keep an eye on him though and watch for any other unusual behavior.

Kittens can be neutered at usually around 6 months old.