Cat
Neutering
Cat neutering generally applies
to males and is a simple procedure to essentially remove the
testicles. Although the neutering term is often used in general
for both male and female cats, males get neutered and females get
spayed. The female spaying is a much more involved procedure and
often costs more than neutering.
Why should you neuter your cat?
Well, there are several good reasons. One is that a male cat can
become quite territorial and fight with other males if not
neutered, often marking areas, and being overly aggressive.
Another one is population control, there are far too many homeless
cats now and you don't want to add to the problem.
When can you neuter your male
cat? Some authorities say as young as 8 weeks old but I usually
wait until they are about 3 months or older. If you take in a
stray, as long as they appear to be out of the kitten stage, it's
a good time. First thing we do with a new stray cat is take them
to the vet to get shots, a full checkup, and then neutered or
spayed.
Cat Neutering Costs
This is very dependent on your
location and available Vets and other facilities. In larger towns
it's always a good idea to check with local shelters or the SPCA.
They can be a great source of information on what prices run in
your area and many have low cost programs. Even though this is a
simple procedure you always want to be careful when choosing a Vet
or facility to neuter your male cat.
In our area (Houston) there are a
couple of organizations that provide very low cost neutering, and
sometimes free neutering services. The lower end of prices run
about $20, although a Vet can charge up to $150 in certain areas
of the city. Do your homework to get the best price and most
reliable Vet. Check with friends and local clubs or animal
groups for recommendations.
Cat Neutering Procedure
The cat neutering procedure is
normally done in one day but does require general anesthesia. Then a short incision is made on the scrotum for each testicle. The membrane surrounding Each testicle has a membrane that is torn opened and pressure is put on the testicle to pop it out. The vas deferens and a artery that are connected are severed. There is a covering membrane that is cut and the artery and vas deferens are separated and the artery is clamped. Then the artery is tied off using surgical thread or the vas
deferens. The leftover stump is then put back within the scrotum. Suturing is optional and most Vets don't do it.
It's a quick and uncomplicated procedure.
Cat Neutering Recovery & Possible Complications
Most cats have little trouble recovering from the neutering
procedure. Some Vets recommend a cone (to keep the cat from
excessive licking of the area) but this often stresses the cat and
is more of a problem than a solution. The only thing to be careful
of is possible bleeding from the incision. I've only had this
happen once (we rescue cats so we do a lot of neutering) and the
Vet decided to suture the incision and that solved the problem.
Here's a quick list of things to do:
- Keep your cat in a quiet place to recover without other animals.
- In the first few days try and keep your cat calm with little jumping or playing.
- Try to keep the licking the incision down to a minimum.
- You might want to replace litter with some non-dust type to keep the
possibility of infection to a minimum.
- No topical flea control
treatments or bathing for a few days.
- Keep your eye on the incision to make sure it's healing properly.
The best advice I can give is to
monitor your cat's behavior to watch for any possible issues with
licking or bleeding. Keep the cat inside and away from other pets
for a day or two. Try and keep track of eating and drinking too,
just in case. Like I've mentioned, we have rarely had any recovery
problems.
There really is no downside to
cat neutering and many good reasons to do it. You might want to
adjust the amount of food to make sure there is no increase in
weight (a common complaint). And anything you can do to help
control or even eliminate the number of feral cats is a good
thing.
Related Articles:
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