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Neutering Your Cat

Neutering:

Please neuter your kitten – boy or girl.

In 2010 alone, the Cats Protection League re-homed over 52,000 cats. This is only one charity and the number just a drop in the ocean.

If you know of anyone that would like a kitten, please direct them to the local charities in your area where there are many more cats needing a new home.

Why castrate male cats?

The obvious reason is to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but it can also prevent unsociable behavioural traits developing in your tom.

After puberty at 9-10 months of age, entire toms start to become more territorial and will begin to 'scent mark' their territory with increasingly strong urine. They also wander in search of females, increasing their risk of road traffic accidents and getting lost, and fighting with other male cats as they try to enlarge their territory. Fighting leads to wounds, abscesses, and, on a more serious note, the possibility of catching Feline Leukaemia Virus (see Vaccinations) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (for which there is no vaccination or treatment).

Please castrate your tom to prevent the above. The operation is very common and safe for your cat, and they are more relaxed cats as a result and enjoy a much better quality of life.

And what about the girls?

Again, the most obvious reason to neuter a female is to prevent unwanted pregnancies. A pregnancy is a huge strain on their bodies and it is a myth that ‘moggies’ have little or no complications giving birth. Queens also get pregnant soon after giving birth and a single female can be responsible for up to 16 kittens or more in one year.

Medically, neutering prevents ovarian and uterine tumours as well as mammary tumours - which can be fatal. It stops the queen from escaping in search of a male when in season, and meeting with road traffic accidents and getting lost. You might also appreciate the lack of entire toms hanging around your garden!

Spaying is a quick, routine and safe operation. Your kitten only needs to be in for a day and in most cases will return to normal by the following day. We use dissolvable and buried sutures which means:

• NO stitches for them to chew at
• NO need for an Elizabethan collar
• NO need for revisits (unless you have any concerns about the wound or their recovery).