Being a new cat owner is exciting and full of play time and cuddles, however it also comes with a lot of questions and decisions to make, including deciding if you should neuter your cat or not. Many people decide to neuter their cats, and in this article I will explain how many people come to this decision, and what you might need to know about the process.
What does neutering mean?
Having your cat neutered is the process of removing either their testes if they are a male, or their ovaries if they are a female, preventing them from reproducing and preventing the impacts of hormones on their bodies and behaviour. This is a surgical procedure, and needs to be performed by a qualified veterinarian with adequate pain relief and under a general anaesthetic in order to ensure your cat’s welfare during the procedure.
What are the reasons for getting my cat neutered?
There are a whole host of reasons to have your cat neutered, ranging from preventing unwanted pregnancies and kittens to preventing the spread of dangerous infectious diseases.
Preventing unwanted pregnancies
When allowed outside, cats get into all sorts of mischief, including playing, hunting, and occasionally fighting with other cats. If your cat has not been neutered then they could also have getting pregnant on their agenda, and this can happen from much younger age than you think! Female cats can get pregnant from as early as four months of age, and with pregnancy lasting around 9 weeks, they can produce a litter of kittens and become pregnant again in no time! If you do not neuter your cat then you could very quickly end up with a large number of kittens in your household, or if you have a male cat, you may be contributing to someone else’s household!
If you have a female kitten and you are worried about her getting pregnant before she is neutered, things you can do to prevent this include keeping them indoors until they have recovered from their neutering operation and do not allow contact with mature male cats (including male kittens that are over 4-6 months of age, even if they are from the same litter!). Female kittens can be neutered from 4-5 months of age, or when they weigh more than 2kg (around 4.4lbs), so speak to your local veterinarian around this time to get this booked in.
Prevent fighting, straying, and infectious diseases
Cats that have not been neutered are more under the influence of their hormones, and in male cats this encourages them to travel further away from home, meaning they get into more fights with other cats, are more at risk of getting lost, and are more likely to get hit by a car. Female cats do not tend to stray as far, but when they are in season (in the part of their reproductive cycle when they are ready to mate) they will travel further from home looking for a cat to mate with, and are again more at risk of getting lost and into fights with other cats. Fighting not only results in your cat being wounded and possibly developing a nasty abscess, but there are also infectious diseases that are most frequently spread through fighting and contact with other cats, such as cat flu (calicivirus and herpesvirus), and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV – similar to HIV in humans).
Prevent unwanted behaviours
Hormones can result in a variety of behaviours in mature animals, not all of which are wanted in the household. Male cats that have not been neutered will very often spray areas with urine to mark their territory, and this also includes on carpets, walls, and furniture inside the house. Female cats will also show some unwanted behaviours, and this is usually related to when they are in season. These changes usually consist of being extremely affectionate and demanding for your attention, being very vocal at home (often hours upon hours of yowling), sometimes spraying urine on furniture and around the house to attract male cats, and rolling around on the floor or rubbing themselves on furniture. Whilst these behaviours are not unbearable to live with, they can become frustrating, especially if it means you need to clean the house all the time!
Prevent cancers
One of the main benefits of neutering female cats is the reduction in risk of cancerous conditions from occurring. The most prevalent of these is mammary carcinoma, the cat equivalent of breast cancer. The risk of mammary cancers in cats is reduced by up to 91% if they are neutered before 6 months, and reduced by up to 86% if they are neutered before 12 months. In cats, the vast majority (up to 90%) of mammary tumours are malignant, meaning that they act more aggressively and cause more severe illness, so reducing the risk of these is a huge benefit to your cat’s health.
Are there any risks to having my cat neutered?
As with all surgical procedures that require a general anaesthetic, neutering procedures for cats are not risk free. The main risks are related to the general anaesthetic, as your cat will be exposed to medications that they will not have encountered before and there is a small possibility they will have a reaction to them, or have another complication whilst under the anaesthetic. The rates of these problems are extremely low, around 1 in 1000 cats, however if your cat is young, healthy, and has been given a thorough health check by your local veterinarian then the risk of the general anaesthetic is far outweighed by the possible benefits of the surgery.
The second biggest risk of neutering procedures is related to the surgical portion of the procedure – bleeding is always a slight risk, however neutering is a routine procedure that is performed all the time, so all veterinarians are trained and practiced in these techniques. The other risk related to the surgery is in the post operative period, for example developing an infection at home or having the wound open up. These complications happen extremely infrequently, and if you prevent your cat from bothering the wound (by either using a buster collar (cone of shame), or a body suit), and keep them indoors whilst they heal up from the procedure, these risks can generally be avoided.
Overall, it is widely accepted that the benefits of neutering your cat greatly outweigh the risks of the neutering procedure as long as they are fit and well, so it is highly recommended.
What do I need to know before I get my cat neutered?
The main things you need to be aware of before you get your cat neutered are the benefits and the risks, as discussed above, as these are the main things that will allow you to make an informed decision about the procedures. When you book this procedure with your local veterinarian they will discuss these things with you, and will be able to answer any further questions you may have about them. When you are arranging the procedure with your local veterinarian, they will also tell you more information about the logistics of the procedure, including what time your cat will need to be admitted and how long they will stay at the clinic for, how long they need to be starved before the procedure (usually no food from 9pm the evening before the procedure), and how they would recommend looking after your cat after the procedure. If you have any questions about these it is important to ask at the time, as getting these things wrong can cause problems with the procedure or your cat’s recovery afterwards.
Is neutering worth the cost?
Often neutering procedures are subsidised procedures to encourage owners to have them performed, this is because it is important for the populations of animals we are neutering – all around the world there are thousands of cats without homes, and more kittens being born every day that cannot be looked after.
Neutering is always considered to be worth the cost of the surgery for a variety of reasons. Firstly, a neutering procedure is much less expensive than rearing a whole litter of kittens who will depend on you and your cat for their care, in addition to any veterinary care they may require before you find them a new home. A neutering procedure is also less expensive than procedures your cat may require in the future that may be necessary if they have not been neutered, for example the removal of a mammary tumour, or an emergency neutering procedure if they have developed an infection in their uterus (also known as a pyometra). Neutered cats are less likely to roam and become injured, also reducing future costs related to injuries that may have been prevented, and if your cat ruins any furniture by spraying urine on it, then those costs can also be avoided. In my opinion the health benefits alone make the procedure worthwhile, however the other avoidable costs can be useful in helping you be sure about your decision.
Making a decision should always be tailored to your own cat and their individual circumstances, so you should always speak to your local veterinarian to decide if this procedure is right for your cat, but hopefully this article has helped explain why neutering your cat is recommended, and provided some insight as to the risks and benefits of the procedure.