When one sees all the
stray cats, and all the problems that follow, it’s easy to understand spaying
or neutering your cat is important. Stray kittens have a very hard life.
Hunger, diseases, parasites and malnutrition are sufferings most of them meet,
and many die young. Spaying or neutering your cat can be your way of easing the
problem.
What is done?
The
surgical operation is fairly simple and routine, and modern anaesthetics make
it a both safe and painless operation. The last 12 hours before the operation
the cat is without food. Just before the operation the cat gets a small
injection with anaesthetics, and is completely unconscious during the
operation. The male cat is then incised over the testicles, which are removed.
There is no need for suturing, and the wound heals quickly. The female cat is
incised in the abdomen, and usually both the ovaries and uterus is removed. The
incision is sutured, and the sutures may be taken after approx 14 days, or they
may disappear by themselves after 3-4 weeks. The cat will normally wake up 3-4
hours after the operation, and the next day be uninfluenced by the
anaesthetics. The male will normally be himself completely the day after the
operation, while the female may use 2-3 days before she is 100% fit. Many such
operations are done, and complications, such as haemorrhage and infection, are
extremely rare. My experience is that less than 1 in 100 has any form of
complications.
What age?
Traditionally
cats have been spayed/neutered from the age of 6 months, but some vets,
especially in the UK, have started operating the kittens down to the age of 8
weeks, without seeing any negative effects of this. On the other hand, while waiting
to long for neutering a male, the male may have got accustomed to unwanted
behaviour, such as urinating at unwanted places, and fighting other males.
These bad habits may continue after neutering. Therefore it’s best to neuter
the male before he becomes sexually mature, something that normally occurs at
7-9 months age. And don’t listen to the myth that says that females should have
one litter before they are spayed!
Advantages/disadvantages:
Male:
Intact
males will often roam large areas in search for a mate, and will defend its own
territory against other males. A fight involves a risk for injuries; infections
and spread of serious disease e.g. cat AIDS (FIV). The roaming cat also has a higher risk of being hit by a car.
Neutered males will normally stay close to home, and try to avoid a fight.
Intact males may mark their territories (also indoor!) with stinking urine. The
desire to mark is normally less present in a castrated male, and the urine
doesn’t smell as bad. The disadvantages are that the castrated male has a
tendency for becoming fat, and have a higher risk for urine stones. Both these
effects can be prevented by correct feeding. A neutered male cat is often
calmer, something that most cat owners sees as an advantage. As owner of a
neutered cat, you don’t have to worry about that your cat may be father of any
of all the straying kittens you find here on the coast.
Female:
An intact
female may have 3-4 heats a year, and will normally have kittens throughout her
entire life. This creates enormous problems with straying kittens. And all the
pregnancies and lactations are a strain for the cat. The behaviour of a female
cat on heat can be unpleasant and even more unpleasant can the male visitors
be, urine marking the garden, garage, garden furniture etc. One possibility is
using preventic pills, but in the long course, their use involves higher risk
of breast cancer for the cat. On the contrary, early spaying may reduce the
risk for getting breast cancer. The tendency for spayed females to become
overweight can easily be prevented by correct feeding.
In my view
all cats that may leave outdoors by themselves should be spayed/neutered. The
operation is safe and the cost relatively low, compared with the great
advantages. Don’t delay till tomorrow (next year) with what you can do today….
David
the vet, Clinica San Blas, Centro Idea, Crt de Mijas Km 3,6 tel 952 58 17 55