A male cats privates?

Question

What are the benefits in having our young cat neutered?

Will it effect his temperament?

What is the earliest age this eye watering operation can be carried out?

Answer 1

There are lots of benefits:

behaviour - he won't spray around the house, wander off looking for females in heat and risk being injured when irate owners of female try to chase off hoards of wailing tom cats (I'm not joking about the last - they often do get seriously injured by having rocks hurled at them etc.). They will fight less with other male cats when they are out.

health - you remove the risk of testicular cancer.

It won't change his innate personality, but will make him a more contented pet as he grows up.

Most vets do it from around 6 months old - it's not very eye watering when they are young as the testes are hardly formed and it is a minor operation - it's worse to wait until they get older and behaviour such as spraying and wandering has already started and the testes are fully developed.

Answer 2

Here's some information on neutering that I got from a web site.  I hope it answers your questions.

Why Neutering is a Good Idea

Neutering a male cat is an excellent step to help your young man grow into a loving, well-adapted household citizen. The main reason to neuter a male cat is to reduce the incidence of objectionable behaviors that are normal in the feline world but unacceptable in the human world.

ROAMING: More than 90 percent will reduce this behavior with neutering. Approximately 60 percent reduce this behavior right away

FIGHTING: More than 90 percent will reduce this behavior with neutering Approximately 60 percent reduce this behavior right away



URINE MARKING: More than 90 percent will reduce this behavior with neutering. Approximately 80 percent reduce this behavior right away.

Another reason to neuter a male cat has to do with the physical appearance. Cats who are neutered prior to puberty (most cats are neutered at approximately age 6 months) do not develop secondary s*x characteristics. These include a more muscular body, thickenings around the face called shields, and spines on the p***s.



What is Done Exactly

The feline neuter is one of the simplest surgical procedures performed in all of veterinary medicine. The cat fasts over night so that anesthesia is performed on an empty stomach. The s*****m is opened with a small incision and the testicles are brought out. The cords are either pulled free and tied to each other or a small suture is used to tie the cords and the t******e is cut free. The skin incision on the s*****m is small enough so as not to require stitches of any kind.

Some myths have been:

Early neutering is more likely to prevent objectionable behaviors than is neutering at a later age.  This has not borne out. Neutering at any age is associated with the same statistics as listed above.

Kittens neutered early will be stunted or small.  This is not true though early neutered kittens will not develop the more masculine appearance described above.

Early neutered kittens will have a narrowed urethra that will predispose them to blockage with feline lower urinary tract disease.

Early neutering does not seem to be a significant factor in this syndrome.