Will He Spray Soon?

So, I got my kitten, Nimbus, sometime in August and I'm not 100% sure of when he was born...I want to say May or June (He weighed in at about 3 3/4 pounds in October). Anyway, he hasn't been neutered yet, because I'm currently at school and I'd prefer to use my Vet at home. I won't be able to get him neutered until probably early January. I absolutely can't get it done sooner, because I will be too busy with class finals and then traveling for the holidays. After reading up on male cats, I'm getting very very worried that he will start spraying before then. Based on his behavior, can anyone tell me the odds?

-He's extremely well behaved, not aggressive towards people, I practically never get bitten or scratched by him (In fact, I've only ever been accidentally scratched during play) Even around strangers, he doesn't attack.
-He lives with a 1 1/2 year old male cat that belongs to my roommate and they get along well.
-When I bring him home for visits, he is around my sisters 7 year old cat. My kitten growls for the first day, but is relatively calm and playful with him within 2 days.
-NEVER attempts to escape the apartment.

-Kristen

There is a good chance he will but it is usually a 50-50 chance. Some do and some do not. It's not like you will never do it but waiting that extra time increases the chances. IMO you are also increasing the chances by taking him home with you. I would quit doing that as he may get stressed and spray or decide to try to claim his territory, etc... The fact that he lives with another cat also increases the chances. Is the other male cat neutered? If not, I would definately be prepared for him to start spraying.

Any reason you can't just find a low cost clinic near you to have it done? Why wait?

My roommates cat is neutered. I'm waiting because if something goes wrong or if he needs more time to recover, I want to be able to be around (with 6 classes and finals coming up, I can't afford to lose a whole weekend or take him in during the week). I also don't have a car on campus, so I'd have to rely on my roommates for transportation.

Nonetheless, after your response, I may consider trying to get it done anyway, but I have a few questions. What is the typical recovery time after a cat his age gets neutered? Does he spend the night at the vet? Is it ok to pick him up/hold him normally, shortly after he gets neutered (or will he be sore?)?

-Kristen

Sorry if all this sounds stupid, but this is my first time dealing with a male cat.

Don't worry, this is the place to ask the questions!

All the males I have had done are groggy that night but then they are fine by the next day. You can hold him normally but you just want to close him in a room or place to himself and leave him to sleep that night. Then the next day or so he should be back to his normal self. You also want him to not chew at the incision but I have never had any problems with that. A few licks is fine but I rarely have seen a cat really chewing and picking at it. You will want to be checking in on him though. I don't believe they use many stitchs, if any at all for a male. There is no reason for the cat to be kept overnight, I hate when vets do that and personally I would find another vet if they wanted to keep mine. I have never taken home pain meds either so I don't know anything about that.

Hope that helps!

When I had Sonic neutered he was at the vet for 9am - and I picked him up at 4pm the same day - they like to keep them in for a bit after surgery to make sure the anaesthetic is wearing off ok, some vets keep them overnight but it's quite rare. When I got him home he leaped out of the carrier and bounced around completely normally, it was like nothing had happened! They are usually a little sore for a couple of days, but it's a minor procedure and heals quickly, as there's no muscle tissue involved in the surgery just a tiny incision in the scrotum, they don't normally even have to have stitches or wear a cone. Some are a bit groggy from the anaesthetic that first evening, but are fine the next day. It's very minor surgery and they are not under anaesthetic for that long, so complications are rare.

Hope that helps

I picked up Patches that afternoon. There were no stitches. He was sleepy the rest of the day but when I got up the next morning he was back to his normal self. I could barely see the small incisions the only thing different was his tiny testicles were gone.

I would just get him neutered. It really is a minor operation for male cats. When my girl was spayed which is a much bigger operation I got her home the same day and she was a bit groggy for the rest of the day.

The day after she was pretty much back to normal and the day after that she was 100% back to normal.

In the pretty much back to normal day, she'd for example jump down from a table by jumping to a chair first and then down rather than going straight to the floor from the table.

But that was a spay which is a much more serious operation than a neuter, I wouldn't worry about your boy at all. Just get it over with so you won't have to worry about him starting to spray and the operation itself.

Male cats recover within a day or two. It might be a bit sore, so just no rough housing with him. The only thing to watch for is any litter sticking to the incision area, so after he uses the pan, just check him to be sure he's clean. And if there is any red irritation, or drainage, then call the vet.

Most males have no problems. This is just routine stuff to look for after a minor surgery. The sooner you have him done, the better.

Ok, after reading everyones advice, I decided to make an appointment for next Monday to get him neutered. Hopefully everything goes well! I'm a little worried that I won't be able to keep a close eye on him, because I have class that night and the next day...but we'll see.

-Kristen

My toms never sprayed until they were over a year, usually closer to 2.

You were just lucky - I know unneutered males that sprayed at 6-7 months old What kind of cats do you have?

I was counting every cat I ever had. Orange and white domestic shorthairs, gray tabby, one dlh deep red.

It isn't just hormones that make cats spray. It also can take an environmental trigger to complete the circuit.

Cats who never sprayed before can start when a new cat appears in the yard or their home becomes newly stressful. It's the unpredictability of the behavior, and the difficulty of eradicating it once it appears, that makes early altering such a good bet to avoid problems in the future.

If we don't let the hormones prime their brain in the first place, the behavior will not be as likely to appear under stress; they will pick something else.

When I got our new kitten, he was 4 1/2 months old, and was very obviously male. This worried me enough to find a new vet who agreed to neuter him at 5 1/2 months (when he'd recovered from his shelter illnesses and was no longer skin & bones,) because my regular vet wanted to wait until he was 7-8 months old.

We live in a small apartment with a lot of books and musical instruments; I felt confident early altering would not cause problems, and if he got into spraying behavior that certainly would cause problems. I adored him and didn't want to create a situation where I had to find him a new home AND make that new home reluctant to take him.

This has caused me to rethink my vet; they've always been great, but they "know best" and won't listen to me. I think a vet should listen to me; especially since one of the advantages of my (cough cough) age is the fact that I have lived with cats longer than they have!

Castration is not as an invasive surgery as spaying. He'll be fine in a day or two. If at all possible, please don't wait.

good for you for making the appointment! You won't be sorry. I have takenin litters at a time to be fixed, and most of the time you wouldn't know they had just underwent surgery. It's amazing. Even the females I've had done are pretty much up and around that night, and perfectly normal by the next day.

I'm sure most of you will be appalled by this, but I've never neutered my toms until they are full grown and sexually mature. If you castrate them before they take on the physical characteristics of a tom (fat cheeks, big head, sturdy body, large size) they often end up looking weird, with small skinny heads and gradually widening, extra fat bodies. This is what I have seen of cats I've known, mine, friends, and others. I do not like the look of the eunic male cat neutered before his hormones kicked in to make him look like a guy. Just my personal observations yours may differ.

That may be true to some extent. But I've seen males that have gotten older and did get more of a male look even tho they were neutered younger. The fact is that males will spray and roam and get females pregnant. If you are not responsible to neuter them before they go out getting females pregnant you are being irresponsible.

And to keep a male whole for the purpose of looking male or make him frustrated by not breeding is cruel IMO.

The only ones that are exceptions are those pedigree males who are in a breeding program.

our cat ddint get nuetered till 6 months and he never sprayed b4 then.

Goldenkitty:
I said they were neutered after they were full grown. They didn't roam or get anybody pregnant. They weren't full grown that long before the got neutered. You call it 'cruel' I could say the same thing about turning a cat into an unnatural looking eunic with a high voice and a strangely shaped body. But anyway everyone does what they think is best and as long as all the cats end up happy and healthy and well loved it's all right. I still feel like declawing is handicapping cats though, and I have an old friend who no longer speaks to me because I told her so. I tried to stop her but she did it anyway.

Originally Posted by TabbyTail

You call it 'cruel' I could say the same thing about turning a cat into an unnatural looking eunic with a high voice and a strangely shaped body.

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Where in the world are these cats getting neutered?! All the kittens at the shelter I volunteer at are neutered around 12 weeks and none of them turn into high-pitched freakish eunics.