Oh my what to do?

Well hello again my friends. It seems like a long time since I was last here. When one of my kitties die it takes me a while to grieve.

Here is my questions.

How old is to old to get grown feral male cats neutered?

We have been feeding one in our back yard for about 3 years and I still can't get near him we nicknamed him "Tiger"

Then someone else moved away and we ended up with a non neutered male adult we named "Sylvester" because he is a tuxedo kitty. I can get a hold of him he is very friendly still. But he fights with tiger ;(

Now we have seen another male kitty in the back yard we shall call "Red". We think he is feral but he is so starved he lets me stand pretty close to him. I have not yet tried to touch him. Poor thing has been in a lot of fights according to his body both ears have been ripped, and their are scars all over his poor little body. I did manage to get some flea stuff between his shoulders while he was eating.

But the problem is Sylvester he fights all the other cats that want to come into the back yard. I know he just wants us to himself but I can't stand the other kitties starving.

So if i had Sylvester's (excuse my language) ball cut off would he change his fighting habits? Since he is so old I am not sure we should.

Can anyone give me a hint?
and will the vet put him to sleep if he has any diseases?

hugs Menou Lover

ps we can't bring anymore into cats into the home because we have 5 already and they barely tolerate each other.

Originally Posted by Menou Lover

How old is to old to get grown feral male cats neutered?

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I dont think there is any limit for that.

But if you asked, how old can they be and still be fostered into home pets - this question is more difficult. Although if you want try so please do. No age limit, if you really want to try.


Vet! Please, do your profession. 3x it seems.



Good luck!


Ps. Ah, I saw this other quesition, about putting to sleep. Now, if it IS real serious, yes he probably will - and best so.
With all in-between cases - it is important you do tell the cat will be taken care off, this way or another. He will not risk to suffer some horrible death left alone.
And if necessary - tell you are willing to pay for the treatment.
This should stop any not necessary pts

If he's neutered, he will definitely calm down and the fighting will diminish. It's all about mating and territory anyway, so if he doesn't have the desire to mate and doesn't need to protect his mating territory, he will calm down.

As to being put to sleep. You should have him tested for FIV and other diseases common in intact, feral males. If he tests positive for FIV, he can still live a realtively healthy life with proper care and nutrition.

With other diseases, you'll have to talk to the vet and make that decision. If he is still fighting, please get the tests done ASAP, because there is a good possibility he will spread any disease he has to the other guys.

Bless you for helping them all....

The neutering will help with the cat fights in your yard for sure and that goes for both males and females. If the feral's test positive for FELK they will euthanize, at least that is what I was told when I started doing the TNR's. FELK is extremely contagious and the poor cats will suffer outiside and spread the disease. I have not trapped one cat yet that had FeLK so I have not had to deal with that, yet.... Good luck and you are doing the right thing and bless you for caring for those cats.

The vet will not put them down without your permission. . .they're "your" cats after all. If the cat is actively ill and tests positive for FeLV, it is probably a good idea to PTS. Alley Cat Allies does not recommend testing or euthing cats who are not actively ill, but this is entirely up to you.

Yes, they will be much happier once they're neutered. They may still fight for territory, but much of the pressure is off once the hormones clear their systems.

Growing up in the 1960's, we had cats, but had never heard of neutering. Our tom Elmer got into so many fights his ear was permanently sideways. Cats fighting outside during the night were the absolute norm to us. Sounds absurd, I know, but the world has come a LONG way.

Anyway, since we had one vet in town and didn't like him, we took Elmer 40 minutes away, and this kindly "progressive" vet suggested we neuter him to keep him from fighting. Huh? There was nary a mention of it being a good thing to stop him from impregnating females, as I recall (but I was eleven, so who knows?).

We packed him in our clothes hamper (didn't have a cat carrier until many years later) and drove him to the vet. He was, at the time, nine years old, grumpy, and not a bit playful. He was actually considered old for the time.

Well, he came home a COMPLETELY different cat. He PLAYED! We kids were mesmerized by him, and played strings with him a lot.

We still had a young un-neutered male cat, and they loved each other, slept together, etc., but it NEVER occurred to us to get Inky neutered. (And it cost him his life, as he died by car one April day far from home, I assume looking for a mate).

Given this experience, I don't think it is EVER too late to neuter a cat. I am still amazed when I remember the positive change in Elmer...

PS: Sorry for the novel I just wrote!