Question

A friend of mine has a cat she found outside her home and could not find the mother. She asked me when it will start to spray? It is male and she has feral cats outside that are in heat. The cat she found is now 5 months old. She has an appointment in a month to have him altered. She has not had it done yet because of the cost ($89) and because she had to wait for an appointment. She wanted to know if he will start to spray becuse of the females outside that are in heat? I did not know so I thought someone could help with this question. I did not know when a male will start to spray as mine is altered. Thank you so much.

I have heard that male cats are slower to mature than females. My girls went into heat at about 4 or 5 months old and were both spayed then, there were no males in the house with them at the time. My male cat only sprayed once, the day before his appointment to get neutered(almost as if he knew what was to come), he was at the time 6 to 7 months old. It differs from cat to cat. Males can get neutered as soon as their testicles are fully developed. My vet let me know ahead of time when she thought it was time for Wylie to be neutered.

5 months is early but not impossible. She should contact www.spayusa.com for info about low-cost spaying/neutering for him as well as for the feral females.