Neutered Semi-Feral Questions

I am trying to assist someone who is attempting to take care of some ferals and such with an issue that is beyond my knowledge. I am aware that unneutered tom cats may kill kittens and the whole explanation behind that; if there is an unneutered male cat that attacked a kitten in the past, once neutered, will this help eliminate/diminish this behavior, or will he be prone to do this again despite neutering? If neutering would indeed help eliminate this behavior, how long would this male cat need to be separate from other smaller cats/kittens? I just want to add that this cat is getting trapped and altered regardless - that's not the issue, she is just not sure where said cat will be relocated, whether it would be returned or maybe brought home to tame down.

Thank you in advance for any input.

The danger biggest when they are not neutered yes. Later on lesser, but many adult cats are afraid of small kittens and feel unsure - may attack them because of this...

So, if not sure, keep apart!!!  Always.  

After neutering?  Count with at least one month for the hormones to go off. If the tom was a dominant, territorial tom, yes even longer.

If kind, docile tom, or shy tom - may be shorter.  You can sometimes see clear difference in a week.

Observe the he can sire at least one week after the neutering - possibly even a whole month after...

That said, if the tomcat is friend with mom, the danger is much lesser.  So some tom cats are even as extra moms to the kittens...

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

Are there residents whom she is anxious about?

First, there will surely be some period of  quarantine?

Second, the rule of thumb, shy toms, and cat friendly tom, you can let them meet the residents without big problems. They tend to submissive to residents.  Even as whole.

Dominant, territorial, aggressive toms are entirely another matter. They can beat up the residents. So neutering minimum a month before you even try to introduce is necessary.

Observe, some of the territerial, cat dominant toms may be quite friendly to humans!

Thanks so much for the response!

Yes, the standard precautions will still take place i.e. quarantine and the like, but she does help out with mommas with kittens and the like, and while other male cats (also neutered) have never caused any problems, she worries if this cat will still pose a danger to kittens knowing that it had an issue before she could get a trap out there in time. So if I understand what you are saying, once this cat is neutered, quarantined, etc, perhaps 2-3 months down the road, would this then neutered male be safe to roam indoors and be exposed to young kittens without further risk of killing them? Are there signs that one could look for to see if this male would still be a problem at that point?

Thanks again for the help!

Meowmix, you are giving a difficult question without fireproof answers.  That is why I got a little stuck.  

I think my answer may be.

Here you do have two different stages.

They see him NOW around there. How is he, cat friendly / shy?  Intro should go easily.

Or dominant and territorial to other cats?  Verry careful with intro.

They can prob observe and see some.

After the neutering and quarantine, they can and should test out anew.  Basically, by letting let him meet other cats, with supervising.  They surely have someone to test on!

If not, begin with a mom with big kittens of 8-10 weeks.  Closely supervising of course.

If the meeting goes OK, and especially if he is friendly to them - good. Go on.

If he is bossy on them - be careful...

Unless you are entirely sure he is of the friendly sort - all first meetings must be closely supervised.

But once you are positively sure he accepts the others - it should go ok...

Im not sure there is 100% safety...  Esp not if he is known to have been territorial and dominant. Even territorial and dominat females are better to avoid.

Good luck!