Adult male tomcat...no behavior problems?!

Hello all,

Just over 2 weeks ago, I got adopted by stray (not feral - and he followed me home with no invitation and went in my apartment, again, with no invitation, and knew indoor routines). After trying to find his owners for 10 days, I took him to get vaccinated and he is now my cat Sam.

Sam is a mature, tomcat, albeit still young (at 10 lbs and not completely filled out yet, I'm guessing about 1 yr).

I grew up with cats, though currently I wasn't planning on getting one until I owned my own house. I have seen the NIGHTMARES toms can bring. The spraying. The fighting. The aggressive behavior. So I scheduled the neutering surgery while he was getting shots.

I never thought I would say this for a tom...I'm having second thoughts.

Sam is not doing ANY of the aforemetioned behaviors, even though he is obviously mature.

What Sam IS - friendly, playful, curious, spunky, and quite amusing and a lot of company.

If he was still a kitten, I wouldn't be hesitating. "Obviously, it's just a matter of time," I would tell myself. But almost 3 weeks into our co-inhabitation, and him already being a mature tom...is there reason to believe he's one of the 1/million toms that actually is easy to get along with?

And, since he is a mature tom, removing his testes also means changing his chemical balance. He obviously has testosterone running in him by this point, and neutering him will remove that. And testosterone does affect mood. We know it does in people, but its been showing up more and more in animal studies as well. I imagine neutering a kitten may set them on a different path, but its not like the cat you have come to know will seem any different at the time. But a mature cat? I'm wondering if neutering Sam will make him more like the last cat I had when I was young - lethargic, lazy, and disinterested (a spayed female).

Am I crazy?

I know there are other benefits to neutering (obviously you don't have to worry about cancer or other testicular related health issues, and while I never plan on letting him out of the apartment, if he got out, a tom can breed), but with none of the behavior problems present, the pro-con list isn't nearly as clear-cut to me. Most of the health issues wouldn't be until later in life (and let's face it, he'll have health issues regardless -it's a matter of which ones), and, assuming I don't lose him, breeding won't be an issue.

Thoughts? I would really like to hear from a vet too, but other input is welcome.

Interestingly, as I continued to some research, I found a short article by Bruce Fogle, a Vet in London, who sent surveys out to vets/owners asking for their observations. While I wouldn't say observations surveys alone can provide anything conclusive, I did learn a few things - namely that neutered males not only tend to exhibit less destructive and wanted behaviors, but also are typically more friendly and playful that toms, and that maybe some of the reason I have not seen the unwanted behaviors are that even though he is mature enough to breed, some traits don't appear until around age two, and, while cat's breeding season is large, winter is pretty much the only time breeding is low and it's the end of January - slap in the middle of winter.

That makes me feel much better about neutering Sam. If anyone else wants to read/comment on the article, it can be found here:

http://maxshouse.com/effects_of_neutering.htm

I adopted a stray tomcat.    He sprayed when he came into my house, so I had him neutered.   But strays (including tomcats) in general make great pets:   greeting visitors with aplomb instead of hiding under a bed; showing gratitude (which is, I know, a human characteristic, but strays seem grateful);  best buddies for life;    survivors who know how to cross streets and avoid attacking dogs;  and so on....

Maybe it's just me but I find male cats to be less lazy more lovable more friendly. Females cats want things on there terms. Get Sam fixed that way he doesn't feel like marking when he feels theranted by another male out side or something.

@tmccr I wouldn't say gratitude is unique to humans, though humans may experience it on a deeper level. But I don't think there's any doubt many mammals have attempted to behave in a way or "reward" those that helped them when they were in dire straights. For most situations, I think humans understand their emotions on a deeper level, but social animals seem to experience most of the same emotions at varying levels. The only thing I think is truly unique to humans is the concept of absolute morality (social animals understand rules and know/fear consequences if caught, but humans experience guilt and remorse, not only sometimes when they successfully avoid detection, but sometimes even if everything worked out and no one got hurt or received the short end of the stick. "Honor" would be the word. I guess. No animal would refuse a gift or confess to a crime for the sheer sake of clearing their conscious - animals live and breath pragmatic morality - if I can get away with it and it doesn't hurt my social group, its good [even compassion doesn't seem to be unique among humans - dolphins and primates both have been observed many time caring for not only creatures not in their social group, but not even in their species, and occasionally even in farm animals this has been seen, especially with orphaned or ostracized young finding a sympathetic creature on the property]).

@maggiewheels I will be getting him fixed after hearing that it seems the affect on his personality with be either negligible or possibly even positive. I just didn't want him to become lethargic and disinterested like my previous cat.

I took in a mature tom last year, and he, too, showed no undesirable behaviors. Really a very nice boy. I didn't get around to having him neutered for nearly a year because there was no rush :tongue2:. But I did want to introduce him to my other cats (he was staying in a spare room) and I know that hormones complicate cat relationships, so I had him neutered and waited a few weeks before introducing him to the rest. I wondered if his personality would change because of his age---all the other males I've had were neutered fairly young. But his personality hasn't changed a bit. He is also a stout muscular tom and that hasn't changed either; his head is still massive. Not sure if he'll loose that muscle tone over time or not but so far no change.

So, basically, I agree with the survey :lol3:.

My first ever kitty was a massive 2-3 year old tom we took in off tge street. Neutering didn't change his personality or appearance. He was still the same auper friendlt big cheeked cat afterwards. Unfortunately, it didn't change his tom habits either and we were forever cleaning cat pee off the windows. If he doesn't spray yet I'd definitely get him done before he starts, because sometimes they don't stop once they do.

I took in a Tom last year and before he was fixed the smell of his urine was enough to empty a room.  His neutering didn't change his personality at all except he has never once asked to go outside again.  He has never sprayed or scratched the furniture.  Wonderful, wonderful cat.

Sparrowhawk,

Hexiesfriend adopted a tomcat, did not neuter him, and posted about it but I can't find the post.  In this post, he posted a picture of the late Tomcat:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/271308/neutered-male-cat-never-wants-to-be-indoors

Tom

@Willowy Thanks! That really makes me feel much better. And thanks to all of you for the quick and helpful responses =)