Neutering Rowan

My vet doesn't do spays/neuters (there are only three vets in town who do, because we have an *enormous* vet hospital through the college) so I forgot to ask neuter related questions last time I saw him, and I'm air-headed enough to forget next time, so I figured I'd ask around here.

Rowan is maybe 15-17 weeks old now, judging by when his teeth came in, but he's completely undeveloped so far. I don't want him to have an invasive procedure, but I also don't want him to get interested in getting out and roaming, or, heaven forbid, spraying.

I couldn't afford an invasive neuter (assuming that they're a lot more expensive, as they're a lot more complicated), but how long should I wait before I finally give in? I could swing it in a while if I start saving.

Also, I don't think that Rowan was born a stray, I think that he was abandoned by some moron Freshman who couldn't keep him in the dorms across the street. Can a vet feel if a kitten has been neutered, like how spays are so easily noticed? At our last appointment, the vet seemed very surprised that Rowan is so undeveloped. Our Humane Society (through the college's vet hospital) does early neuters/spays, and when he found me, Rowan was old enough to have been fixed, according to their guidelines. He would have been the same age as Bella was when she was neutered. I had him isolated for a long while (while I had 'found cat' signs up), and I didn't look for something like that. It would have been completely healed for a while before he finally became a perminant member of my little family and saw our vet.

Girlie.....he is certainly old enough to be neutered. I would stay on the safe side and not allow him outdoors until you have confirmation that he was indeed neutered or you have him neutered yourself. Below is a list of low cost clinics....even if it takes a little drive...perhaps they can neuter him at a reduced rate:

http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html#co

Yeah, TNR... I can actually get a voucher from the Humane Society to have it done for pretty cheap here in town (those clinics are all more than an hour away, and Rowan would claw his way through the plastic cage given an hour to do so), but the vets charge a bit extra, some for anesthesia, or pain meds, or whatever. I'm just assuming that an invasive procedure would be 'one of those things' that cost more. The voucher costs $25, and I think that there's one vet who doesn't charge anything extra for a routine procedure. I actually haven't called around to ask the vets about total prices... I've just looked around the Humane Society's website.

The vets around here understand the massive feral/barncat problem, and do everything they can to fix it. My vet has 8 rescues at his home, and 3 at his clinic that he and his wife have adopted... not to mention the ones his clients adopt. Most of the vets will reduce the costs for strays and cats adopted from the Humane Society.

Rowan will be neutered, despite the cost, I'm just wondering more about how long I can wait for him to develop, or how much more an invasive neuter tends to cost. And how easy it is to tell if he has been neutered. Like, I can tell that Bella was spayed, because she has that little scar and a bit of scar tissue that I can feel inside (the student who sewed her up did an awful job, which is why I'm leaning more toward the private practices than the teaching hospital), but I haven't noticed anything like that with Rowan. I've been thinking that I'd wait until after he's 5 lbs. He should weigh that much already, but he just hasn't been putting on weight as fast as I'd like. He's not skin and bones anymore, like when he found me, but he's not kitten-plump like Bella. And he might be younger than 14 weeks. The vet said that according to his weight, he's maybe 12-14 weeks old.

And neither cat gets to go outside. It's just too dangerous and they don't like their collars enough for me to even try harnesses yet.

Any answers?

1) If a male cat hasn't developed yet, can I wait until he has to get him neutered, or will he start to roam/spray at normal times?

2) Can a vet feel scar tissue from neuters like they can spays?

3) If you have experience with invasive neuter surgeries, how much have they cost more than a basic surgery? (this question isn't so important)

Neutering a male is not all that invasive and you should be able to tell if he's been neutered yet or not quite easily. Look under the tail. If you see two little balls there then he hasn't been neutered. As for letting him "develop" I don't see why you would have to wait for him to mature before neutering him. In fact you probably wouldn't want to, since roaming/spraying/howling etc. will probably follow suit pretty quickly.

I think girlieQ's problem is that she thinks her kittens tesicles haven't descended yet. By 15-17 weeks old he should have testicles in his scrotum. At his age they won't be very big (around kidney bean sized) but you should be able to palpate them. You will need to get pretty hands on as just looking may not give you an answer. If you can feel his testicles he can be neutered!
If you cannot feel testicles you need to take him to the vet. There is a small chance that he is bilaterally cryptorchid, meaning that both his right and left testicles remain in his abdomen. In this case his neuter will be more like a spay (and around the same price- possibly more). If there is a chance he is already neutered you can ask the vet about blood tests to check hormone levels (not sure about this in a kitten so young) or an abdominal ultrasound.

Thanks, Dr. Doolittle. That's just what I was wondering about. The vet said that he couldn't feel anything at the exam a couple of weeks ago, and he seemed pretty surprised.

Rowan has another visit in two-ish weeks for his third round of shots (and rabies, because no one will do his spay until he has it, anyways), so he has at least a couple of weeks.

Testicles are usually fully descended by 10 weeks at the latest so if your guy still hasn't let go of his, he is very likely to be permanently cryptorchid. You can wait a bit longer, of course, but it's very possible that you would be waiting forever.

Have the vet feel around and see where exactly the testicles are. Most of the time they are right under the skin in the groin and are actually still really easy to get out. If the doctor can't feel them at all, you might wait till 7 months (or when his urine starts smelling stronger) because they should grow a little with puberty and then would be easier to feel.

If they never drop and can't be easily found, though, then more invasive surgery will be your only option. Besides the issues with male hormones, retained testicles eventually become cancerous nearly 100% of the time (by "eventually" I mean in a few years, not a few months - don't panic!). But if they are found and removed, the cancer risk is eliminated.

Originally Posted by GirlieQ

Any answers?

1) If a male cat hasn't developed yet, can I wait until he has to get him neutered, or will he start to roam/spray at normal times?

2) Can a vet feel scar tissue from neuters like they can spays?

3) If you have experience with invasive neuter surgeries, how much have they cost more than a basic surgery? (this question isn't so important)

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1. He will go through puberty at the normal age. Testicles that are still retained at puberty can be safely assumed to be permanently retained. These almost always become cancerous sooner or later so it is very important that they be removed. Usually retained testicles are easy to locate but if one is particularly well hidden, a sonogram will locate it.

2. Yes, but it's not really necessary since the testicles are on the outside of the body. Additionally, the urine from an unneutered adult male has a very distinctive odor. So if the cat doesn't have testicles on the outside of his body and his urine does not smell like a tomcat's, then it is safe to assume that he is neutered. The scrotum can also be shaved and checked for scars but this wouldn't normally be necessary.

3. It depends. If the retained testicle is in the groin and easily accessible, it will probably be just a little more expensive. If it is in the abdomen, then the cost will probably be comparable to a spay.