Neutering an older cat to help behavior issues.

[dendi13]

I recently adopted a male cat who is 5 months old now, and he is neutered. Since bringing in the kitten my two older males have been showing sexual aggression towards each other, and sometimes the kitten so I have to make sure and separate them when I'm not home to supervise them. Also, they have begun to spray which was never an issue before introducing the new kitten into the house. I am planning to get the two older males neutered by the first of December. My question is will this help their behavior as far as the aggression, and spraying go? They have always been very very sweet with each other, and I'm hoping neutering will at the very least reduce this behavior.

 

[dendi13]

 
I recently adopted a male cat who is 5 months old now, and he is neutered. Since bringing in the kitten my two older males have been showing sexual aggression towards each other, and sometimes the kitten so I have to make sure and separate them when I'm not home to supervise them. Also, they have begun to spray which was never an issue before introducing the new kitten into the house. I am planning to get the two older males neutered by the first of December. My question is will this help their behavior as far as the aggression, and spraying go? They have always been very very sweet with each other, and I'm hoping neutering will at the very least reduce this behavior. They are 4 and a half years old.

 

[wet fip mom]

A quick question. When you introduced the kitten to the home. Did you separate the kitten in a secured room for a period of time to acclimate the kitten??

 

[dendi13]

Oh yes the kitten was kept in the guest bedroom for a little over a month. They knew that he was in there, and after a few weeks i would let them look into the room to see him, but i didn't actually let them meet face to face until a little over a month of having him in the house. The meeting went very well there was no hissing, or fighting, but after a few weeks of him being let into the rest of the house my two older cats started acting more aggressive, and spraying the living room furniture.

 

[wet fip mom]

It sounds like the older cats are NOT used to the smell of the kitten. It's a territory thing. The older ones not being fixed does add to the "feeling" of their home being violated. Fixing may tone down the testosterone, but the spraying wont stop. (May lessen)

How many litter boxes in the home? Have you been cleaning up the "markings"?
Can you please explain the "aggressions"? Is it the marking? Is it stalking/hunting? Is it a full on physical contact attacks with biting & fluff flying??

 

[dendi13]

I have four littler boxes though out the house, and they are scooped three times a day. I have been cleaning up the urine with a enzyme cleaner i got from amazon, and I also got a black light to help locate and other spots I might have missed.

The aggression they are showing consists of one of them grabbing the other by the back of the neck, and trying to mount them it's very unpleasant. I have caught one of them trying to do this to the kitten at one point so I make sure to never leave them unsupervised . I was hoping the getting them neutered would eliminate any sexual urges they may be getting.

 

[Willowy]

I do think neutering will help with a lot of that. They may not stop spraying entirely if they're doing it because they're mad about the kitten, but at least it will stink less. And after they fully adjust they may stop spraying, usually neutered males become buddies once they get used to the idea. So, yes, I think neutering them will have some benefits. Keep in mind that you may not see the benefits right away, it takes a while for the testosterone to leave their systems.