Questions on owning an unaltered male.

[TheNova]

Hello! Completely new to the forum, but perused a bit and saw some very knowledgeable people here that could possibly help.

I am going to be getting my purebred, registered cat from a reputable European breeder in November (I myself am from Canada). I have lived with many cats before, but all have been neutered/spayed and simply good companions. That being said, I fell in love with this particular breed over the years as I attended multiple TICA and CCA shows as a spectator, and finally decided that I wanted to purchase one of my own as a show alter with aspirations of breeding in the far future if I decide the show circuit is for me, and if some life circumstances change. Unfortunately the breed is somewhat hard to find in Canada and I was looking for a specific colour, which was why I picked my breeder in Europe.

Apparently I know how to pick them well; I'd selected the kitten at around 2 months old, and the kitten will be delivered to me at about 5 months / 20 weeks. He had developed very well, and now the breeder is asking if I'd consider keeping him intact for 1 year to allow her to breed a queen with him (she comes to the country 2-3 times a year and will be bringing the female with her, no finer details have been discussed yet).

I've never owned an unaltered male cat before, and I live in an apartment (3 floors up). My main concern was spraying, but according to the breeder, his father never sprayed - she keeps him in the house, and he is her only male right now, so I imagine having a harem of females just for him means he's very secure and is less prone to do so. I don't imagine people use cat studs very commonly in Canada, but how is this practice viewed and how does it work? Especially if I do plan on showing the cat and having him earn his titles. I otherwise have no intention on breeding him myself or offering public stud services.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[KittyCat_chitchat]

I'll leave the advice on living with an entire male to more knowledgeable members of the forum, but it's great that (at least from what it sounds) you've done your research into this, know your limits, and are considering your cat's welfare. Again from what you've said, the breeder sounds above board, so well done for sourcing your pedigree cat responsibly. What breed is he? Can we see pictures?

 

[TheNova]

I'll leave the advice on living with an entire male to more knowledgeable members of the forum, but it's great that (at least from what it sounds) you've done your research into this, know your limits, and are considering your cat's welfare. Again from what you've said, the breeder sounds above board, so well done for sourcing your pedigree cat responsibly. What breed is he? Can we see pictures?

Thank you! I try to be very conscientious about the welfare of all my animals - though I have never considered breeding cats a goal until recently, I'm not unfamiliar with the world of animal breeding in general. I actually actively breed snakes, and have co-owned dogs in the past (and through doing so, decided that breeding and showing dogs wasn't for me, though it was a great experience).

I've chosen Oriental Shorthairs as my breed. They're such lovable little ballerinas.

 

[StefanZ]

Some studs are non sprayers, and dont have any troubles. Other spray, but seldom...
While other spray often and or do have troubles, alike verry watchful, seeking and calling for female, etc...

All our 4 residents were males, 3 of them were working studs. (swords for hire, so to speak, for the russian blue community in Sweden, Norway and Finland).
They were family cats, living in our home with us, their family.
Ours were late sprayers, but yeah, spraying occured.
Its important to have a good enzymatic cleaner, and also, to dry up and wash off the usual way too.

Our latest working stud had it quite worrisome, going around seeking and calling. But we learned he found peace laying down with his Dad... Yeah, I got to lay down on the couch many a hours every day... But it was of course nice in a way.

With every one of them, when the neutering time did come, it was a relief for both them and us.

If necessary, its possible with so calles stud pants. Wd didnt used them, but I know some use...

A friendly pal, typically a neutered male or neutered female, may help - having company they dont seek after female as intensively. Of course there is some risk they can be mean to the company cat, so be prepared. Being high strung, its easy to teach lesson, needed or not needed. This is of course unfair to the company cat.

 

[KittyCat_chitchat]

A friendly pal, typically a neutered male or neutered female, may help - having company they don't seek after female as intensively. Of course there is some risk they can be mean to the company cat, so be prepared. Being high strung, its easy to teach lesson, needed or not needed. This is of course unfair to the company cat.

Getting him a friend is a great idea, especially as he'll be a breeder and thus an indoor cat. If you go down this route, get another kitten about the same age as him, either a non-pedigree or a pedigree who isn't being retained for breeding, and try and look for a personality that matches your boy's. All of this will reduce the chances of either cat bullying the other as they'll grow up as playmates from a young age. It goes without saying that the non-breeding companion cat should be your pet and get as much love as your breeder.

 

[amethyst]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure most cat shows require the cat to not be neutered if you want/hope to be able to show for championship titles. Unless you are just wanting to go for the lesser titles or just plan to show him in pet/fun shows and don't care to try for championship. Just something to keep in mind if you didn't know.

I would also point out that spraying can be effected by environment, like if they can see, hear, or smell other cats around or not, ones that they feel are competition or females in heat outside your home he can't get to. So he may not spray if he has a laid back personality and there are no other outside cats around. One of my old cats was almost 2 by the time I got him neutered and never had any issue with him spraying, but I also live out in the country so no neighbor's cats hanging around or stray cats outside normally.

 

[TheNova]

Some studs are non sprayers, and dont have any troubles. Other spray, but seldom...
While other spray often and or do have troubles, alike verry watchful, seeking and calling for female, etc...

All our 4 residents were males, 3 of them were working studs. (swords for hire, so to speak, for the russian blue community in Sweden, Norway and Finland).
They were family cats, living in our home with us, their family.
Ours were late sprayers, but yeah, spraying occured.
Its important to have a good enzymatic cleaner, and also, to dry up and wash off the usual way too.

Our latest working stud had it quite worrisome, going around seeking and calling. But we learned he found peace laying down with his Dad... Yeah, I got to lay down on the couch many a hours every day... But it was of course nice in a way.

With every one of them, when the neutering time did come, it was a relief for both them and us.

If necessary, its possible with so calles stud pants. Wd didnt used them, but I know some use...

A friendly pal, typically a neutered male or neutered female, may help - having company they dont seek after female as intensively. Of course there is some risk they can be mean to the company cat, so be prepared. Being high strung, its easy to teach lesson, needed or not needed. This is of course unfair to the company cat.

Thank you very much for your valuable insight! A second cat might be something I'd consider.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure most cat shows require the cat to not be neutered if you want/hope to be able to show for championship titles. Unless you are just wanting to go for the lesser titles or just plan to show him in pet/fun shows and don't care to try for championship. Just something to keep in mind if you didn't know.

I would also point out that spraying can be effected by environment, like if they can see, hear, or smell other cats around or not, ones that they feel are competition or females in heat outside your home he can't get to. So he may not spray if he has a laid back personality and there are no other outside cats around. One of my old cats was almost 2 by the time I got him neutered and never had any issue with him spraying, but I also live out in the country so no neighbor's cats hanging around or stray cats outside normally.

From my understanding, TICA allows an alter to win championship alter titles (Champion Alter to Supreme Grand Champion Alter), and allows you to transfer points if the cat goes from whole to alter during their show career.

And thank you for your experience regarding spraying. The breeder has stated that neither his father (that she owns), nor his grandfather (that her mentor owns) ever sprayed and he's getting on 4 months now without spraying. My apartment is off the ground and my one neighbour doesn't have a cat as far as I can tell, so maybe I might be able to get away with it...

 

[posiepurrs]

In cfa you can also Grand an altered cat.

 

[GoldyCat]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure most cat shows require the cat to not be neutered if you want/hope to be able to show for championship titles. Unless you are just wanting to go for the lesser titles or just plan to show him in pet/fun shows and don't care to try for championship. Just something to keep in mind if you didn't know.

CFA has separate categories for entire cats and neutered cats. Championship is for the unaltered breeding cats, 8 months and older. They earn titles as Champion, Grand Champion, etc. Premiership is for spayed and neutered cats, 8 months and older. They earn titles as Premier, Grand Premier, etc. Kittens are 4 to 8 months and can be altered or not. Kittens don't earn grand titles, but they can be Regional Winners and National Winners.