Should I neuter my cat?

[rosiemac]

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Well, a neutered cat will be CLOSER to a vegetable, than a cat that isn't.

My cats are all spayed and neutered and their nowhere near being "vegetables"

Originally Posted by Ilpav

I actually knew a cat a while ago and I remembered he was very playful until he turned one, when his owners neutered him. His personality changed quite a lot. He would only ever be active when he had to walk to his food bowl or to his litter box. :

As responsible owners it's up to us to help make sure our cats get some exercise with various toys on the market. It's also a responsible decision to have you cat neutered to make sure it has a long healthy life.

 

[ilpav]

Originally Posted by faith's_mom

Please neuter your cat! Each time he gets out he is probably contributing to kittens in local shelters...Not only that but you are risking him getting sick each time he gets out, as well, especially if he has not had any vaccinations as a kitten.

AND rabies is usually required by law in pretty much every state...this is a horrific disease, so at the least innoculate him against this one!!!

Did you read my other posts. We will never let him outside, so there is no way he can get rabies or increase the cat population (there aren't even many cats around here anyway).

 

[gayef]

I think the point here is yes, you should have the vet neuter your cat as soon as possible. Not only will this procedure allow him to be a happier cat (no more of those pesky "urges" which are contributing to making him so aggressive) but in the long run, he will be healthier. As for it turning him into a "vegetable", that just couldn't be any further from the truth. So long as you provide him with adequate toys and activities, he should remain playful and active for many more years to come!

 

[saya]

they're right you know...

the likelihood of your cat becoming a "vegetable" is pretty slim. It will mellow him out some, but not in a bad way at all. I've had all of my cats spayed and neutered and they are remained very active. Keep in mind that some cats are just plain lazy and I think this has to do with individual personality, environment and growing up. Keeping your kitties engaged in playtime on the regular will go a long way to keeping them active.

Bea is the laziest cat on the planet but I can assure you it has nothing to do with her spay. (she's active when she "feels like it" and remained a very active TERROR well after her spay)

 

[okiron]

Like I said before, you will not get anyone to say, "No, don't neuter!" lol

And as for vaccines, most vets require the animals be completely up to date before performing the neuter anyway.

 

[hissy]

Mine didn't get the memo either. They are all active, loving playful boys after a neuter. You mention that your cat gets out accidentally, trust me, don't neuter your boy and he will get out intentionally. Doesn't matter how diligent you keep watch, once kitty season starts and he smells all those lovely invitations on the bushes outside, or smells the challenges left by other tomcats he will fight tooth and claw to go outside. Leave him inside a room or other confined place and he will baptize your walls, curtains, you, whatever he wishes. Tomcat pee is very odorous. You seem more worried about his personality changing if you neuter him. He will lose the desire to roam, he will become more loving, less aggressive (if he isn't aggressive now, give him time.) It's coming. The longer you wait, the more he will become frustrated and start acting out. Also, you put him at risk for certain cancers that will shorten his life drastically. Please just take him in to be neutered. As someone who works with wild, intact feral cats you would doing the world the favor. He would also thank you for your act of kindness if he could. I would also not recommend your earlier "relief action" with him. This can get you bit big-time. Don't equate him losing his nuts with what it would be like for you. There is a vast difference.

 

[urbantigers]

Originally Posted by okiron

Well if neutered cats are supposed to be vegetables, Dahmer did not get the memo.

Neither did Jaffa or Mosi. Actually, I laughed out loud at that. Mosi went for 15 hours without sleeping on Sunday - he was just running around, playing and being generally lively. Not exactly a vegetable!

I know you're not letting him outside, but he is escaping occasionally. That is going to continue to happen because intact cats are desperate to find a mate and can become very devious in finding ways to get outside.

The only personality change will be for the better. He will be a bit calmer and more loving. The metabolism of a neutered cat is a little lower than that of an entire cat so you will have to reduce his food intake slightly, but there's no reason for a neutered cat to become fat or lazy. My Jaffa is 10 years old (neutered at 5 months) and he's still lively and active. And as for 2 year old Mosi.. well, he's just a nutter

(but became nutless at 5 months also).

Sorry if I've missed it, but I can't remember whether you said how old he is? If he hasn't started spraying yet he probably will eventually, and once they start they don't always stop post neuter. So best to get them done before they start.

 

[ilpav]

Originally Posted by urbantigers

Neither did Jaffa or Mosi. Actually, I laughed out loud at that. Mosi went for 15 hours without sleeping on Sunday - he was just running around, playing and being generally lively. Not exactly a vegetable!

I know you're not letting him outside, but he is escaping occasionally. That is going to continue to happen because intact cats are desperate to find a mate and can become very devious in finding ways to get outside.

The only personality change will be for the better. He will be a bit calmer and more loving. The metabolism of a neutered cat is a little lower than that of an entire cat so you will have to reduce his food intake slightly, but there's no reason for a neutered cat to become fat or lazy. My Jaffa is 10 years old (neutered at 5 months) and he's still lively and active. And as for 2 year old Mosi.. well, he's just a nutter

(but became nutless at 5 months also).

Sorry if I've missed it, but I can't remember whether you said how old he is? If he hasn't started spraying yet he probably will eventually, and once they start they don't always stop post neuter. So best to get them done before they start.

He was born in July 1st, 2006. So that makes him 1 year and 7 months. He may have sprayed in my basement (I smelled urine when I walked in there) and whenever the basement doors are closed, he sometimes meows and sits beside the door(I let him in there the other day and he didn't spray again). Don't male cats get in to their sexual "prime" at 9 months old or so? Leo was 9 months old last April and he was fine during all of spring and summer.

 

[siggav]

My Nikita is female and spayed and boy she did not get the memo either that she should be a 'vegetable' once she wasn't fertile anymore.

Proof in video form:
..but really your cat will be healthier and happier if you neuter him and you will probably not have to deal with tomcat spray. It really smells foul, it's not as bad as skunk but it's right up there on that level of stink. Also if he's escaping now he'll continue escaping outside and then he can be torn up and get infections fighting other toms and get cat STDs from the female cats (yes there are cat STDs)

 

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Did you read my other posts. We will never let him outside, so there is no way he can get rabies or increase the cat population (there aren't even many cats around here anyway).

Your cat can get rabies just by being a house cat, even if they never ever go outside. Rabies is spread through saliva, so a bat can spit while screeching and if that spit gets in your eyes or mouth you (or the cat/dog) can get rabies (if the bat has rabies).

Another benefit of neutering a male cat is your cat most likely wont spray if he is neutered.

My cat Lily is spayed and she definatly is not a vegetable! She will play fetch all day with her favorite toy if I let her. Now if I free feed her she turns into a lump on a log! I will never free feed again because it turns my cats into vegetables and almost every cat I know that is free fed is a vegetable!

 

[white cat lover]

Kids go to the doctor, cats need to go to the vet. Simply & basic.

All mine are spayed/neutered....all are healthy, go to the vet regularly. None are "vegetables". Go look at the pics forum, you'll see TONS of spayed/neutered cats who are active, friendly, & wonderful.

 

[sillylilykitty]

This is Lily:



She is spayed and definatly isn't fat! She has been spayed since she was 6 months old and she is now 2 years old. If anything I have trouble keeping weight on her! Sometimes she just doesnt want to eat her food

 

[novemberflowers]

No way are my spayed and neutered cats vegetables or lazy. They are frequently tearing through the house leaving a path of destruction...and I wouldn't want it any other way

As for the shots, I can't imagine any reason not to protect them from preventable illnesses. Even though I keep a close watch on the door and resolve to never let them outside.

 

[sillylilykitty]

Originally Posted by novemberflowers

No way are my spayed and neutered cats vegetables or lazy. They are frequently tearing through the house leaving a path of destruction...and I wouldn't want it any other way

Yeah, I know how you feel! I am very against free feeding (for my cats) now because I can't be without my active cats. It was sooo boring with my cats sleeping all day, I missed my bouncy fun kitties too much.

 

[katzyn]

Your cat will only become a "veggie" if you let him. And even then, he still probably won't become lazy like what you think. =) Our cats all get free fed, so they're a bit slow and lazy, but when we get to playing, they're like chubby lil kittens. =3

And I don't know about you, OP, but I think that the cat's little discomfort at going to the vet pales in comparison to how much safer his life will be when he gets his shots and neuter done, and that's all that matters. If you can't take care of the cat the way it needs to be taken care of, which includes taking all the necessary precautions, then you shouldn't own the cat.

 

[sphynx]

I have two neutered male cats ~ that is how they came from the breeder, so they were done while they were young. They are by no means couch potatoes, in fact I am wondering when that magical moment may happen

. They are strictly indoor cats and have never, ever sprayed. For your cat's sake I say go for it

.

 

[ping]

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Did you read my other posts. We will never let him outside, so there is no way he can get rabies or increase the cat population (there aren't even many cats around here anyway).

You may not let him outside on purpose but your other posts in this thread indicate he has gotten outside several times on accident:

Leo gets outside ONLY by accident

He was also accidentally let outside on a number of occasions and, especially recently, gets very aggressive when he's outside

Just recently, when he was accidentally let out, his tail bushed up three times it's normal width and whenever someone tried to put their hand near him he would strike it with his paw (not his claws) very hard.

Each time he is outside he is at risk for catching diseases, getting hurt by other tom cats, mean humans, cars. Also each time he is out unaltered other cats are at risk of being mated and creating more unwanted kittens.

Your cat needs to be neutered as simple as that. As long as he is intact he is at risk of developing testicular cancer. Which is completely avoidable if you get your cat neutered.

Do you know how bad rabies is? Look it up its a terrible disease that kills. Here where I live we recently had several cats put to sleep for rabies. Why because no one vaccinated them and allowed them to run the neighborhood.

Please do more research on neutering. Like everyone else my cats didn't get the "your neutered be lazy" memo.

 

[abymummy]

Can someone please tell all of my cats (except 3 - the foundation cats) that they're supposed to be vegetables????

Oh wait, I have the 2 vegetables....Grandpa who's 14 (but wakes up for play time) and Dumdum the Persian...wait he wakes up for playtime too!

 

[jen]

Honestly, and don't take this the wrong way, but if a cat gets fat and lazy after being neutered, that is most likely no one's fault but the owners. I don't do much playing or exercising with my cats so if mine aren't fat and lazy that is good living proof right there.

I have 3 male cats here. One is a Himalayan, neutered when I got him around 5 years old and he is skinny and almost frail looking, he gets into incredibly playful moods and will freak out and run around like crazy. But a lot of time he sleeps because he is older now. TMy 3 year old was neutered at 8 weeks and he has the "spay" sway as they call it but he is lean and long. And my Manx is a HUGE cat but he is all muscle and he was neutered around 1-2 years. He is very playful and stalks everyone!

For the girls... Noira was spayed when she was over 1 year and she is 5 now. She is tiny and petite and very active on her own. She also hunts outside. Kinks and Bowie were both spayed after 1.5 years old and Kinks has a LITTLE pudge around the midsection but both are very active cats.

Just give your cat a tree to climb on and toys and maybe even another cat to play with, neuter him so that he doesn't get cancer and start spraying and he will live a long happy life. If money is an issue, look around for a low cost clinic in your area. Please vaccinate him too. At least once. You can bring in diseases to your cat. He is always at risk being unvaccinated.

 

[twstychik]

Originally Posted by okiron

Well if neutered cats are supposed to be vegetables, Dahmer did not get the memo. And neither did the cats at my rescue I volunteer for. Dangit, who's sending out the memo? They're missing everybody!

Wickett missed the memo too! He's always freaking out and tearing through the apartment.

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Well, a neutered cat will be CLOSER to a vegetable, than a cat that isn't.

I actually knew a cat a while ago and I remembered he was very playful until he turned one, when his owners neutered him. His personality changed quite a lot. He would only ever be active when he had to walk to his food bowl or to his litter box. He seamed very depressed all the time. That's what I fear most in getting Leo neutered. He will be depressed and fat for the rest of his life.

Like everyone is saying, this will only happen if you let it. Yes, his personality WILL change some but that's primarily because he's being neutered after he's matured. He will probably calm down some and he may even stop trying to escape but (as has been said several time) he will only get fat and lazy if you let him.

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Did you read my other posts. We will never let him outside, so there is no way he can get rabies or increase the cat population (there aren't even many cats around here anyway).

It doesn't matter how big the cat population is in your area or how hard to TRY to keep him in. He's made it clear that he'll get out at any opportunity and as Tom cat it is instinct to find any female (no matter how scarce) and mate with her.

Originally Posted by Siggav

My Nikita is female and spayed and boy she did not get the memo either that she should be a 'vegetable' once she wasn't fertile anymore.

Proof in video form:

That is a great video! [/hijack]