Neutering cats Romanino, Scene of a cat castration, 1531-32, Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento Photograph by Wikipedia® user:Laurom - license Contents:
Introduction - neutering cats Neutering cats refers to desexing either gender of cat. However, breeders use the term to refer to the castration of male cats. Females are desexed by spaying and a desexed female, called a spay, is one that has had the operation. The operation in females is called an ovariohysterectomy (see below). The operation for the males is called castration. The term "Alter" is used by the cat associations/registries to refer to spayed and neutered cats as a class of cat to be judged at a show. This term is also used to refer to a spayed or neutered cat in a more general sense. Cats that are "intact" are, as expected, individuals that have not been spayed or neutered. A "queen" is an intact female and a "tom" is an intact male. When cats are spayed or neutered some people will say that they are "fixed". The Argument for Neutering cats There is a sense that neutering cats is almost cruel or plain cruel and interfering with what is natural. This is obviously a reasonable thought. Perhaps in a different world it wouldn't be necessary but with feral cat populations high and the euthanasia of feral cats huge (estimated 2.2 million annually in the US) it is the only practical and responsible step to take. At 1986 it was estimated that there were 500,000 feral cats in London. The cat population can increase very quickly without some checks in place. Female cats are fine mothers. Domestication of the cat has resulted in an increase in both the number of litters and the size of litters. Whereas annually the European Wildcat (the ancestor of the domestic cat - see early history) have one litter and 2-4 kittens, the domestic cat has three litters and 4-5 kittens. On a simplistic calculation (but one that helps comprehend the scale of the "problem"), and calculating for the maximum figure a breeding pair of cats and their offspring could produce 65,536 cats in 5 years. Without the more humane process of neutering cats nature will take its course and restrict population through starvation and disease (and human intervention - euthanasia). Which is better? Not only is spaying an obligation that is part of keeping a female cat in order to control the population of the domestic cat, the operation is also beneficial to the cat as it lowers the risk of a mammary tumors (7 times more likely in intact cats), infections of the uterus, cancers of the uterus and ovaries. There is less risk of skin conditions that are caused by hormonal imbalance. Male cats spray urine (marking) less than intact cats. And of course there is the obligation in respect of population control referred to above. There is some downside to neutering, apparently. The Wikipedia author says that neutered males are at an increased risk of FLUTD and kidney stones. It would seem that neutering cats put them at an increased risk of obesity. This could be because of decreased activity, reduced metabolism and eating more. These effects can be countered. On the issue of the cost of the procedure some people think it expensive and that this puts them off having it done. My rather blunt answer to this is that if we cannot afford the cost of neutering cats we shouldn't keep cats. Sometimes the people who can't afford it are those who have several or more cats. That speaks for itself. Vets are highly qualified people with substantial overheads. I am sure that the cost of the operation is reasonable. Ovariohysterectomy - spaying - pictures  spay
(ovariohysterectomy) in an adult cat photo by Joel Mills
published under Wikimedia Commons license  Photo author:
Uwe Gille
Spaying of a female cat. 1 uterus, 2 Ligamentum ovarii proprium, 3 ovary, 4 uterine tube, 5 mesosalpinx, 6 Ligamentum suspensorium ovarii, 7 abdominal fat, 8 incision wound (reproduced verbatim for accuracy from Wikipedia® - see licensing) Neutering cats - Ovariohysterectomy - spaying - procedure in outline thanks to www.cathospitalofchicago.com and www.thepetcenter.com. The Cat Hospital of Chicago says that spaying is best carried out on kittens and young cats.There are no noticeable side effects. Apparently there are fewer risks when the operation is performed on young cats and the procedure is simpler and the post operation recovery quicker. The hospital recommends that the operation is carried out on a cat that is between 3-6 months of age. They say that most shelters operate at a younger age than this which is acceptable. Sometimes the operation can take place when the kitten is only 6 weeks old. However, not all vets agree with this early operation, neither do some cat breeders. Some cat breeders sell kittens that are not neutered but withold pedigree paperwork until neutering takes place later. 4-6 months or 12 weeks minimum may be the agreed time frame for some breeders. Some breeders suggest altering at about 7 months of age. The procedure involves the removal of the uterus and ovaries. I have summarized.
Neutering cats - Castration - oophorectomies This sounds awful but male cats go home afterwards as if nothing has happened. The procedure involves the removal of the testicles. This is it in outline:
I don't have a picture of a castration. You don't want to see it anyway. Orthodox Judaism seems to forbid castration in animals (what about spaying?) unless the situation is life threatening. But the Chief Rabbi has ruled that it is alright as it prevents cruelty to animals (I presume through overpopulation and feral cat problems, which is a real problem in Israel). Islam has conflicting views it seems but neutering cats would seem to be permissible as it promotes the greater good. Neutrering cats - experimental - ideas - future prospects - moral issues At 18-10-08 there is some talk on the interent (not much though) of chemical castration for cats and dogs as a more effective means of controlling the feral cat population. All you'd have to do is put the chemical in food. Which means simply putting it in the food when feeding feral cats. Sounds almost perfect and very simple.Apparently someone has put up a prize for a workable treatment. There lies the problem it seems. Chemical castration as it has been called has been practicised on humans by Nazis on concentration camp victims during WWII. It has also been used in some USA States as a punishment of sex offenders and to protect the public. So some work has been done on this. But what kind of work. I have not seen a medical treatment for cats. The problem is that although it seems to work there are side effects. This would make the process unnacceptable. There are also moral issues. The control over the process that is built in during the conventional surgical process would be lost. The chemical could get into the wrong hands. There a lot of reasons why extreme caution would have to be exercised. Some people foresee armageddon. The bottom line is that the responsibility for neutering cats falls on us, the humans. Apparently about 14% of cats in the USA are unneutered (I don't know if this figure is correct - I can't verify it). That, though is a good enough figure to cause a feral cat problem bearing in mind the breeding skills of cats. We need to tackle the people. This is the root of the problem. We need, I am afraid to say, to be tougher on "cat ownership", make it more rigorous and less casual. There is a real responsibilty involved towards the cat, primarily, and in regards to other people. Some people don't sense this responsibility. One last point that I think is fair comment but perhaps a little controversial. Humans should also consider the level of procreation that they get up to. Human population is causing world problems. The ultimate reason for cat neutering is really as a result of human population growth, which is unmanaged except in China, where it doesn't work. If we need to neuter cats we also need to think about what we do. Cat Shows - appearance and behavior changes When a cat has been neutered, male or female, and is being shown at cat shows they are categorized as "Alters". Sounds a bit odd really. A bit unfair. There is more competition in this class than previously and it would seem that top quality breeding cats (the ones that make the future champions) are competing once their breeding days are over.A buyer of a show quality purebred cat from a breeder that has or will be neutered or spayed will have to ensure the contract allows for the showing of the cat if that is the intention. Why are spayed and neutered cats in a different class? Neutering cats affects both appearance and behavior. In fact a part of the reason for spaying and neutering is to change the behavior of cats so that it better fits in with our lifestyle (a questionable reason it could be argued). The behavior of cats is a factor in judging cats at shows. It is difficult to find good clean data on appearance and character changes. Here is what I found out:
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