Neutering cats

Why neuter?

If your cat is an indoor cat you will soon find out why:
The male will become restless, start calling at doors and windows in frustration at not being allowed out to all those wonderful females outside (and this usually goes on when you are trying to sleep). He will probably also start to spray to mark his new status and unfortunately this will not only be in the litter box but everywhere in your house. As it is not a controlled squirt it can be difficult to locate and clean away. After some time your home will be changed into an "ammoniac bomb" where it can almost hurt your lungs to

breathe.
The female will come into season. It is difficult to describe to those who haven’t experienced it personally how nerve-wracking the sound of this can be, but the closest I can come is a whole day nursery in a ship wreck. The cat will crawl on the floor with her behind lifted and her tail to one side. She will often come for a cuddle but won’t really have time anyway and will wander restlessly around the house calling. Unprepared cat owners who haven’t experienced this before have rushed to the vet in the belief that their cat was seriously ill.
The tomcats in the neighborhood will gather outside your home where they will often engage in rather noisy fights.

It must be said, however, that a young female’s first heat is often quite weak and might only be perceived by the owner as the cat being more cuddly and tending to lift her behind when petted down the back slightly more than usual.
A heat will last between one and two weeks. If no "interferences" occur such as a mating or a pill or neutering the next heat will come a few weeks later. If the cat is allowed to go this way the heats will occur with shorter and shorter intervals and they will last longer and longer, in the end the cat will be almost always be in heat.
This is not good for your or your neighbors’ nerves, nor for the cat’s mental and physical state. The cat will feel very frustrated mentally and heats tire the cat physically as well, partly because the cat won’t eat and drink properly while in heat.
If your cat is an outdoor cat, it isn’t sure you'll notice the problems much:

The male will be a rare visitor. Some males may travel as far as 50 km to look for females and will only come home, when death from starvation is close. He will often have gotten "war wounds" that will benefit the veterinarian's bank account. Before that he will have contributed to the mass of unwanted kittens and shabby stray cats.
The female will usually stay at home on her territory, where she receives partners in audience.
Above mentioned noise problems have now moved outside to the "amusement" of the whole neighborhood.. Moreover you will undoubtedly have one litter after the other, kittens that it can be hard to find good homes for.

What does it cost to neuter a cat?

This varies from vet to vet and from region to region.

How early can a cat be neutered?

Most vets recommend that you wait till the cat is 8-9 months old, but if the cat shows signs of maturing before that it is ok to neuter a cat from about 6 months of age. The fear that early neutering could stop the growth and development of the cat has been ruled out by the newest research. On the contrary it seems that an early neutered cat can become larger than a later neutered cat; the neutering does slow down the growth rate but it also lengthens the growth period.
I had a moggie with Siamese-blood in him (which tends towards early maturing); he had to be neutered at 7 months because he had become a nuisance for himself, for me and for the other cats.

He became a large and well balanced cat who often won the HHP section at shows because of his size and proportions.
A female does not have to have had her first heat before neutering;
on the other hand most vets don’t like to operate on a female in heat as the organs are especially filled with blood then, this makes the operation somewhat more difficult.

What exactly does neutering mean?

For the male it is a minor operation - the testicles are removed and the spermatic cords are tied into knots which the fur will cover eventually. That is why it

looks like male neuters still have small "balls". This method usually means that the males don’t need to be sewn or to wear a protective shield later.
To neuter a female is a somewhat larger operation; ovaries, oviducts, and sometimes the uterus is removed after which the female is sewn back together again. Some females will try to pull out the stitches themselves and will therefore need to wear a shield, others are more "well behaved" and can avoid the shield.
Both the males and the females will have a "hang over" after the

anesthetics and may be depressed and uneasy for a day or so after the operation, their appetite won’t be the best either. This is normal, but if it lasts more than a day the vet should be contacted.
If the cat is very sleepy after the anesthetic, it is wise to place it on the floor on a soft bedding with plastic under. That will prevent the cat from falling down from the bed or chairs and the damage isn’t so serious if it should urinate in its sleep (which could happen while the cat has a "hang-over").
The cat should be kept indoors for a few weeks after being neutered as it takes time for the hormones to settle - this means that a female can still become pregnant and a male can still sire kittens and spray for a few weeks after being neutered.