To Castrate or Not To Castrate....My Cat
That is the question. And the answer we believe is fairly easy. Unless you plan to breed your male
cat we strongly advise neutering from 5 months of age.
First of all some simple pros and cons of castrating your cat
Pros
 No unpleasant smell and nasty behaviours such as spraying and aggression.
 Reduced risk of roaming and therefore also of being hit by a car.
 No chance of testicular disease or cancer.
 Reduced risk of wounds and abscesses from cat fights.
 Reduced risk of contracting diseases such as Feline Leukaemia and Feline AIDS viruses,
both of which can be fatal.
 Reduces numbers of cats in rehoming centres and those destroyed.
Cons
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Cannot ever breed – the operation cannot be reversed.
Very small risk of complications of anaesthetic or surgery (less than 5%).
Small increased risk of obesity, however this can be prevented by the owner.
Small increase to certain health risks such as urinary disease.
All about cats that go roaming for mates
Male cats go through puberty usually from 8-9 months old and from then on are progressively
more and more sexually driven. They are invariably smelly, spray urine in the house, can be very
noisy and desperate to get out of the house day or night. They will roam far and wide in search of
female cats and so are at risk of being hit by a car with the potential for serious injuries or even
death. In their search for a female cat they will often encounter and fight with other Tom-cats,
which are often feral. In these encounters fights usually accumulate injuries that may need
stitching or turn into abscesses, and are at risk of picking up the potentially fatal Feline Leukaemia
(FeLV) and Feline AIDS (FIV) viruses. A willing female, whether their sister, mother, daughter,
cousin or any other is their ultimate aim, but it doesn’t mean they won’t try to mate a neutered cat
and cause injuries or infections in that animal.
Health risks
Any anaesthetic or surgery does involve a small risk to the cat. However neutering is a very safe
procedure that we only carry out in well cats and vets are extremely familiar with it. The highest
risk is for infection of the skin wound, which is less than 5%. Other risks such as bleeding or even
anaesthetic death are extremely low.
All neutered pets are at risk of weight gain as the hormone levels change and less food is required.
Most cats do not become obese but if they do can be dieted. Neutering also slightly increases the
risk of a small number of health problems, such as urinary tract disease, however the risks of these
problems are still vastly lower than those associated with roaming, fighting and mating.