Archive for January 11th, 2010
A topic on top of the list. Is your pet neutered?? Question always asked and answered in between pet owners. Neutering a male is a procedure known as castration. It involves complete removal of the testes via two small surgical incisions over the scrotum. The scrotal wound is usually left open to heal up by itself. Cats do not have vasectomies like humans do as they are neutered for other reasons in addition to birth control. Neutering a female on the other hand is a procedure known as spaying. It usually involves the removal of the ovaries and uterus via a surgical incision over the belly button. Sometimes the uterus is not removed. Note how this differs with the equivalent of human procedure, a hysterectomy, where only the uterus is removed.
The main reasons for neutering your cat are: birth control in males and females as well, stopping territorial behavior in males such as urine marking or spraying in the house, stopping them from wandering away in search for mates, reducing the possibility for erratic behavior over territorial disputes or by being on heat, and eliminating the risk of ovarian or uterine cancer and other rare diseases.
You should have your pets neutered at 6 months of age as they become sexually mature at this age. Leaving it any longer brings the risks of an unwanted pregnancy on a higher level as cats are exceptionally good at getting pregnant at any given opportunity. There is no such thing as too late for a cat to be neutered, but the closest to 6 months the better. If your cat had kittens already, wait at least 3 month after the litter as the uterus has shrunk by then and the surgery is easier and safer.