Why You Should Get Your Cat Spayed Or Castrated, And What You Need To Know About The Procedure

Kittens become sexually mature between the ages of five and eight months, at which point they are able to reproduce. Unless you make the conscious decision to breed your cats, you'll want to have them neutered. 

The first and extremely compelling reason to have your cat neutered is preventing the birth of kittens you cannot rehome. In the United States alone, 3.4 million cats enter shelters every year, and 1.4 million are euthanized. Only 37 percent of the cats who go into shelters are adopted, with a larger number — 41 percent — being euthanized. With so many cats already depending on animal lovers giving them a home in order to keep on living, you really don't want to add more cats to the world. 

The second reason to get your cat neutered is that spaying or castrating your furry friend prevents annoying behaviors and keeps them safer from certain diseases. 

Castration In Male Cats: Why, How, And What After

If you have a tomcat, you'll never face the struggle of rehoming kittens yourself. However, if your Tom is an outdoor cat, he will contribute to the huge problem of unwanted cats on the street. Male cats who haven't been castrated are also more likely to get into fights with other males, something that places them at risk of FIV, feline HIV, and the feline leukemia virus. What's more, looking for females, intact tomcats will explore larger areas, making them much more likely to encounter such hazards as highways. Even if your cat is an indoor cat, there are reasons to get him neutered — intact tomcats tend to spray to mark their territory. Just, yuck. 

Fortunately, neutering a male cat isn't a major procedure. In the US, most tomcats are neutered between four and six months. Where I live in Europe, vets recommend waiting until they are at least six months old in order to protect the cat's kidneys. However, you may well find that your tomcat starts displaying sexual behaviors including spraying and attempting to mate even when he's only three months old. For that reason, some vets, especially in the United States, do castrate male cats when they are as young as six to 14 weeks. If you are waiting to have your cat castrated, keeping him indoors and away from fertile females is a good idea.

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During the procedure itself, the testes are removed under general anesthesia by cutting a small incision in the scrotum. Because castration involves general anesthesia, your cat won't be able to eat or drink on the day of the procedure. The operation will not take longer than an hour, and you can usually take your cat home on the same day. He'll feel drowsy and disoriented after waking up from his anesthesia. As he comes back to consciousness, he'll try to stand up and fall — right onto his sore spot. For that reason, your vet will probably encourage you to leave him in his transport box for at least an hour after he comes home, and they'll also recommend you stay home with your cat the rest of the day.

Having Your Female Cat Sterilized: What To Expect

Unlike the castration of male cats, having a female cat sterilized is a major procedure that will lead to a significant amount of pain for a few days. There are, however, plenty of reasons to have your cat neutered. The risk of kittens is the obvious reason: Queens are able to have around three nests a year, and unless you have a special cat breed, you are unlikely to be able to find homes for all those kittens. If your cat isn't exclusively an indoor cat, kittens will happen.

If your cat never leaves the house and you don't have intact male cats, you'll still want to consider sterilization very strongly. Your sexually mature female cat will go into heat about once every three weeks if she doesn't get pregnant, and that's accompanied by a very loud "calling" that will keep you (and perhaps your neighbors, if you live in an apartment building) awake all night for about a week. A more serious concern is the possibility that your unneutered cat, never having reproduced, will develop a uterine infection called pyometra or mammary tumors later down the line. 

What To Expect From The Procedure

Most female cats are spayed between the ages of five and eight months in the United States. Contrary to popular belief, your cat does not need to have a litter of kittens before the procedure. As with castration, the sterilization procedure is carried out under general anesthesia, and this means your cat cannot eat or drink during the day of the procedure. Once under, the vet will shave the cat's abdomen and make an incision there. Then, they will remove the complete reproductive tract, including the uterus and ovaries. 

Your vet may ask you to leave your cat in her transporter for a few hours — longer than with tomcats — since she'll be very sore and would only seek out a hiding space where you might not be able to find her if you let her out. Your cat probably won't resume eating and drinking until at least the following day, but you may wet her snout a little to give her a small amount of fluids.

Don't be scared or worried if your cat doesn't do anything but sleep for a few days. On the third or fourth day, she'll be feeling much better and will resume cleaning herself, eating, and being social. The stitches used to close the abdomen up after having  your cat spayed will be taken out after seven to 10 days, at which point you need to return to your vet's clinic. 

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What Else Do You Need To Know?

Tomcats are extremely unlikely to develop complications following castration, but you will want to watch out for a swollen and hard abdomen in your female feline after having her spayed. This signifies an internal hemorrhage, which is an emergency situation for which you'll need to call your vet immediately. You'll also want to keep an eye on your Kitty to make sure she doesn't attempt to remove the sutures herself. If she does, contact your vet.