In today’s more pet conscious society, it is becoming more and more apparent that neutering your cat is the best and most responsible thing you can do. Every year, shelters, rescues and humane societies are over run with unwanted and unplanned for kittens. The fate of these loving and beautiful creatures is left up to the amount of people looking to add a fluffy companion to their home.
Another upsetting occurrence is the amount of feral cats that have increased in the last several years. A feral colony or wild cat colony is created by pet cats that are released by owners who are unable to care for them any longer. These colonies are a serious problem as cats can procreate several times a year and the kittens grow rather quickly. One male and one female feral cat can quickly turn into a colony of twenty in a short amount of time.
The feral colonies can become quite a problem as they are able to spread diseases to other dogs and cats quite rapidly and they are also most often infested with fleas and ticks. If a feral colony exists in your neighborhood, don’t expect to get much sleep when the females go into heat.
Males fighting and yowling for their chance to mate can be quite annoying. Kittens from these feral colonies can also be troublesome as they decide to playfully shred and dig up gardens and shrubbery as well as soil outside furnishings. As these cats are wild, trash cans become a wonderful food source and lawns seemingly become public toilets.
Neutering is not just a way to control the cat population; it also brings several benefits to your cat. No longer will an owner have to deal with the constant mewling of a female cat in heat, while at the same time, there will no longer be every tom cat in the neighborhood prowling your yard and fighting for territorial rights.
Tom cats that have not been neutered tend to stray far away from home in search of a waiting female. This can create the loss of a precious pet. Neutering is the best answer to keep your cat home. In addition, inside male cats, which have not yet been altered, will spray their distinct pungent odor on anything and everything in your home to mark his territory if a female in heat is around.
Another benefit to having your cat neutered is that it reduces the risk of their ability to contract some very serious reproductive cancers. Cats that have been neutered by the time they are one year of age, rarely contract these forms of cancer. Another reason for considering having your cat neutered is that an unaltered cat has a higher risk of transferring contagious and infectious reproductive diseases.
The benefits of neutering your cat are highly beneficial, although there is one slight downside. If you have a specific breed, altering does not eliminate it from being able to participate in cat shows as it does for dogs. However, if your cat wins the Best in Show title, anyone wanting a kitten from your prize winner will be very disappointed that you cannot provide one.
Most humane societies and shelters will alter a cat at the age of eight weeks old, but veterinarians generally recommend having your cat neutered at the age of five to six months. Occasionally, cats that have been altered at any early age have developed problems later on. Female cats undergo a more detailed surgery for alteration, so they must be kept quiet and indoors for at least a week. Male surgery is not as intensive, so male cats tend to bounce back to their playful selves rather quickly, but should still be kept indoors.
Surgery requires stitches, and those stitches must be kept clean. A daily check for puffiness or redness in the incision area is also recommended to avoid a severe infection. If your cat is constantly biting and licking the stitches, asking your veterinarian for a surgery collar will enable your cat’s incision the proper time it needs to heal.
Another upsetting occurrence is the amount of feral cats that have increased in the last several years. A feral colony or wild cat colony is created by pet cats that are released by owners who are unable to care for them any longer. These colonies are a serious problem as cats can procreate several times a year and the kittens grow rather quickly. One male and one female feral cat can quickly turn into a colony of twenty in a short amount of time.
The feral colonies can become quite a problem as they are able to spread diseases to other dogs and cats quite rapidly and they are also most often infested with fleas and ticks. If a feral colony exists in your neighborhood, don’t expect to get much sleep when the females go into heat.
Males fighting and yowling for their chance to mate can be quite annoying. Kittens from these feral colonies can also be troublesome as they decide to playfully shred and dig up gardens and shrubbery as well as soil outside furnishings. As these cats are wild, trash cans become a wonderful food source and lawns seemingly become public toilets.
Neutering is not just a way to control the cat population; it also brings several benefits to your cat. No longer will an owner have to deal with the constant mewling of a female cat in heat, while at the same time, there will no longer be every tom cat in the neighborhood prowling your yard and fighting for territorial rights.
Tom cats that have not been neutered tend to stray far away from home in search of a waiting female. This can create the loss of a precious pet. Neutering is the best answer to keep your cat home. In addition, inside male cats, which have not yet been altered, will spray their distinct pungent odor on anything and everything in your home to mark his territory if a female in heat is around.
Another benefit to having your cat neutered is that it reduces the risk of their ability to contract some very serious reproductive cancers. Cats that have been neutered by the time they are one year of age, rarely contract these forms of cancer. Another reason for considering having your cat neutered is that an unaltered cat has a higher risk of transferring contagious and infectious reproductive diseases.
The benefits of neutering your cat are highly beneficial, although there is one slight downside. If you have a specific breed, altering does not eliminate it from being able to participate in cat shows as it does for dogs. However, if your cat wins the Best in Show title, anyone wanting a kitten from your prize winner will be very disappointed that you cannot provide one.
Most humane societies and shelters will alter a cat at the age of eight weeks old, but veterinarians generally recommend having your cat neutered at the age of five to six months. Occasionally, cats that have been altered at any early age have developed problems later on. Female cats undergo a more detailed surgery for alteration, so they must be kept quiet and indoors for at least a week. Male surgery is not as intensive, so male cats tend to bounce back to their playful selves rather quickly, but should still be kept indoors.
Surgery requires stitches, and those stitches must be kept clean. A daily check for puffiness or redness in the incision area is also recommended to avoid a severe infection. If your cat is constantly biting and licking the stitches, asking your veterinarian for a surgery collar will enable your cat’s incision the proper time it needs to heal.
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