How to tell if a female cat is fixed?

[Caspers Human]

We have a young, female cat that comes up to our back porch to see Casper, almost daily.

They sniff each other through the screen door and it seems like they are becoming friends. Casper is fixed and he doesn't go outside but the other cat is free-roaming. She's really friendly and there doesn't seem to be any problems but I'm still aware of the fact that strange cats can cause behavior changes. I don't want that to happen. Casper is the most well-behaved cat I have ever known.

One thing is easy to tell... A cat's gender... Colon vs. semicolon.

For a male, it's easy to tell whether he's fixed. Neutered males look more "streamlined" from the rear.

But, how can you tell whether a female is fixed without flipping her upside down and looking for a scar? I don't want to get that intimate with a cat that I don't own. Even then, it might not be easy to spot an incision.

Since Casper has been neutered, I'm not super concerned that his behavior will change too much but, still, I don't want him to start peeing outside his litter box because there is another intact cat in his territory. The other cat is such a friendly, little girl. She's so nice. It would be a shame if I had to scare her away.

Does anybody have any tips?

Will this new cat cause any problems for Casper?

What do you think?

 

[fionasmom]

This is just my experience, but I have never had a neutered male react to an unspayed female. However, once in a rescue situation I had to bring a tiny female, very young, into the house with an unneutered male and he instantly went for her despite the fact that she was too young to actually have a litter. My neutered male now does react to unneutered male cats who come around outside, but he has never sprayed fortunately.

With females, barring that you see a tipped ear, someone does have to see the scar or long term not see any mating activity going on. I wonder if the friendliness of the girl is an indication that she might have a home, have had a home, have been fixed?

 

[Caspers Human]

I feel pretty certain that she has a home in the neighboring apartment building.

The first time we met her she dashed our front door when we opened it. She was inside for a minute or two before we shooed her out. Casper came to investigate and we were afraid there would be trouble but she came and went without incident.

The thing that makes me worry that she is intact is that she’s SO darned friendly. She rubs against people and walks around with her tail up. It’s probably just because she’s a friendly cat with an attentive family but it could also be because she is looking for a boyfriend.

Although I don’t think Casper will react to her but, since we live in an apartment, I don’t want to get on the hook for cleaning up any messes if I can avoid it. Casper only ever made a mess one time and that was because he was sick. Beside that he has been a very fastidious litter box user.

The other thing is that, now, we have to be sure Casper is up-to-date on all his shots. If he has contact with other cats and his vaccinations are late, he could get sick even if it’s just nose-to-nose contact through a screen door.

There is another female that comes around who does make Casper upset. She’s a calico and she’s quite uppity. She’ll charge right up to the door and hiss and scream. Casper goes nutso!

The calico, I do try to scare off. The cute one is an orange and white striped cat. If it wasn’t for the bitchy one I’d be inclined to leave well enough alone.

Why can’t people just keep their cats inside so I wouldn’t have to worry about crap like this?

 

[MissClouseau]

I don't want him to start peeing outside his litter box because there is another intact cat in his territory.

I have never had a male cat myself but based on friends' and relatives', and the street cats around me, male cats mark territory when there is another male cat. If you mean spraying, neutered males can't do that.

You can't really understand if the female is spayed or not without a test or giving time and seeing if she goes into heat. My own cat was an adult when she found me and it was a question for both me and the vet if she was spayed. She had no visible sign on surgery but the vet said a scar might not be there especially if she got spayed too young. Turned out mine was spayed as she never went into heat.

 

[Caspers Human]

No, I meant territorial marking.

Things have been going okay, for the past few days. I haven't seen the cute, little orange cat but the weather has been crummy. Her humans are probably keeping her in... or she's smart enough to stay inside when it rains.

The uppity, calico did come around, once.
It was around 5:00 a.m. when I heard a sound from the back patio. It sounded like somebody at the patio door.
I went to investigate and saw the cat sitting on the patio. I went to check the door to make sure it was locked and she ran up and swatted at me through the glass. I was like "WTF?" but I pulled the curtain shut again and walked away. In this case, I thought, it was best to make no reaction so as not to encourage a cat that I don't want to come around. For THAT one, I might have to put out some kind of cat-scare device.

I guess it's good that I've only seen the "nice" cat during the day and the "mean" cat mostly at night.

I'm happy for Casper to have cat friends as long as they don't cause trouble.