Neutering Or Not

[Chris_Takas]

i am not sure this classifies as health but i think it will. i recently took in a male stray cat (otto). he is the most well behaved stray cat i have ever met. never scratches never jumps on table even if there is food on it. only after a few days he jumps up on my lap for a good cuddle session.
now to the problem. he is not neutered and an outdoor cat. originally i thought to neuter him, but i have second thoughts now. i am not 100% sure if i can keep him a 100% indoor cat. my inlaws are visiting sometimes and my mother in law is allergic to cats. so whenever they are staying over night, he has to go outside. (it breaks my heart to do that) i am wondering if he is neutered, he wont be marking his territory, right? what will happen if another cat has market its territory just outside the house? will otto be offended or scared and run away? i really dont know much about it. i am looking for some advice. is there a way to fix him without him losing his keen surviving edge? after all he managed to live outdoors for at least 3 years and is in amazing shape. and also, god forbid, i have to move to another country again, what will happen to him if he is unable to claim a territory? does that actually matter? i live now in a country that is not well educated about stray animals and there are no shelters around.
i hope i make sense. ) thank you for your time and advice!

 

[mokapi]

Neutering him won't make him lose his "keen surviving edge", but it could cut down on his willingness to engage in fights with other outside cats over territory, and it will prevent him from contributing to the pet overpopulation problem that's so rampant.

I can tell you from experience that neutered cats can and will mark their territory. I feed a feral colony of five males and one female, all of whom have been fixed, and ALL of them-- even the female-- spray/mark whenever and wherever they can. Neutering doesn't take away the ability to spray.

 

[daisyd]

Hi ! This site Is a pro neuter site so you will be definitely advised to neuter him ; especially If he is going to go outside . There is an overpopution and many cats are unfortuntely unwanted And not cared for ! You don't want to contribute in a country which you have advised are not well educated with strays and shelters! Quick question : can otto not stay in another room when your inlaws stay over ? Is the allergy that bad cannot be in the same room ?

 

[Chris_Takas]

thank you all for your input,
sadly its just a one bedroom apartment. initially, i was 100% for neutering, nut silly me read to much stuff online. of course its better. one more question: i read somewhere that neutered male cats appear to still have their testicles. is that true? i really want to bring him to the vet. i hope the vets are good here. perhaps i will read into some anti allergic pills for humans.

 

[abyeb]

i read somewhere that neutered male cats appear to still have their testicles. is that true?

Neutered males who still have testes have had a vasectomy versus a castration. IMHO, castration is better for housecats, because vasectomy doesn't cause any changes in hormone levels (they just can't get lady cats pregnant), so you'll still have to deal with spraying. A castration also eliminates the chance of a male cat developing testicular tumors. Vasectomy is cats is really only used in select cases. One where it can be useful is in feral cat colonies, because of the way the social dynamic of feral colonies work, only the alpha male has mating privileges, and he can mate with all the females. No other male cat is then "allowed" to sire offspring. If TNR workers are able to trap the alpha male, they might choose to do a vasectomy on him instead of a castration because, with a vasectomy, the male will still *try* to mate, preventing other males in the colony from doing the same, but won't be able to impregnate any of the females, which will prevent the colony from growing. That mating drive, however, is something that you probably don't want in a pet cat, because of issues with spraying to mark territory and yowling throughout the night to try to attract a mate.

 

[Chris_Takas]

great input abyeb ! thank you. may i pick your brain a bit more? how come he hasnt sprayed anything in the flat? he has been in and out a lot. is it due to the lack of any other male scent around, so he doesnt need to mark his territory? he clearly marked it with his other glands. (rubbing his face on everything and myself) i doubt he has been fixed at all then. i just thought because he didnt spray.

 

[abyeb]

great input abyeb ! thank you. may i pick your brain a bit more? how come he hasnt sprayed anything in the flat? he has been in and out a lot. is it due to the lack of any other male scent around, so he doesnt need to mark his territory? he clearly marked it with his other glands. (rubbing his face on everything and myself) i doubt he has been fixed at all then. i just thought because he didnt spray.

Some whole males spray less than others. I often visit cat shows and talk to the owners and breeders, and one person I know has a stud male (unneutered cat for breeding) who is so proud that her cat "has never sprayed anything", so I suppose it's not unheard of for a whole male to not feel the need to spray (especially if you don't have other male cats in the area), just not common, you might be lucky!