Risk Of Urinary Blockages In Neutered Cats

Daisy6

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I read in the book Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer the urethra gets narrower when tomcats are neuetered. Does this actually happen, and if so how?
 

Dr. Phil Bushby

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I read in the book Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer the urethra gets narrower when tomcats are neuetered. Does this actually happen, and if so how?

Decades ago when I was in veterinary school the theory was that castrating a male cat before it was fully grown (9 - 12 months) would result in the penis being smaller, the urethra being narrower and would predispose to urinary obstruction. That theory has been disproven. In a study performed in the 1990s urethral diameters and urethral pressures were measured in three groups of cats: cats castrated at 7 weeks of age, cats castrated at 7 months of age and intact adult cats. The result was there was no difference between the three groups. While urethra obstruction, when it occurs, is a serious life-threatening problem its occurrence is unrelated to neutering or age of neutering.
 
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Daisy6

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Thank you!

What is urethra pressure?
 

danteshuman

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Thank you so much!!!! I was told to wait until the male kitten was at least 6 months old to neuter him. I am relieved to hear that early neutering does no harm. :rock:
 

Esther Mechler

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This knowlege needs to get out there in the public's awareness. All readers who find Dr. Bushby's information helpful, please spread the word! So many people are still confused about pediatric and juvenile spay and neuter. And as catsknowme just said, it will make life a whole lot easier for felines and humines alike. Thank you!
 

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Daisy6

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Wow Esther, that is pathetic. I thought because so many animal shelters prefer to spay and neuter kittens less than 4 months old more cat lovers understood that's actually a. great idea.
 

Alicia88

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I live in a small, rural area and none of the vets here will spay or neuter before a cat is 6 months old or showing signs of puberty. I think this information needs to be more widely shared if there are still vets who don't know.
 

Esther Mechler

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For 20 years I ran a national spay/neuter referral hotline, and as the years went by I was surprised at how many veterinarians still refused to spay/neuter before five months. You are right that the shelters do spay/neuter in a timely fashion but that approach still has not found its way into the mainstream. For many reasons, life will be far better for cats once this is the standard practice. The fact that AVMA, AAHA and AAFP all approved this is a huge step forward but now it is up to us to inform people! We are grateful for any help in spreading the word. Thank you for your interest and do check out our site: www.felinefixbyfive.org!
 
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