To neuter , or not to neuter?

[anankee]

Marley has had quite a few issues already although he is only 4 1/2 months

I won't go into them all here, but I will mention what I think is relevant

He has a fluctuating blood count . Right now it is on the very bottom of normal, but at times it has been dangerously low, to the point the vet was unable to draw blood, and 24 hours later when they finally managed it was like water. We were told there was a very high chance that we should strongly consider putting him to sleep. He had a multitude of tests from a vet and a specialist and no one was able to find the cause. Only that his red blood cells were not reproducing in his marrow (is my best understanding).

However as if by miracle, he came around and his blood count increased. Then it dropped again. He has now been on the bottom end of normal a couple of weeks but we don't know what keeps causing this fluctuation. We do no that there is no internal bleeding etc, so it is not caused by loss of blood.

Anyway the vet says that he can't go under anaesthetic with low blood count and that when I'm ready to desex him they will just check his blood first

This makes me quite nervous. I couldn't bear to lose him.

I know all of the benefits of having him desexed but the vet does acknowledge a genuine risk to undergo this procedure

I'm really confused and hoping to get some thoughts here

 

[Willowy]

I think you can safely wait a bit longer to give him time to stabilize. Most males don't start showing tomcat behaviors until 9 or 10 months. Maybe by then whatever it is will have fixed itself or your vet will have fixed it. If he's still too sick to have surgery at that time, your vet may recommend hormone shots to keep him from getting too obnoxious.

 

[margd]

What a dilemma. This is a very difficult choice to have to make.

Is Marley's heart okay?  Heart problems are often responsible for cats passing away during surgery.  If his heart is okay, then the real question is:  is it safe to neuter him even if his blood count is normal.  I'd have to defer to your vet on that one but it might be worth discussing this with a second vet.   For something this serious, a second opinion is always a good idea. 

Has your vet ever suggested a blood transfusion?  This is the usual treatment for severely anemic cats and doesn't usually require anesthesia.

@Willowy's  suggestion that you wait a few months and give Marley time to stabilize makes a lot of sense. 

 

[anankee]

@ willowy - I may discuss the option of hormone shots as I can tell already we are not too far away from that stage even though he is not quite 5 months. It is not something I have ever heard of before so I appreciate the tip and will look into it. He has definitely stabilised somewhat so I can only hope that it improves as he gets older or that we find the cause of it


@ Margd - yes it's definitely a dilemma . This is the first time ever that I have felt that it may not be in my pets best interest to desex, well at least not right now.
Marley has seen 2 vets and a specialist already but we haven't been able to get to the bottom of it. He has no heart issues that we are aware of, but the vet just said that they will need to check his red cell count before putting him under to make sure it's safe. I guess that's just made me extremely nervous. I haven't had another opinion on that specifically but I might speak with the other vet and specialist that are familiar with his case and see what they think

He is quite sensitive to medications and doesn't do well with even minor medical procedures which just adds to my anxiety. And I'm sure Marley feeds off my anxiety too which probably doesn't help.

Well at least I have my next step - check with the other vets , and while I'm at it I'll ask about the hormone shots

Thanks guys really appreciate it

 

[Willowy]

Vets in the US don't like to use the hormones, but I understand their use is fairly common in England and other parts of Europe. So it seems to me that an Australian vet would be more likely to be amenable to using them. I think the product is called Ovarid in Europe. It's used as birth control for females but can also be used to "girlify" a tomcat.

 

[anankee]

Vets in the US don't like to use the hormones, but I understand their use is fairly common in England and other parts of Europe. So it seems to me that an Australian vet would be more likely to be amenable to using them. I think the product is called Ovarid in Europe. It's used as birth control for females but can also be used to "girlify" a tomcat.

Really appreciate the tip. Are you aware of any side effects ? I wonder if it is considered safe? It's definitely sounding like a possible option for delaying things a little , I would like to find out more. Now that I have the name I'll do a bit of googling [emoji]128522[/emoji]