Spaying and Neutering Cats

Let’s talk about early spaying and neutering of cats. 😉 This is a fairly common problem among animals and everyone has developed their own attitude towards it. 🙈 We won’t try to convince anyone of our beliefs, we have Rules in our cattery and we follow them, namely – whether it is spaying or neutering, we don’t allow our animals to be spayed or neutered before six months. 😎

For starters, let’s define the difference between these two procedures, it is significant. ☝️

Sterilization of cats and male cats😾

During sterilization, the cat’s sperm are tied up without removing the genitals, allowing them to maintain hormone levels. The cats’ fallopian tubes are tied, and the genitals are also not removed, thus maintaining sex hormone production.

Neutering cats and male cats😼

Neutering is an operation to surgically remove the gonads, resulting in the cessation of reproductive function and the production of sex hormones. Cats have their testicles removed; cats have their ovaries removed. Moreover, as practice shows, it is better to remove the ovaries together with the uterus.

Both operations are performed under anaesthesia, and in the case of cats, abdominal surgery, so it’s important to know how to prepare for the surgery itself and what to do afterwards.

Surgery performed at an early age leads to underdevelopment of the genitals: a small urethra, a small diameter of the penis, and in general leads to a general underdevelopment of the body. Hence the problems. For example, the development of urolithiasis in cats.

Of course, the seemingly early castration may seem  to be the ideal option for solving problems with a four-legged bandit living in the house 😺 However, despite these compelling positive aspects, this operation has its certain and, in some cases, even serious drawbacks. So, let’s take a look at them:

The genitals of a small kitten have not yet reached the stage of maturity where the operation can be easily performed. In this case, the surgeon will have to play with it.

Despite the claims in veterinary literature that kittens tolerate anaesthesia much more easily, their kidneys and livers are not yet formed enough to suffer even the slightest error by the anaesthetist. In this case, your pet may develop either kidney or liver failure, or both.

If castrated early, the cat may suffer from hypothermia. The young animal has not yet “eaten” the necessary mass of subcutaneous fat, and the liver is in a very poor position at such an early age to synthesize and accumulate a special polysaccharide – glycogen, a strategic energy reserve in the body. In addition, the ability to maintain temperature at a certain level (thermoregulation) is not yet fully developed and as a result, hypothermia is granted. Keep in mind that fasting before surgery can significantly damage your pet’s health.

The testes produce male sex hormones that affect the formation and development of your pet’s muscles and skeleton. Therefore, removing them at such a young age can lead to a number of pathologies.

The possibility of balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans penis) is several orders of magnitude higher than in unsterilized animals. As a result, additional surgery may be required.

It is not at all necessary to turn secondary fears into reality, but if there is at least the slightest risk, don’t be in such a hurry to neuter, but it is better to wait a few months! ☝