Neutering your cat

Neutering is advisable for any cat not used for breeding purposes. There are many reasons for neutering but the main one with cats is to stop breeding of unwanted kittens. There are so many unwanted kittens and cats in the country that rescue centres are overwhelmed and are finding it difficult to find suitable homes for each and every cat, so to allow your cat to breed is to just add to this problem.

Female cats will become pregnant within days of having a litter if allowed outside so it is amazing how quickly you can have another litter at home. It also leads to exhaustion if your cat is rearing litter after litter. So the responsible pet cat owner should have their cat neutered.

Male cats if not neutered will also go out looking for female cats and will wander and are more prone to road accidents. They are also often involved in cat fights over territory and female cats can develop nasty abscesses from the bite wounds which are painful. Fighting can also increase the chances of catching Feline Immunodeficiency virus and leukaemia virus by transmission through blood and urine. A neutered male cat is more likely to be happy staying closer to home and sometimes is less aggressive in nature although most cats are not naturally aggressive with their owners.

The neutering procedure
The neutering procedure can be carried out in the space of a day at your vets .The male cats just have 2 small cuts on their scrotum which take a few days to heal and the female cats have a couple of stitches on their side or underneath depending how the operation is done as vets have their own preference of technique. The males need to stay in for a few days after the operation and the females for 10 days. The stitches may be dissolvable or they may need to be removed after 10 days.

There is only a very small risk with the procedure. Some females need to wear a plastic ‘buster’ collar to stop them licking and biting out the stitches but most leave their wounds alone. There will be one or two check ups post operatively depending on your vet’s wishes and often no requirement to check the male cats post operatively, again depending on your vet.

You will need a quiet place for your pet to recover and a litter tray again for a while. After a couple of weeks or less your cat will be back to its normal self and you won’t know anything had been done apart from a patch of hair to grow back where the hair is clipped to prepare for the operation.

Is neutering covered by cat insurance?
The neutering process is not typically covered by cat insurance, but taking out cat insurance is still highly advisable as there are many other scenarios where you may find that you need to take your cat to the vet due to an illness or injury.