At what age can a cat be sterilized?

General facts

Castration is considered not such a simple operation as many assume. This is not just the removal of the testes: during the operation, the glands of the genital organs are cut and the reproductive functions of the body are completely stopped. The procedure can be carried out using several methods:

1. Standard excision. This technique is the most common and simple.
2. Fertility with the help of medications. For this, an implant is sewn under the skin with the required amount of medication that suppresses the cat’s sexual desire. This is an expensive but safe procedure.
3. Chemical sterilization, during which a mixture of drugs is injected directly into the testes. This compound destroys the glands. Their tissue is then replaced by muscle tissue. This procedure, which has not taken root in our country, is considered easy to use and cheap.
4. Castration under the influence of radiation. The organ is placed under gamma rays and treated. Such manipulation requires quite expensive equipment. From a safety point of view, this is a simple intervention that does not require anesthesia.

It is clear that surgical penetration into the animal's body is not always necessary. However, it is excision with a scalpel that is popular in domestic veterinary practice. Most likely, this is due to the low cost of the method.

Advantages and disadvantages of castration

Carrying out surgical intervention is not an empty desire of the owner to turn a pet mustache into a soft toy. Such interference in the body has positive and negative sides. Among the advantages of removing the gonads are:

1. Reducing manifestations of aggression on the part of the pet. During the period of searching for a female, he becomes conflicted, nervous, and may attack or hiss at a person. After excision of the testes, there will be no need for sexual hunting, and aggression will be reduced to a minimum.
2. Reducing unpleasant physical behavior, such as obsessive loud meowing to attract a partner. The cat will not have the need to mark its territory.
3. There will be no attempts to escape from home and go on a long journey. The pet will now stay at home or in a well-known yard with great pleasure. He won't want to go out looking for a bride.
4. Prevention of urological diseases. Thus, males, thanks to the removal of the gonads, are completely free from testicular cancer or prostate adenoma.

Owners of male cats need to understand that castration of a cat at any time is not a panacea for all health or behavioral problems. Each surgical intervention involves a number of difficulties:

• metabolic disorders and the development of obesity;
• impossibility of using a male for mating;
• probable complications in the form of the development of urolithiasis.

In fact, there are few hassles after the process, and some of them are easy to deal with. To avoid problems with digestion and salt deposition, it is enough to reduce and adjust the animal’s diet.

Measure seven times: for or against?

The veterinary community worldwide recommends sterilization for all non-breeding domestic animals (male and female).

If the cat is not a super champion of a rare breed, castration will help the owner emerge victorious from the battle with the vagaries of nature: the pet will become much calmer and friendlier, will stay at home more often, cats in heat will no longer be interesting to him, and property will not suffer from marks and scratches.

And this is not the only case when it is better to castrate a cat. There are clear indications and absolute contraindications for sterilization.

The effect of the operation will also depend on the age chosen by the surgeon for castration of the cat. If the cat is an adult, then some sexual behavior will not disappear on its own.

Sex hormones are produced mainly in the testes, and, according to as yet unverified data, in small quantities in other glands. Therefore, removal of the testicles (testicles) makes it possible to almost completely block sexual behavior.

NOTE! If the cat has already begun to mark, after castration his urine will become less saturated with pheromones, but the marks themselves may remain.

Not for the sake of whim - for health

Since the operation affects the holy of holies of the male individual, doubts may arise whether to castrate the cat or not.

There are cases when surgery is inevitable, no matter how much the male half of the family and the pet itself resist it, no matter how significant the opinion of religion.

To preserve the life and health of your beloved cat, you will have to negotiate with your doctor about castration and sacrifice the cat’s right to reproduce.

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The reason for such a sacrifice may be:

• Congenital pathologies and disorders associated with the number of chromosomes (normally, a cat has 19). Most often we are talking about different forms of hermaphroditism (a combination of characteristics of both sexes in one organism);
• Cryptorchidism is the underdevelopment or absence of one or both testes. Avoiding surgery can lead to the degeneration of underdeveloped tissue into a tumor or the development of an inflammatory process;
• Serious injuries and consequences of acquired diseases that are incompatible with the normal sexual function of the male. Failure to occur or pain will cause more suffering to the cat than surgery;
• Endocrine and behavioral disorders that require correction of testosterone levels or lead to sexual dysfunction in cats. In both cases, surgery is indicated.

Contraindications for surgery

If the cat does not mark, behaves quietly, and does not get into fights over cats, then he does not need any surgical intervention.

The operation is contraindicated if:

• The cat is old, has serious problems with the heart, nervous system or kidneys;
• The pet is over 3 years old, healthy, but does not exhibit problem behavior due to the lack of any contact with relatives and the outside world;
• The cat's body is weakened by infection, exhaustion or other reasons. This is a case when it is impossible to castrate a cat temporarily.

Optimal time

To avoid male marking and territorial behavior, the kitten can be neutered as soon as both testes have descended into the scrotum and are accessible to the surgeon.

This happens no earlier than 4 months, but no later than 1 year and often close to the autumn-spring rut.

Your doctor will help you determine at what age your pet will be ready for surgery.

BY THE WAY! Clinics quite often organize discount promotions for castration, especially at the end of winter. Before the period of March songs under the windows.

Since the tolerance to anesthesia and muscle relaxants is different for all cats, it is better to entrust both the choice of method and the selection of drugs according to age to a professional.

Should you believe castration myths?

Perhaps the most common and strangest misconception is to think that a cat’s behavior is completely similar to a person’s. The owners believe that they will deprive their pet of the “joy of love” or “manhood,” but this is a huge misconception. Mammals (with the exception of humans and dolphins) do not experience pleasure from intercourse; sex hormones dictate certain actions to them.

Perhaps, only if the cat protects the territory of a private house from other cats, raccoons, hedgehogs and others, does he need to stay with the testes. But then be prepared for his constant fights, injuries and absences for adventures. Unneutered village cats live significantly less than their domestic counterparts, and their lives are far from easy.

Therefore, if you have an exclusively pet kitten, you need to take it for a minor operation. And in order not to worry, get acquainted with common myths that are not justified in any way:

1. Cats become lazy and get fat

   . A cat that has been castrated at a fairly mature age (after about 7-8 years) can become lazy. In all other cases, the animal remains active and cheerful. As for obesity, any four-legged animal with improper nutrition will gain excess weight, so the question is not the operation, but what you feed your cat. Choose good food or create a natural menu under the guidance of a veterinarian - and everything will be fine.

2. The animal will become aggressive

   . This myth has been debunked by many counterexamples. It is uncastrated males, unsatisfied in their desire, who become very angry (not all, but many, especially by the age of 5-8). Their nature is to fight for females, and if they do not fight with their relatives, they will get it from their owners. There are more than one or even a thousand stories about how cats seriously injured their owners, and it was all due to raging instinct. Unfortunately, late castration will not save such individuals - we can only talk about euthanasia, since the animal becomes dangerous to others.

3. The cat will have problems with the genitourinary system

   . Again, it all depends on feeding and not on minor surgery. If you choose the right diet and give your animal only clean bottled water, urolithiasis will bypass it.

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4. Surgery is a big burden on the body

   . With a small error we can agree with this statement, but! Nowadays, most veterinarians use light anesthesia, from which the cat recovers very quickly. The operation itself is not abdominal, so the risks of complications are minimal. The very next day the pet returns to its normal life and does not experience any discomfort.

In conclusion, we can say that some cats, even after castration, continue to perform “acts” with a cat, a chair leg, a blanket, a soft toy, etc. This means that the cat remains a “man,” which is important for many owners.

Types of castration

Among the most common options for castration, there are three methods:

• open;
• closed;
• vasectomy.

Public method

The open method is considered the most popular, moreover, most cat owners consider it the only one, but in practice this is far from the case. Open castration involves the surgeon performing the following manipulations:

1. Stretching the scrotum in the area of ​​the testes, making an incision.
2. Extraction of testes.
3. Pulling the scrotum towards the inguinal ring in order to extract the spermatic cord.
4. Applying a ligature to the cord.
5. Cutting the cord and suturing the wound.

The open castration method is excellent for young and healthy individuals.

Video - Open castration of a cat

Private method

The closed method is considered more gentle, and therefore more suitable for older cats or cats with an intravaginal hernia or wide inguinal rings (the risk of prolapse after surgery is quite high).

For closed castration, the procedure is as follows:

1. Stretching the scrotum.
2. Cutting the skin (while the membrane remains intact).
3. Detachment of the membrane from the walls of the scrotum.
4. Rotation of the shell along with the testis by 180 degrees.
5. Applying a ligature near the inguinal ring.
6. Removal of testes with appendages a centimeter below.
7. Stitching the wound.

The closed castration method seeks to minimize the number of tissues cut

Vasectomy

The closed method is bloodless and does not involve opening the scrotum during surgery. The main focus of a vasectomy is on destroying the vas deferens, which prevents sperm from entering the cat's penis. Blockage of the vas deferens is not accompanied by dissection of blood vessels or nerves, and therefore the testes remain intact and continue to function.

Vasectomy does not always lead to complete loss of sexual desire

One of the positive aspects of a vasectomy is that there is no need for general anesthesia: cats only need to be given local anesthesia so that they can easily undergo the operation. This greatly facilitates their further recovery and reduces the likelihood of all kinds of complications.

How to prepare your pet for castration, which involves general anesthesia, can be read below. more about preparing a cat for the sterilization process in our special article.

Preparing a cat for castration

Non-surgical castration

In addition to the well-known castration methods listed above, there are alternative methods that, for various reasons, are not widespread in Russian veterinary clinics. The main types of castration without using a scalpel are given in the table below.

Table. Types of non-surgical castration

Optimal age for castration of a cat

Time for the operation is considered the main factor in its success. Within world veterinary medicine, there are two opposing opinions. Some speak out in favor of early sterilization. Other experts say it is necessary to wait a certain number of months. The only thing they agree on is that the intervention requires complete physiological maturation of the animal.

Early excision of the testes

In Western European countries and America, kittens are sterilized at 2 months. Foreign doctors believe that at this time the body is capable of good regeneration, and the tissues are quite thin and weak, so the procedure is easy. The process itself does not require the use of clamps or ligatures, because complications such as internal bleeding are practically absent.

Thus, after surgical excision, the baby will quickly return to normal, and pain or other postoperative problems are unlikely to be possible. Often after a few hours the kitten plays and runs around as if nothing had happened. But this can lead to the seams coming apart, so it is worth stopping all attempts by the young individual to show increased activity.

The procedure of removing the gonads from animals at such an early age is also undertaken with the aim of selling them to people who are not interested in participating in exhibitions or shows. Such individuals are not capable of breeding and cannot always find future owners.

There is an opinion that the early period is the period up to 1 year when the male reaches full sexual maturity. In this case, doctors recommend depriving representatives who did not have time to mate with the female. Otherwise, removal of the testes will affect reproductive function, but the attraction to the opposite sex will remain, and he will continue to look for a female.

When speaking about the early period of sterilization of a cat, domestic doctors mean the age from 6 months to 1 year. In fact, it is completely wrong to register your pet with a veterinarian as soon as he is six months old. It is well known that each breed has a characteristic rate of puberty. Large breeds, such as Maine Coons or Savannahs, develop more slowly. This means that there is no need to rush to go to the hospital either. Persian or British cats are advised to be neutered at least 8 months old.

Tips from veterinarians

The owner can independently determine the time for early castration of his mature pet. To do this, just carefully palpate the cat’s testicles: if they have completely sunk into the scrotum, become dense and visible to the eye, it’s time to take your furry friend to the veterinary clinic.

The best option would be surgery performed between 8-10 months. This time is called the golden mean, because then the development of the body ends, and the immune system is strong enough to withstand anesthesia.

Late castration

Sometimes, due to current circumstances, pets have to undergo a surgical procedure in adulthood. Not all veterinarians allow the possibility of such operations. If it is unavoidable, then the owner is informed in advance of frequent complications

:

1. Difficult recovery from anesthesia

   . Over the years, the body reacts worse and worse to anesthesia and copes poorly with the consequences of the use of drugs that induce medicinal sleep. Anesthesia affects the cardiovascular system and causes irreversible consequences, and in the most severe cases, death.

2. Post-operative side effects

   , which are caused by the slow growth of healthy tissue on organs. Due to poor regeneration, wounds take much longer to heal and abscesses appear. This is something to keep in mind when caring for your mustachioed friend.

3. Inappropriateness

   . Timely removal of the glands is the main factor for success. If the pet has already used the genitals more than once to reproduce, then even by removing the testes, it is impossible to stop the raging of hormones in the male’s body. He will not be able to continue the family line, but he will still put marks and look for a bride.

Even knowing the consequences of late castration, some owners do not give up the idea of ​​it. Then the veterinarian can only send the patient for a full examination.

As a result, you should have a clear idea of ​​the pet’s health status. This will help make the right decision in order to avoid subsequent unfortunate developments. Which specialists should a cat visit:

• a cardiologist who will conduct an ECG;
• anesthesiologist to check readiness for anesthesia;
• a radiologist who examines internal organs;
• ultrasound doctor assessing the condition of the body.

Subspecialty specialists will carefully examine the patient, collect the necessary tests, and conduct laboratory and hardware tests. This will help ensure that the operation is prescribed correctly. For cats over 6 years of age, indications for a surgical procedure may include:

• inflammatory processes in the appendages of the testes;
• balanoposthitis;
• chronic orchitis.

Surgery leads to a severe decrease in metabolic rate. Habitual eating will cause the development of obesity with the subsequent development of diseases caused by excess weight. It is recommended to reduce your pet's diet by a quarter, exclude fish and cheap dry food. Such food disrupts the water-salt balance in the castrate’s body and significantly increases the risk of developing urolithiasis.

Castration of a cat in middle age

Carrying out the operation at a time when the pet is full of strength and is in middle age has its own peculiarities. It has long been established that some animals continue to grow up to 2-3 years, so local anesthesia is not effective.

General anesthesia should not have a detrimental effect on the health of the male, however, recovery from a sleepy state is usually accompanied by vomiting, a cloudy state, and disturbances in the nervous system. Side effects are temporary and require care and attention from the individual. Otherwise, the patient may unknowingly harm himself or be dangerously injured during jumping.

Before using medications, the anesthesiologist must test for sensitivity or allergic reaction of the body. If hypersensitivity to the drug is detected, it is replaced with an appropriate analogue, taking precautions. A tolerance test is carried out again.

Is it possible to perform surgery during sexual heat?

Males are not cats that absolutely cannot be spayed during heat. Even during the hunting season, they can be taken for surgery.

Some veterinarians are of the opinion that it is worth waiting for the end of the hormonal surge. This is necessary so that the animal does not develop mating behavior for the rest of its life. In other words, a neutered cat can continue to purr, run away from home, and even mark if it is operated on at the very peak of sexual desire.

How to prepare a cat for castration

Before castration, the cat is examined. The health of the genitourinary system and heart is especially carefully checked. The latter is examined, taking into account the operation under general anesthesia. With pathology of the heart muscle, complications, including death, are possible.

Treatment of the cat against helminths and external treatment against parasites is mandatory. They are carried out 10 days before castration. If the previous anthelmintic treatment was carried out a month or less before surgery, repeat treatment is not required.

Before the operation, the availability of routine vaccinations is checked. It should be a month or more since the last vaccination.

For cats without vaccinations, a special serum is provided. It is complex and ensures the development of immunity within 2 weeks.

12 hours before the operation, the cat is no longer allowed to eat and water is kept to a minimum. Anesthesia provokes the urge to vomit. To prevent asphyxia, that is, suffocation with vomit, the stomach and intestines must be emptied.

Owners need to prepare a cat’s veterinary passport with vaccination records, a blanket, a carrier with a folding top, a disposable diaper as bedding for the carrier, and napkins. This kit is taken for surgery. Napkins are needed in case of vomiting.

Postoperative period

In order for the cat to recover quickly and successfully, it is worth taking good care of it. The first and most important thing is home care after returning from the clinic.

Home care

The owner’s actions depend on how and at what age the operation was performed. Only the veterinarian who performed the procedure can tell you in detail what needs to be done. Deciding on your own how to treat a wound is strictly prohibited.

Typically care consists of the following:

• in the first few hours, ensure that the cat recovering from anesthesia is not injured;
• do not give him food in the first 8-12 hours after the operation so that he does not vomit;
• make sure that the cat does not pee - in the first day he cannot always control himself;
• protect the animal from disturbance, noise and drafts;
• on the second day, start complementary feeding with new food for castrati;
• Do not let outside for 48 hours.

By following these rules, you will help your cat recover quickly and without complications.

Postoperative care

The easiest way to care for an animal after local anesthesia: the main difficulty is to eliminate the effects of stress, which is quite simple for a loving and attentive owner. Although it doesn’t hurt to ask in advance what sedatives you can have in case of emergency. Then all that remains is to properly treat the wound - the doctor will give advice on such care.

After general anesthesia, the first two days will be especially difficult. The animal can sleep no longer than five hours, often waking up earlier. While the cat is sleeping, you just need to check the integrity of the reflexes: touch the ear - if it twitches, then everything is in order.

The behavior of a cat after castration on the first day requires utmost attention, since the animal is always disoriented after anesthesia: there is no need to disturb the cat at this time, but you should constantly make sure that it does not harm itself. It is impossible to unambiguously describe how cats behave after castration: it depends on many factors - the state of the nervous system, the level of stress received, general physical condition, the behavior of the people around them, and the character of the animal.

An important point is to care for the wound, especially in the first days: the cat can damage the seam when licking. Therefore, you either need to monitor him constantly, which is somewhat difficult: it is easier to wear a collar after castration of a cat - usually 4-6 days are enough. It is imperative to use an “Elizabethan collar” if the cat has infectious problems, especially in the oral cavity.

In addition, you need to remember about possible complications and be ready to always consult a doctor again: this is required by sudden changes in the color of the mucous membranes and swelling, heart rhythm disturbances, an increase or decrease in temperature, and breathing problems.

WHERE IS IT BETTER TO CARRY OUT THE OPERATION - IN THE CLINIC OR AT HOME?

It is better and safer to do any abdominal surgery in a veterinary clinic. In an operating room there are more opportunities to take emergency measures if something suddenly goes wrong.

It’s even better if the clinic provides a postoperative hospital service. Then your pet will be under the supervision of specialists throughout the crisis period. Of course, emergency measures are not always required.

Typically, young and healthy cats tolerate ovariohysterectomy well and, with minimal care recommendations, recover well at home. You will only need one more visit to the clinic to remove the stitches.

pros

sterilization in the clinic
: all necessary conditions for the operation are provided, the risk of emergency situations is reduced, and there is a high probability of overcoming them.
Minuses

sterilization in the clinic
: the owner’s time spent traveling and waiting for the end of the operation.
Despite the obvious advantages of surgery in a veterinary clinic, sterilization of cats at home is also practiced by most veterinarians and, with proper training and responsibility of the specialist, is technically no different from surgery in a clinic.

The advantage of sterilization at home is the absence of stress for the cat from traveling and being forced to stay in a place that is foreign to it (some cats are terrified of leaving the apartment), as well as the absence of risks of contracting infectious diseases (if the animal is not vaccinated). In addition, the doctor can be invited at a time convenient for the owner, which is also very important for people who are constantly busy at work.

Disadvantage of surgery at home : it is difficult to ensure high-quality sterility.

Video