Castration of the cat: should you castrate your cat? Advantages disadvantages

Any cat owner will have to ask themselves the question: do you really need to castrate your cat, and for what reasons? If some decide not to do it, often for financial reasons, it is nevertheless recommended to carefully weigh the pros and cons and to see this operation as a long-term investment that can save you some inconvenience...

Even if some received ideas have tenacious life! Here is what you need to know before making your decision.

Why castration?

In addition to the advantage of avoiding reproduction, castration modifies the behavior of the cat which, from its 6 months, will begin to mark its territory almost everywhere in the house, and sometimes to scratch the furniture or to run away in search of food. a female in heat. However, not all uncastrated adult cats exhibit these behaviors, and keeping a "whole" cat is not necessarily a problem for cohabitation.

If your cat is free to go out in particular, there is less risk of it peeing everywhere inside - on the other hand, it may disappear for several days during the rut... And castrating it reduces the population of potentially stray kittens which would come to be born from its unions with the females of the district! Regarding apartment cats, castration is especially recommended to prevent the feline from damaging your habitat.

When to neuter your cat?

Castration can be carried out as soon as the cat reaches puberty, around the age of six months. Usually, you'll know soon enough that the time is right when he starts marking his territory. This can be interpreted as a sudden refusal to use the litter, for which one will be tempted to find external reasons, but very often it is simply the hormones talking... In most cases, castration will solve the problem. and will make living together much easier.

How is the castration going?

This operation involves removing the cat's testicles through a skin incision. The anesthesia is of short duration and stitches are enough to close the incision. In general, it is not necessary to return to the veterinarian to remove the sutures, since these are expected to fall out on their own a few weeks later when healing is complete. It is therefore a much lighter operation than the sterilization performed on the female. It is also much faster.

The cat must arrive on an empty stomach the night before to avoid the risk of vomiting during the operation. To reduce the pain - although castration is already a light intervention - an analgesic injection is performed at the time of anesthesia and will take effect between 24 and 48 hours. The cat may therefore seem a little "shot" or "elsewhere" the day after the surgery... Thanks to this, no sign of pain is generally observed after the operation and the cat can resume its normal life immediately. However, in the event of bleeding or loss of appetite in the days that follow, do not hesitate to come back to your veterinarian.

Advantages and disadvantages of neutering your cat

We tend to think that the cat suffers from castration and some people even go so far as to imagine it as a barbaric act. But for all the reasons mentioned above, your cat will have a more balanced life if it is not constantly worked on by its hormones - because, unlike the female, the male is potentially always ready to reproduce. It can also happen that he fights with other cats, which represents a risk for his health. Among popular beliefs, the only one that is true is that the neutered cat will tend to get fat. You will simply have to adapt your diet: there are special croquettes for sterilized cats on the market, less rich and not more expensive than the others.

How much does it cost?

In a veterinary practice or clinic, count around €60 to €70 for the procedure. You can also go to animal clinics or veterinary schools, where it is possible to have your animal sterilized at a lower cost or even free of charge on proof of income. The SPA also offers special rates under certain conditions.