Feline Neutering
We recommend that your kitten is neutered by five and a half months of age.
How will my cat benefit from being neutered?
Female
A female cat (queen) will start coming into season as early as 5 months of age. If she is not mated she will continually come in and out of season. The more often she undergoes this hormonal swing the more likely she is to develop mammary tumours, uterine infections, ovarian tumours and cysts and other problems. When a cat is `spayed' (an operation technically known as an ovariohysterectomy) both ovaries and the uterus are removed. This prevents the above problems.
It is unfair on her NOT to spay her.
Male
As a male cat (tom) matures, the rising levels of the hormone testosterone cause his behaviour to change. A tom's instinctive behaviour is to seek a bigger territory and to be more aggressive to other cats in the defence of that territory. He is programmed by nature to need 50 acres all to himself. In London there is 1/8th acre per cat! It is likely that he will roam further afield which increases his chances of being run over, getting into fights with other cats and possibly becoming infected with the FIV (feline AIDS virus) in the process. Also, as his testosterone level increases his urine starts to get a LOT smellier, and he is much more likely to spray urine all over your home. This behaviour may not change even if you later have him castrated. You can prevent these dangers by castrating him before five and a half months, when he starts going through puberty. When a male is castrated we remove both testicles and he will not need any stitches.
It is unfair on him NOT to castrate him.
The Procedure
We admit your cat before on a weekday morning before 10am during a 10-minute consultation. He or she should have had no food from 8.00pm the previous evening but must have had access to water overnight. During this consultation we make an appointment for your cat to be collected that evening. We will also need a telephone number on which you can be contacted throughout the day. We will phone you after 2.00pm when we have finished ward rounds to let you know that all is well. If you are anxious you may telephone us before then.
At your evening discharge appointment we will explain everything you need to know about how to care for your pet. We will also give you some special food that is easy on the stomach for that evening's meal.
We prefer to check both queens and toms 3 days after the procedure. Queens have to have their stitches removed after 10 days.