Neutering Your Male Cat

Advantages:

There are many advantages to neutering your male cat, and the process is quite safe.

 If a male animal is not used for breeding purposes, their owners often times, have them castrated, or neutered - so to speak - so that they can no longer impregnate a female. For cats especially, this is crucial, since cats are usually allowed outside. Your male cat will want to get outside as frequently as possible to mate with female cats in heat.  Miss Kitty has learned to keep herself  at home during this  trying  time.

Every year there are hundreds of homeless kittens roaming the streets without homes or someone to care for them. Because of this, you should consider it if your furry feline friend is male and has not yet been neutered.

Vasectomies are not performed on  male cats. It is a simple neutering procedure which removes the male reproductive organs, which are referred to as his testicles. It is not painful since he is sedated. In some cases, more extensive surgery has to be done, if he is less than 6 months old, and his reproductive organs have not yet developed and descended correctly.

The removal of these organs causes a change in male hormones in a cat’s body, bringing about a very favorable change in his behavior. Sterilization is not enough, because the cat won’t notice the difference and will still seek to fight and mate. Your vet can explain this procedure before the surgery. However, it is the best choice for any male cat, not used for breeding purposes,  since there are already so many homeless cats in the world, and you don't want your cat to contribute to the problem. To protect your male cat, and your fear of losing him permanently, neutering is the best choice.

Disadvantages:

Tomcats also fight and are generally more aggressive than neutered cats. Because they want sexual dominance in their own territory, they think that all female cats living and roaming in their territory belongs to them, and will pick fights with other male cats to drive them away.  Miss Kitty shutters  when she thinks of the times she has had to run for cover in her own back yard.

Male cats that have not yet been neutered are called Tomcats. A tomcat will even fight to the death if they feel threatened, and any fight between two  "Toms" can cause serious injuries, not to mention the spread of diseases like the FELV virus, which is almost always fatal. Neutering your cat will not stop an aggressive cat from being less aggressive toward humans, but it will prevent him from actively seeking fights with other male cats in the neighborhood.

 Simply put, it can be difficult to live with a tomcat, no matter how well trained he may be. When your male cat has not been neutered, he can wander far and wide looking for a partner to mate with. This can be a disaster, waiting to happen, if you live on a busy street with lots of traffic.

Tomcats can travel great distances in search of female cats. It is possible for him to roam too far and get lost. It is also possible for him to simply resist coming home at all, since he will be returned to the indoors.

Summery:

You will have to judge for yourself whether or not your male cat needs to be neutered. Consider where you live, how many female cats are in your immediate area - if that information is available, and how much time your cat will spend outside... and above all, how much your cat's health and safety means to you.