What Are the Pros and Cons of Spaying/ Neutering a Cat?

The decision about spaying or neutering a cat is a difficult one. It forces us to take responsibility for another being. If we want to do it successfully, we have to consider all the pros and cons of spaying or neutering a cat. From the very beginning of our friendship with a little kitten, this kitten rapidly grows into a playful and active little cat, when we will notice the first signs of its sexual behavior and start asking ourselves: “Should I spay/neuter a cat and when?”. After all cat’s restlessness and its frequent enjoying a night out, we realize very fast that there is something for us to do. Additionally, to make things more difficult, we have to face the common false beliefs that we adopt through reading, hearing people say, or appearing unconsciously as our own. Very often, we add animals’ human characteristics and try to understand them from our human perspective. The most common false belief appears mainly in men when it comes to neutering their male cat. For them, neutering seems to deprive the cat its masculinity, which is, in fact, not true. In order to facilitate this hard decision, the article “Top 10 Reasons to Spay or Neuter Your Pet” gives us the list of benefits of spaying or neutering and addresses typical false beliefs.

1. Your female pet will live a longer, healthier life.
Spaying helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which is fatal in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Spaying your pet before
her first heat offers the best protection from these diseases.

2. Neutering provides major health benefits for your male.
Besides preventing unwanted litters, neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer, if done before six months of age.

3. Your spayed female won’t go into heat.
While cycles can vary, female felines usually go into heat four to five days every three weeks during breeding season. In an effort to advertise for
mates, they’ll yowl and urinate more frequently—sometimes all over the house!

4. Your male cat won’t want to roam away from home.
An intact male will do just about anything to find a mate! That includes digging his way under the fence and making like Houdini to escape from the
house. And once he’s free to roam, he risks injury in traffic and fights with other males.

5. Your neutered male will be much better behaved.
Neutered cats and dogs focus their attention on their human families. On the other hand, unneutered dogs and cats may mark their territory by spraying
strong-smelling urine all over the house. Many aggression problems can be avoided by early neutering.

6. Spaying or neutering will NOT make your pet fat.
Don’t use that old excuse! Lack of exercise and overfeeding will cause your pet to pack on the extra pounds—not neutering. Your pet will remain fit and
trim as long as you continue to provide exercise and monitor food intake.

7. It is highly cost-effective.
The cost of your pet’s spay/neuter surgery is a lot less than the cost of having and caring for a litter. It also beats the cost of treatment when your
unneutered tom escapes and gets into fights with the neighborhood stray!

8. Spaying and neutering your pet is good for the community.
Stray animals pose a real problem in many parts of the country. They can prey on wildlife, cause car accidents, damage the local fauna and frighten
children. Spaying and neutering packs a powerful punch in reducing the number of animals on the streets.

9. Your pet doesn’t need to have a litter for your children to learn about the miracle of birth.
Letting your pet produce offspring you have no intention of keeping is not a good lesson for your children—especially when so many unwanted animals end
up in shelters. There are tons of books and videos available to teach your children about birth in a more responsible way.

10.Spaying and neutering helps fight pet overpopulation.
Every year, millions of cats and dogs of all ages and breeds are euthanized or suffer as strays. These high numbers are the result of unplanned litters
that could have been prevented by spaying or neutering.

The most important question that increases our doubts is: “Are there any negative consequences to a cat’s health regarding spaying or neutering?” According to vets, the only consequence is reflected in cat’s behavior. While its temperament and personality remain the same, the only behavior which can be affected by spaying or neutering is that under the influence of cat’s hormones. For male cats it means less spraying, decreased aggression, and roaming. And for female, the cat will have no ability to stay pregnant and can gain a weight. In both cases, we can spend some time playing with cats and take care about the calorie intake, which often result in a good health condition of our cat. On the other hand, health benefits are huge, just to name a few: a longer lifespan, lesser risk of sexually transmitted diseases, and reduced injuries. It is, also, very important not to wait too long for spaying or neutering, because cats under the hormonal influence can develop some type of behavior that will be very hard to modify later. Although vets recommend 6 months, it can vary depending on the individual cat, but it will only shift a few more weeks.