Can A Neutered Male Cat Still Get A Female Pregnant
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Your neighbors cat is pregnant, and she swears your cat, Tom, is the kittens daddy. But thats impossible because you recently had him neutered. His baby-making days are over. You tell her Tom was fixed two weeks ago, and she explains he can still be fertile for up to six weeks after being neutered.
Is that true? Can Tom still be fertile even after getting neutered?
Yes, a neutered male cat can still get a female cat pregnant.
A veterinarian neuters a male cat by removing his testicles. Many websites will tell you that your cat becomes sterile at that point. But thats incorrect. A cat can no longer produce sperm after sterilization, but any sperm that has already left his testicles and is still in his system takes time to clear out.
Normally, it takes four to six weeks for your cat to become sterile after neutering. Keeping cats indoors at all times is best for them, but youll want to keep your freshly neutered male cat in the house for at least 30 days to avoid any surprises. If you have multiple cats in the household, keep them separated for a couple of days. When cats come home after neutering, they smell different, which may cause fights.
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When Should A Cat Be Spayed Or Neutered
Most vets recommend spaying or neutering a cat before they reach 5 months of age. Why? Younger cats will be able to heal from the surgery faster and most cats are feeling back to their usual selves within a week.
Spaying/neutering earlier in a catâs life also lowers its risk for future health issues, such as mammary tumors. Although there are no proven additional risks to spaying/neutering a cat whoâs older in age, itâs better to do it while the cat is younger to avoid unnecessary health problems down the line. Spaying/neutering has also been shown to increase a catâs life expectancy.
Getting Your Female Cat Spayed
To stop your female cat from having kittens, she’ll need to have a simple operation known as ‘spaying’ before she turns four months old. This is also known as ‘fixing’, ‘neutering’ or ‘being done’.
When your cat is about four months old, she’ll start to attract the attention of tomcats, who’ll want to mate with her. This is why it’s important to have her spayed before she reaches four months, so she doesn’t get pregnant while she’s still a kitten herself.
You may have heard that it’s good for female cats to have a litter of kittens before they are spayed, but this isn’t true. Once she’s been spayed, your kitten will be able to do all the things cats enjoy doing, like going outdoors, climbing trees and playing.
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What Are The Medical Benefits Of Spaying And Neutering Cats
I kind of briefly touched on some. I guess maybe more what I was talking about was behavioral, so the medical side, really the first thing that comes to mind would be cancer and cancer prevention. Females, you can’t get uterine, ovarian cancer if you don’t have a uterus or ovaries. You can’t get a uterine infection, or pyometra, if you don’t have a uterus. Yeah, same thing on a male. Kind of hard to get testicular cancer if you don’t have them anymore. So those are the obvious answers.
One other thing that we will sometimes see in females, it’s been proven in a bunch of different studies that the more heat cycles, or , that a female animal goes through the more likely those guys are to develop mammary cancer later in life. It varies on what studies you look at and I think most of the studies we’ve done on dogs so I won’t go there, but there is enough evidence to support that the earlier you spay them the less likely they are to develop mammary cancer later in life, and that’s another big one of course.
Are There Benefits Of Getting Your Female Cat Spayed
Getting your cat spayed will prevent uterine infections and breast cancer, which can be highly fatal in cats. Beyond that, its cost effective and will help both of you live in harmony together. She wont go into heat every three weeks and ruin your rug, and shell be less likely to wake you up meowing at the top of her lungs for a male companion.
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What Are The Complications With Spaying A Cat
The Complications with spaying a cat are:
- There is always a potential that your cat will experience negative side effects after being spayed, just as there is with any form of invasive surgery. Some animals react badly to the anesthesia used in surgery, and significant problems, including death, can result.
- Infections might also develop at the surgical site. Infections will be treated with antibiotics, and keeping the operation site clean can help reduce infection risk.
- If your cat eats her sutures, a no-chew cone may be placed around her neck to prevent her from accessing the operation site until it heals completely.
How Are Spay And Neuter Surgeries Performed
These two sterilization procedures are done under general anesthesia, with your pet fully asleep and intubated . The cat neuter is one exception a face mask is used instead, because it is such a fast surgery. Before receiving general anesthesia, your pet is given a shot of medication to make him sleepy and to help with pain. Your pets oxygen level and heart rate are monitored with a machine while he is under anesthesia. Dogs and female cats are kept on a heating blanket during surgery. Surgery for male cats is so fast they are not put on a heating blanket for the surgery, but they are put on one immediately after their surgery.
Female animals have an incision made just below the belly button into the abdomen. The reproductive tract, both ovaries, and the uterus are completely removed through this incision. Then the incision is closed with two layers of stitches under the skin that will dissolve and be absorbed by body over time. The skin is closed with skin glue, skin staples, or stitches.
Male dogs have an incision made in the skin at the base of the penis nearest to the scrotum . Both testicles are removed through this incision. The incision is closed with stitches under the skin that will dissolve and be absorbed by the body over time. The skin is closed with skin glue, skin staples, or stitches.
Male cats have an incision made in the skin of the scrotum, and the testicles are removed. The incision is not sealed, but will close on its own with time.
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When To Have Your Cat Neutered
Most cats , can be neutered from 4 months old. Neutering at this age has many benefits, especially for female cats, however, its always important to discuss the decision with your vet because exact timings should be based on a number of different factors, including:
- Weight: The risk of anaesthetic can be slightly higher in small kittens, so your vet may recommend waiting until your cat is a certain weight before they are neutered. Its also important they are healthy shape because overweight cats have a higher anaesthetic risk and more chance of complications during surgery.
- Other health conditions: if your cat is suffering from another health condition it may change their ideal neutering time.
When Should You Get Your Cat Fixed
Spaying and neutering kittens at four months, before they reach sexual maturity, offers the best protection against a number of health risks. However, adult cats can be also be spayed or neutered. If you’re unsure about when to get your cat fixed, just ask your vet, they can help you decide when to get your cat spayed or neutered.
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Are Complications Common With Spaying
In general, complications are rare during an ovariohysterectomy surgery. However, as with any anesthetic or surgical procedure, there is always a small risk. The potential complications include:
Anesthetic reaction. Any individual cat can have an unexpected adverse reaction following the administration of any drug or anesthetic. Such cases are impossible to predict, but are extremely rare.
Another potential danger associated with anesthesia arises if the cat is not properly fasted prior to anesthesia. Anesthetized patients lose the normal reflex ability to swallow during swallowing, the epiglottis, a cartilage flap at the entrance to the windpipe, closes and prevents food or water from entering the lungs. If there is food in the stomach, the cat could vomit while under anesthesia or in the early post-anesthetic period, allowing the food to enter the lungs and cause aspiration pneumonia, a potentially life-threatening condition.
Illness will increase the risks associated with anesthesia. Pre-operative blood work is a useful screening test that may detect pre-existing problems that could interfere with the pet’s ability to handle anesthetic drugs.
To minimize the risks, it is important that all pre-operative instructions are strictly followed and that you report any signs of illness or previous medical conditions to your veterinarian prior to any sedation, anesthesia or surgery.
When To Spay/neuter Your Cat
Cats can actually be spayed/neutered as early as 8 weeks of age. Thats known as early spay/neuter and its a practice normally reserved for shelters and rescue organizations that want to make sure the kittens are fixed before they go to their new home.
For owners, the current recommendation is to have the kitten fixed before the age of 5 months. Talk to your veterinarian to see when the best date would be, based on his or her availability and the kittens weight and overall condition. Just try to make sure surgery is scheduled to take place before the kitten turns 5 months old.
Read more: When to spay or neuter your cat
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Do Cats Personalities Change After Neutering
Yes, and usually for the better. Hell likely be calmer, much less interested in wandering the neighborhood looking for a female cat to mate with, and less aggressive with other male cats.
And then theres the spraying. If youve ever had an intact male cat, you know what Im talking about. They spray urine all around the house to mark their territory. Its gross and smelly. The good news is that about 85% of cats stop spraying within six months after neutering.
Benefits Of Neutering Your Male Cat
Reduced numbers of unwanted kittens
One unneutered male cat can make many female cats pregnant. Having your male cat neutered can play a significant role in helping to reduce the number of homeless cats in your neighborhood.
Reduced risk of many common health issues
Neutering can help to reduce cat aggression and may mean fewer injuries from cat fights, and a reduced risk of your cat contracting FIV or FeLV . Neutering can also curb your male cat’s tendency to roam, reducing his risk of being injured by a vehicle.
Helps to reduce the incidence of spraying
Typically, unneutered male cats will spray urine inside the home more often than neutered males, and often try to get outside more. Having your male kitten neutered while he’s young can help to prevent spraying and other territorial and mating behaviors from starting.
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Reasons For Neutering Female Cats
- Population control. It is important to neuter a female cat before she can have kittens herself. This happens very quickly depending on breed, time of year born and individual development. The first season usually occurs around six months but can be earlier. Queens can have up to three litters in a year.
- Control of nuisance. Female cats will call regularly, about every three weeks during sexually active times of the year if they do not get pregnant. Having entire female cats in an area will attract entire males with the attendant problems of spraying, fighting and caterwauling.
- Welfare issues. Unwanted kittens may not be cared for and are likely to suffer from various infectious diseases such as cat flu or worse. There are unlikely to be enough new homes available for them.
- Health issues. Female cats which are not neutered are more likely to suffer from pyometra later in life and with mammary tumours. Queens with infectious diseases may pass these on to their kittens. Pregnancy and birth are also not without risk.
- Wildlife issues. Cats with kittens will hunt more actively and if they are not being fed will need to catch more wildlife to feed their kittens.
Spaying And Neutering: The Bottom Line
Spaying and neutering can help keep your cat healthier and safer and you dont end up with more kittens than you can count. To be on the safe side, get your cat spayed or neutered before theyre six months old. If youre wondering when to spay a cat or when to neuter a cat, speak to your local veterinarian.
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How Long Does It Take A Cat To Recover From Spaying/neutering
Dr. Mar points out that animals are incredibly resilient and cats are no different. âThe first 24-48 hours your cat may be a bit painful and tired, which is expected after any surgery,â she explains. âHowever, pets are given pain medications before or during surgery in order to ensure your pet is not in pain when they wake up.â The pain medicine is generally taken for three to five days after the surgery. Neutered cats will recover much faster because removing an external organ such as the testicles does not open up the abdominal cavity and require stitching the way itâs done with spaying.
What Are The Risks Of The Surgery
Although spaying is one of the most common surgical procedures done in veterinary clinics, its a good idea to be aware of the complications that can arise during your cats recovery. Monitor your cat closely after the surgery, and return to your veterinarian if you notice these symptoms:
- Excessive diarrhea or vomiting
- No urination within 1224 hours
- Rapid or shallow breathing
- Refusal to eat after 12 hours
- Straining to urinate
Also, monitor the incision site for signs of infection:
- Bruising
- Unpleasant odor
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Immediate Behavioral Changes After Spaying
The long-term behavioral changes seen in spayed cats are due to hormonal changes. However, hormones dont change overnight. It will take a while for their hormones to reset and the body and mind to notice a difference. Still, you will notice some immediate behavioral changes post-operation in response to the operation itself.
In most cases, the main behavior change you will notice is stress-related. Going to the vet and having an operation is an extremely stressful experience.
This typically manifests in one of two ways:
Your cat will become withdrawn and quiet, OR Your cat will become clingy and more affectionate.
What Should Be Done Before The Spaying Surgery
Ans. Your veterinarian will examine your cat before the surgery to ensure she is healthy enough to be operated on. Cats as young as 8 weeks old can be spayed to lessen the possibility of an unintended pregnancy. Spaying older animals is possible if your veterinarian believes that they are healthy enough to undergo the procedure. Spaying a cat that is in heat is generally not a smart choice since it increases the risk of blood loss.
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Spaying: What To Expect
First, make an appointment with your veterinarian. Your vet will perform a physical examination to make sure your cat is in good health, and may perform bloodwork to ensure your cat will be fine under anesthesia. This is a great time to ask about any concerns you may have regarding the procedure.
Once the surgery is scheduled, your veterinarian will tell you to withhold food or water for a specific period of time prior to surgeryusually the night before and the morning of.
Most hospitals will have you drop your cat off in the morning on the day of surgery. Barring any complications, they will discharge your cat the same day once she has recovered from anesthesia and your veterinarian is satisfied with her status.
Your cat may be groggy and uninterested in food for the rest of the day this is normal. Your veterinarian will provide your cat with appropriate pain management before discharge and will most likely send you home with more medication to keep her comfortable. Increasingly, veterinarians will give injections of timed-release pain medications prior to discharge, which means you wont have to administer any medications at home.
Does Neutering Cats Hurt Them
The neutering or spaying operation is very simple and your cat will be given an anaesthetic to ensure that they dont feel any pain during the procedure.
After the operation, the vet will give your cat pain relief injections to help with any post-surgery discomfort. You should also be provided with anti-inflammatory medicine and painkillers to give to your cat to take at home.
As the procedure is much less invasive for male cats, they should only need medication for a day. Female cats will need medication for about three days to help them recover as quickly and painlessly as possible.
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Why Spaying Or Neutering A Cat So Important
There are several points to be made about that. So spaying or neutering a cat, the first and obvious thing is population control. I don’t think that’s in the veterinary oath, but I do take that part of my job quite seriously, because we do have such an overpopulation problem, especially here in Southern Louisiana, but really nationwide it seems to be. So I feel like it’s our duty to prevent that when we can. Number two is for multiple health reasonsâcancer, uterine infections, aggression, all these things that can be brought on by hormonal influences that we can control or even remove by doing these procedures at an early age.