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NEUTERING AND SPAYING
Between the ages of three-and-a-half months
and six months, depending upon development, a male kitten
that is not to be used as a stud may be neutered quite easily
by a veterinary surgeon without an anaesthetic. After six
months an anaesthetic is necessary.
Generally the kitten is not affected by the operation, but
should be kept quiet and given light food for the next day
or so. In all probability, if a male is not neutered, when
fully grown he will spray in the house, leaving behind him
the unpleasant tom cat smell, will wander off looking for
queens to mate, and will be involved in blood-thirsty fights
with other toms. It is for these reasons that most stud owners
keep their studs in separate houses and runs of their own.
Females can be neutered or ‘spayed’ to prevent
them having kittens or constant callers. Much progress has
been made in recent years with this operation, and now, thanks
to the use of antibiotics, the risk involved is slight. Naturally
it is a far more serious operation than that of neutering
the male, but with good surgery and after-care nursing the
female soon recovers and does not seem to suffer any ill-effects.
Here again the veterinary surgeon should be consulted as to
the best age to perform the operation.
Many cat owners are hesitant about having their cats neutered,
when they think of the many heavy and lethargic neuters they
have seen, but there is no reason why a neuter that is fed
correctly and has plenty of attenuation and exercise should
not be just as lively and intelligent as an ‘entire’
animal.
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Cat
insurance 
