Cat Behavior

[Rhys]

My cat has come of that age where he is starting to spray about the apartment complex.. OK.. this marking of territory is fine..but I'm afraid.. this will continue and the fellow apartment mates will take action.. What to do? Poor guys should keep what nature gave him.. I don't want to give him the surgical answer.. but are there any other ways to prevent this behavior?Over to you.. yeah I know.. but I don't want to have this problem escalate.. Cheers.

[BambinA]

You do not want to give your cat the surgical answer. So my answer is, there is no way to control "spraying"

Territorial behaviour is controlled by instinct and the level of testosterone.

Acually, neuter is a small operation.Your tom cat will be fine. There are several advantages of neuter

1) No spray.

2) you cat will stay at your home/room. He will not want to go out to see any estrus pussy. (Feline AIDS(FIV) contact via saliva when cat fights with an infected cat)

3) Decrese the rate of prostate gland tumor.

[Phil Conners]

Actually, neutered or not they will still fight occasionally, particularly when another (usually Tom) invades their territory.

(Having said that, I still agree with Bambi and recommend neutering him)

[monty]

There is simply no excuse for not neutering your cat.

Health wise there are only advantages, and in pretty much every case you'll end up with a much more affectionate animal as well!

[mikethevigoman]

My cat has come of that age where he is starting to spray about the apartment complex.. OK.. this marking of territory is fine..but I'm afraid.. this will continue and the fellow apartment mates will take action.. What to do? Poor guys should keep what nature gave him.. I don't want to give him the surgical answer.. but are there any other ways to prevent this behavior?Over to you.. yeah I know.. but I don't want to have this problem escalate.. Cheers.

Im afraid its off with the crown jewels for the old boy,. i know a few people that could use the same op, keep them in a bit more !

[Jet Gorgon]

Mike, do you think it would make a few posters lighten up?

Yes, please neuter your cat, Rhys. He won't miss out on anything, he won't go tomcatting and fighting, and he will not contribute to the stray cat population.

[endure]

Mike, do you think it would make a few posters lighten up?

Nah, they'd just moan about their lack of nuts...

[mikethevigoman]

Mike, do you think it would make a few posters lighten up?

Yes, please neuter your cat, Rhys. He won't miss out on anything, he won't go tomcatting and fighting, and he will not contribute to the stray cat population.

Definatly, lot of old tom cats prowling around pattaya and our forum streets that would start to be nice , and purr instead of growling ,. our old cat thomas ( yes seriously original ) was a horrible old grumpy git,. we let him go for a while as we lived rural, then one day he scratched my little girl so off to vertical dangler removal dept for him,. he was a different cat altogether after that and didnt wander and would sit on your lap but most importanty didnt spray and smell,. cruel to be kind !

[Sheryl]

Rhys,

Neutering is the only way, and it is the kindest thing to do.

Letting him "keep what nature gave him" may seem kind to you, but all it does for him is shorten his life expectancy and cause frustration. He will be much, much happier neutered, and being a cat rather than a human he won't have any issues or feelings of inferiority for lack of his testicles.

[lotus eater]

Would the experts also please inform us of the disadvantages of neutering and speying - for males or for females?

Comparative lethargy? Comparative obesity? Comparative lack of spirit? I'm guessing, maybe exaggerating, maybe barling up wrong trees - but surely there are some disadvantages, however minor, or however much outweighed by the advantages. I'm not arguing against surgery; I'd just like to know.

[Nienke]

As those who 'know' me already are aware of the fact that I don't favor altering dogs IF there are good possibilities to prevent unwanted litters, due to several health problems that can occur, especially when surgery is done at a young age (I must be bl*** careful in how I put down these words ). But not spaying or neutering cats has more down sides than dogs as from what I've read.

Obesity in cats is often a result of faulty feeding whether altered or not. And sexual feelings in cats are very much under the influence of the glands. When these are taken away (spaying or neutering) sexual thoughts and craving for mothering do not occur, according to my sources.

Unaltered male cats are hard (if not impossible) to keep as pets. An unaltered male that is not used as stud, or is prevented from mating on a regular basis, has a high chance on becoming tense, nervous and out of his usual doing, because he is not feeling comfortable (that is chronic stress which is not good for good health).

If allowed to roam the neighborhood, he will certainly try to find a mate. Once found there is a high chance other contestants are on the spot as well. Fights between those males are almost always brutal and deadly serious. Death of one of the males is common, not even to mentioned the high chance on leukemia and FIV.

If there are no females in heat for a while, the male can become pretty frustrated and aggression can be easily triggered, also at home towards the owner/s.

An unaltered free wandering tom (male cat) is capable of siring hundreds of kittens per year.

Unaltered males spray. This is a very natural behavior and can't be trained away, to my present knowledge on this subject.

Female cats do not spray- they call, keeping the whole neighborhood awake.

Unlike in women, eggs produced during heat cycles are not released and passed out of the body. They remain in the ovary, and will finally become encysted if not fertilized.

In tact female cats are very much prone to develop cancerous tumors, which is usually on the mammary glands and not so much on the cystic ovaries strangely enough.

Also the heat periods in unspayed females can drain their bodies with a lowering of their resistance as a result. They can become quite high-strung, nervous, jumpy and are often thin and lack strength and energy.

Although, I haven't done as much research on cats as I've done on dogs, so far my knowledge goes for now, I think for the mental and physical health of cats, spaying or neutering is advisable.

Nienke

[sbk]

And lengthens their lives considerably. My spayed female lived to 16, an unheard of age on this island. Most cats don't make it past 3.