Hi

Our pet cat fights every cat he sees when he gets out and has come home needing stitches one time.

The other day he started another fight and when my mother tried to pick him up he bit and scratched her very badly - all up her arms and a deep cut on her hand that required two stitches at the local hospital. I have two little girls and I'm afraid that he'll scratch them at some point.

I know that she shouldn't have stepped in or if she did she should have thrown a towel over him before trying to pick him up. That aside, what should I do?

Would having the cat neutered calm him down?

Mick

Edited September 23, 200718 yr by bkkmick

Emphatically YES! He is obviously working hard to establish/defend what he perceives to be his territory. Neutering will not only reduce the risk of his getting into fights, it will also make him a much happier cat. In my opinion all cats, whether male or female, should be neutered/spayed if they are not intended for breeding. Any breeding cat cat should also be neutered/spayed as soon as its breeding "career" is over.

/ Priceless

Thanks Priceless. I think that he's going to visit the vet this week then. I thought that neutering was the correct step and googled it but I guess that, being a bloke myself, I needed a 'second opinion' before going down this path for the poor cat...

Mick

as the cat matures (the sex hormones start to kick in) it should be neutered/spayed - doing it too early will make a kitten suffer through all life, no being assertive enough against the other cats

as the cat matures (the sex hormones start to kick in) it should be neutered/spayed - doing it too early will make a kitten suffer through all life, no being assertive enough against the other cats

I quite agree, but according to the thread header this cat is one year old, and obviously his hormones are all in place, so I think this would be a good time for a visit to the vet's.

/ Priceless

Absolutely. He will both travel less far afield and fight much less once neutered. Mostly a neutered cat will fight only to defend its own immediate territory, whereas unneutered ones will actively invade the territory of others and get in fights over females in heat.

Neutered cats have a much longer life expectancy.

Once over the anesthesia, the cat will not experience any unpleasantness, physical or emotional, over the fact that he has been neutered.

BTW, the very best way to break up a cat fight is to throw or spray water on the cats. They will separate immediately; the invading one will run off and yours will head back inside. This is also the best way to repel any outside cats from coming into your yard.

Besides the fighting, if you let your cat roam freely outside then neutering is the responsible thing to do.

Thailand has enough stray cats and dogs as it is, letting an un-neutered cat roam freely will contribute to this problem. Long haired stray cats will be especially miserable because of their grooming requirements.

I had mine neutered at just after a year old. He became a different cat - much more sociable and affectionate and stayed nearer home. Nowadays he is a six year old couch potatoe!!

Another vote for neutering male cats! I've lost track on the vet bills on my male (neutered) cats who, in spite of their size (6.5 kg each) come home beaten and torn by tomcats much smaller than them, but due to the hormone difference, much more aggressive.

Edit/ Just noticed the OP is two weeks old ... an update would be nice ... Did you have your cat neutered? How did it go?

Edited October 6, 200718 yr by Phil Conners