Most male animals that are not used for breeding purposed
are castrated, neutered, so that they can no longer impregnate a
female. For cats especially, this is crucial, since there are
hundreds of kittens every year that go without homes. There are
many advantages to neutering your male cat, and the process is
quite safe, so you should consider it if your furry feline
friend is male and not yet neutered.
Male cats that have not yet been neutered are called tomcats.
Simply put, it can be difficult to live with a tomcat, no matter
how well trained he may be. When your cat is not neutered, he
will want to get outside as frequently as possible to mate with
female cats in heat. This can be disastrous if you live in a
busy street with lots of traffic or if your cat is not used to
being outdoors. Tomcats also roam a lot, meaning that they may
travel far distances in search of female cats, and it is
possible for your cat to roam too far and not know his way home.
It is also possible for him simply to resist coming home at all,
since he will be shut indoors. To protect your male cat,
neutering it the best choice.
Tomcats also fight and are generally more aggressive than
neutered cats. Because they want sexual dominance in a
particular area, they may seek fights with other male cats to
drive them away. Cats will fight to the death if they feel
threatened, and fights cause not only injuries, but also the
spread of diseases like the FeLV virus, which can be fatal.
Neutering your cat will not stop an aggressive cat from being
less aggressive toward humans, but it will prevent your cat from
actively seeking fights with other male cats in the
neighborhood.
Vasectomies are not done with male cats. Rather, the simple
neutering procedure will remove the male reproductive organs,
which are easily accessible in most tomcats. In some cases, more
extensive surgery has to be done, because they have not
developed and descended correctly. The removal of these organs
is what causes the changing in male hormones through a cat’s
body, changing the cat’s behavior. Sterilization is not enough,
because the cat won’t notice the difference and will still seek
to fight and mate. Your vet can tell you more about this
procedure, but all in all, it is the best choice for any cat,
since there are already so many homeless cats in the world.