Neutering/spaying

STRAY CATS

Stray cats are a hidden problem both in the cities and in the countryside. Many people notice a wandering, homeless dog, but very few pay attention to the cat.

They are everywhere around us, on garbage cans, under cars, in cellars, abandoned buildings… most people walk by without noticing them, many shoo them away and only a few help.

People are still not aware enough of the importance and relation of HUMAN-ANIMAL.

Cats are worse off than dogs and other animals.
Most people unfortunately believe that cats are perfidious; that they mate constantly; that they are beasts that cause more harm than good to people.

Where did all these cats come from?

Some of their ancestors did have owners, who let them go out without neutering or spaying them. Litters were born in dark cellars of apartment buildings, miraculously surviving and half a year or a year later were already producing the next generations of stray cats...
Others perhaps had homes while they were still cute kittens, perhaps even until their owner left for a vacation to the seaside, a week long ski trip or elsewhere. The cat was left outside the door, as ‘it’ll figure it out … it’s a cat after all’. If it is ingenious enough to adapt to the sudden change, it may be able to survive somehow. Otherwise it is probably terrified, withering away with hunger and thirst during long days. If not used to the outside world, of course, she can easily be run over by a car.
Perhaps it was even loved, until the owners noticed that she was expecting… Then she was ‘punished’ by being kicked out of the house right before she was due, when she needed the closeness and care of her humans the most, perhaps even taken far away from home, left in the first village or town, maybe even in a forest...
Perhaps they even let her have her kittens, kept one of them, as he was so cute ‘and a male so he won’t bring more cats home’, and the other kittens were inhumanely killed and the mother chased or taken away from home…

What can we do ourselves?

People are surprisingly unaware of what they cause by irresponsibly leaving their non-neutered or un-spayed animals wander around free and without control.

We try to explain politely and without being intrusive the need to NEUTER or SPAY all animals not intended for future breeding.

Some advantages for the owners of a neutered or spayed cat:

• no unwanted litters and no need to place them in a new home,
• the male will not mark his territory,
• no need to listen to the unpleasant cat concerts and the sounds of male cat fights, and smell the, to us, unpleasant 'cat invitations' left in front of the door by smitten males,
• cats (both sexes) will not be prone to infectious cat diseases, that can also be fatal, and are contracted during mating and fighting (disease, treatment, death),
• no need to find new homes for the kittens once or twice a year,
• no need to spend money for veterinary treatments because the cat will not be prone to contact diseases from non-inoculated and unhealthy foreign cats.

NEUTERING/SPAYING

Neutering and spaying are of benefit to the cat owners, cats themselves and to the environment.
Neutering and spaying are the most advisable solutions – it is illegal to kill the kittens!

NEUTERING

All cats not intended for further breeding and/or shows should be neutered or spayed.
If you own a cat that gives birth to unwanted kittens you could be legally prosecuted.
Unwanted litters are illegal in Slovenia.

Neutering can be done as soon as the cat is 2 to 5 months old.

It is not true that the cat should have at least one litter before it is neutered. Such belief leads only to the birth of many unwanted kittens that are killed after birth or later thrown out of the houses.

If the kittens are killed or removed immediately after birth (which is not only illegal but also inhumane), this causes great stress and increases susceptibility to diseases, and her instincts will tell her to mate again.

Pets that are neutered before the first mating enjoy a greatly reduced risk of developing cancer of the ovaries, the womb and the teats. She will never develop a womb infection (pyometra), which can seriously endanger her life and demands urgent neutering.

CASTRATION

At the age of 6 or 7 months, the male cat becomes sexually mature. Similarly as with female cats, it is best to perform the procedure in male cats while they are still young, 2 to 5 months old. Nevertheless the procedure can be done at any age.

Castration is considered to be preventative surgery and does not change the male’s appearance.

After surgery, the male will still have secondary sexual characteristics, no matter its age at the time of the procedure.

Un-castrated males can have numerous hormone-related health issues. They can develop prostate cancer, perianal tumours, testicular cancer. Castration greatly reduces the risk of these diseases.

Castration is especially effective as a preventative against numerous behavioural issues. It reduces aggression of males against other males. When the male becomes physically and sexually fully mature, he becomes increasingly protective of what he feels is his ‘territory’. This instinct also causes him to wander around. A sexually active male feels the need to constantly control and expand the borders of his territory.

Un-castrated males might mark their territory by urinating on any vertical surfaces they come across.

What is the surgery like?

The surgery is a simple, routine procedure that actually helps your pet.

The procedure is not painful, done under general anaesthetic, the pet does not feel anything and the risks are minimal.

When done early, on a young animal, it leaves at most a day or two of discomfort.

In females, the ovaries and the womb are removed, preventing the production of eggs.

In males, the testes are removed, preventing the production of sperm.

Source: Ljubljana Felinological Society