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Feline Desexing
There are already a lot of unwanted kittens out there struggling to find homes. Desexing your cat will prevent unexpected pregnancies or surprise additions to your animal family.
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For a female cat the procedure is known as a spey. For a male it is a castration.
A spey (ovariohysterectomy) is the complete removal of the uterus (womb) and both ovaries of a female (queen) cat. This is done under general anaesthetic.
A queen will usually reach sexual maturity between 6 and 8 months of age. At this stage she will start cycling (come into season or on heat) and continue to do so every 2-3 weeks from late winter.
When a queen is in season she may call loudly for a male which attracts odorous tom cats from miles around. If mated she will give birth to a litter of 3-5 kittens 9 weeks late. She is capable of producing 2-3 litters per year.
The main advantage of speying your cat or kitten is the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. There are a lot of unwanted cats and kittens out there that are already depserately struggling to find homes.
Pregnancy is impossible.
She will not attract unwanted attention from tom cats as she will not come into season.
She will not suffer from uterine infections (pyometra).
She will not wander looking for a mate when in season.
We usually spey kittens between 5-6 months of age.
If you have any questions regarding the age of your cat and when is the best time to spey, give us a call.
Castration is the complete removal of both of a male (tom) cat's testicles. This is done under general anaesthetic via two small incision in the scrotum.
When a male cat reaches sexual maturity at 6-8 months he may start to wander, potentially upsetting the neighbours, bullying their cats, and putting himself at risk of being hit by a vehicle.
Entire (uncastrated) tom cats get into more fights which can result in injuries such as bites, scratches, eye damage, and abscesses. Cats that fight are also at a far greater risk of catching feline AIDS (FIV).
An uncastrated cat will usually mark (urine spray) their own homes as well as their neighbours', resulting in a very unpleasant smell that is hard to eradicate.
A small percentage of castrated cats will continue to have some urine marking bahaviour, but the urine itself will be much less offensive smelling.
Castration may stop competition for females and territorial behaviour, however it will not stop a tom cat's natural instincts to hunt or defend himself.
The main advantage of castrating your cat or kitten is the prevention of unwanted pregnancies.
There are a lot of unwanted cats and kittens out there that are already desperately struggling to find homes.
We usually castrate kittens between 5-6 months of age.
If you have any questions regarding the age of your cat and when is the best time to castrate, give us a call.