From: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Subject: Re: Advice needed for Spaying!!!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Reply-To: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Organization: ICS Dept., UC Irvine
Date: 7 Apr 92 05:56:35 GMT

In <1992Apr5.230729.27903@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> mjln_ltd@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Mikeey J. Lin) writes:


>	Hi everyone!

Howdy!

>	      Just have a few questions for some folks.

Yep.  And they're covered in the FAQ (frequently asked question) list
posted at the beginning of the month.  It should still be on your system.
Look for FAQ in the subject line, there are two postings.

>	1)When is the ideal time to spay a cat?
>       2)Will it change the behavior of my baby cat?
>	3)How does the procedure works?
>        (My cat is afraid of EVERYTHING, so I'm a little concerned)

This is the relevant section:

K.  Neutering.

If you are not planning to breed your cat or put it to stud service,
you will want to neuter it.  Technically, the general term for either
sex is neutering; female cats are spayed and male cats are castrated.
However, general usage is that female cats are spayed or neutered and
male cats are neutered.

1. Castration

Male cats are castrated. A local anesthetic is administered and
several stitches are used to close it up.  You will want to neuter the
male cat after its testicles descend but before its urine odor
changes.  This is typically around 6 months of age.  By neutering
earlier, you prevent spraying (if it has started spraying, it may not
stop after neutering, even though it is no longer hormonally driven).
By neutering later, you allow the testicles and urinary tract full
development; this is thought to reduce the chances of contracting FUS
(growth will stop after neutering or puberty).  If surgery must be
done on an undescended testicle then the cost and risk increase.

An intact male cat (a "tom") will spray a foul-smelling urine to mark
his territory, he will roam widely, and he will be involved in more
fights.  Often, he will be more aggressive.  He will be at higher risk
for certain diseases, such as cancer; he will also be more prone to
infection from the injuries in fights.  A neutered male cat will lose
the foul-smelling odor in his urine (but may still spray); he will not
roam as widely nor fight as often.  You will be able to keep him
indoors if you wish.  Contrary to popular opinion, he will not become
more lazy or fat.  Laziness and fatness depend on cat temperament and
how much you feed him.

2. Spaying

Female cats are spayed; this is an ovario-hysterectomy (uterus and
ovaries are removed).  The cat must be put under general anesthesia.
A large patch of fur will be shaved (to prevent later irritation of
the incision) off the lower abdomen.  You may have to take your cat
back in to remove the stitches.  There is always an element of risk in
general anesthesia and while it is rare, a few rec.pets.cats readers
have had their cats die under anesthesia.  The earlier the female cat
is spayed, the better.  Any time after four months or once the heat
cycles have started is good.  Spaying when the cat is in heat or
already pregnant is possible, although some vets refuse to operate
under these circumstances.  On occasion, a female cat will not have
all of her ovaries removed.  The ovaries produce the hormones that
induce heat: if your cat still goes through heat after being spayed,
you may have to take her in for exploratory surgery to find the missed
ovary, or even piece of ovary.

An intact female cat (a "queen") will go through heat which can be as
frequent as one week in four.  You must keep her indoors to prevent
breeding, and she will do her best to escape.  She will spray a foul
smelling substance.  Many cats will meow loudly for long periods of
time.  She will twitch her tail to the side and display her vulva.  If
she becomes pregnant, she will undergo all the risks and expenses
associated with pregnancy (extra visits to the vet and extra food).
Male cats will try very hard to get at her; there are documented
cases, for example, of male cats entering homes through the chimney.
Medication is available that will delay heat; breeders use this to
control the number of times their queens are bred and to work around
cat show schedules.  An unbred, unspayed cat has a much higher risk of
developing cancer of the reproductive system.  Again, spayed females
do not lose their energy or change their personality after the
procedure.

3.  Post-op recovery

You will need to watch to make sure your cat does not try to pull out
its stitches.  Consult your vet if your cat starts pulling at its
stitches.  You might, in persistent cases, need to get an elizabethan
collar to prevent the cat from reaching the stitches.  Puffiness,
redness, or oozing around the stiches should be also reported to the
vet.

Some stitches "dissolve" on their own; others require a return to the
vet for removal.

4. Cost

The cost can vary widely, depending on where you get it done.  There
are many pet-adoption places that will offer low-cost or even free
neutering services, sometimes as a condition of adoption.  Local
animal clinics will often offer low-cost neutering.  Be aware that
spaying will always cost more than castrating at any given place since
spaying is a more complex operation.  Vets almost always charge more
than clinics, partly because of overhead, but also because they often
keep the animal overnight for observation and will do free followup on
any later complications (a consideration in the case of missed
ovaries).

In the US, there is at least one group, "Friends of Animals" (call 800
information for the number) that will give you a certificate for
low-cost neutering good at many vets.

Quoting actual prices may or may not give you an idea of the cost for
you in your area.  Costs can range from US$10 for castration at a clinic
to US$100 for spaying at the vet's.  This is money well spent.

--Cindy
--
Cindy Tittle Moore -- Owned by Noisy Underfoot, bird watcher extraordinaire.

I post the rec.pets.cats FAQ (in two parts) at the beginning of every month.
To get the FAQ: use anonymous ftp to pit-manager.mit.edu and look under
/pub/usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/* (part1, part2), or send email to
mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/cats-faq/part1"
in the subject line, and a second email message for part2.  Send contributions
and suggestions to me; send questions not covered in FAQ to the newsgroup.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats