?? for cat lovers

[hummingbird521]

This is not wedding related but pertains to a question I have about male cats. My family recently got a kitten and have been keeping it in the house. Bought the litter box all the necessities. Even I have gotten to love this cat. I am allergic so I can't pick it up and play with it but love it nonetheless. My question is this: We just found out for sure that it is a male cat. Don't all male cats spray the house and walls? I know nothing about cats here. I have been told he will start this soon and might possibly not be stopped even if we have him fixed. I don't want to put him outside since the kids have really grown to love him. Is there a way to prevent him from spraying? How soon do they start this wonderful part of life?

[JennF]

We had our male kitten spayed at 4.5 months and haven't had any spraying problems at all. Get him neutered as soon as he's old enough. (Spraying isn't the only reason that you MUST neuter your cats.) Likely he won't exhibit any spraying problems, and even if he does, they'll be rare and there won't be any smell.

[hummingbird521]

At what age should we have him neutered?

[theweddinghelper]

I think u should neuter him as soon as possible! I had my cat neutered "AFTER" he sprayed in my house once and it didn't do any good! :( If I would have neutered him before he ever sprayed, I don't think I would have had a problem!

[Jenn060306]

I have a male cat and he has never sprayed. He was neutered when i got him at 3 months. I would recommend that you have him fixed as soon as the vet will allow.
Jsut a note though. I did have a female cat who was not fixed. And she did begin peeing everywhere. :snide: I was told the same thing. Having her fixed may not fix the problem.

[JennF]

As far as when you can do it, it depends on the vet. Our vet wanted to do it at around 4 - 5 months so that he'd be around 5 lbs. The timing for us was also influenced by the fact that we needed to have our female neutured before she went into heat (This is extremely important. Owners of female kittens please take note.)...and this way it could be done at the same time.

The humane shelters here are neutering at a really early age so that often kittens are going to new homes having already been neutured. But you'll have to see how soon your vet is willing to do it. I don't imagine any vet will have a problem doing it at 4 - 5 months.

[jeni740]

I got bear spayed at 3-4 months old, snowball came to me already fixed, I have not had any problems with them at all, but the little hussy female downstairs came up and peed/sprayed our door last week and they have been begging to go out ever since LOL

[Kacie_bride]

Get him neutered as soon as possible. I have a male cat that I got done at around 5 months and he has never sprayed. Chances are if he does it one time he probably will not ever stop.

I worked for a vet and he would not do them until they were 5 or 6 months old. Like someone else said, some vets and shelters will do them earlier. The main thing they have to wait for is the testicles to drop. I'm not sure exactly at what age they will drop. As long as he is done by 6 months old or so you should be fine.

[rainbowtreat]

We got our male cats when they were 7 weeks old. They started spraying about 7 or 8 months later. We got them fixed right around the itme they turned a yr old. They have been fixed for about 2 weeks now and we have not had an issue with them sparying any more. The say you should have them fixed before they are a yr old.

Sorry if I repeatd any ones post but I am on lunch and didnt have itme to read through them like I normaly do.

[4424]

also something to try is called Feliway "Comfort zone". It is supposed to be great for that sort of thing. I used it for a different reason (i got 2 extra kittens and already had 2 cats). It helped them get used to each other and stay calm

[MOB Karen]

All five of Amber's cats are female, and my cat, Dora, is female too. Amber works at a cat shelter, I'll ask her and see what her history has been with male cats. :grinhappy:

[CarlosHoney]

Fix him once he hits 7-8 months. Our vet says that the chances of them getting Urinary Tract Infections goes way up when they're neutered before the plumbing fully works.

[mariaandmanish]

My cat, Pumpkin, was neutered when he hit 5 months old, and he's never sprayed even once. Generally, there shouldn't be too much of a problem with it after that unless he feels threatened and like he has to protect his territory. Since it sounds like that should be unlikely, he should be okay. But, definitely get him neutered. Talk to your vet to see his recommendation on when he would neuter him. Good luck, and congrats on the kitty!