What is cat neutering?

Cat neutering is a surgical procedure that we perform here that removes both feline testicles.

Dr. Glen Hudson
Highland Park Animal Hospital

What is spaying a cat?

Spaying a cat involves a female cat. It is a surgical procedure in which we remove either both ovaries by themselves or both ovaries and the uterus.

How does spaying or neutering impact the health and wellbeing of your cat?

Spaying and neutering can be beneficial for the health of your cat in many ways. For a male cat, it helps with behavioral issues, such as aggression. It also helps with marking their territory. Unneutered male cats commonly urinate in areas and produce a foul odor. In female cats, it helps prevent estrous or heat cycles, and spaying prevents many forms of mammary cancer.

How soon should you bring your cat in to see a veterinarian to get them spayed or neutered?

Traditionally, we see a cat for its kitten vaccines at a couple of months old. Usually, we spay or neuter at roughly the six to the eight-month mark.

What are the medical benefits of spaying and neutering cats?

For male cats, it prevents unwanted wandering and searching for a mate. For female cats, it prevents mammary cancer and an infection of the uterus called pyometra.

How will spaying or neutering affect my cat's behavior?

Sometimes with cats, it'll make them calm down slightly. They're often less aggressive and have less tendency to want to wander the neighborhood. Overall, you shouldn't see much of a behavioral change in spayed or neutered cats.

What are some possible conditions that can be helped or prevented by spaying or neutering your cat?

Some of the most common conditions we see that spaying or neutering would prevent include pyometra, which is an infected uterus, and mammary cancer.

How should I care for my cat before and after spaying or neutering surgery?

Before spaying and neutering surgery, there's not much for you to do other than prevent them from being around other cats to mate. The most common thing after surgery is just keeping them calm. For male cats, there's very minimal care. We usually do not place sutures; they heal up, and you wouldn't even know they had surgery a day later. For female cats, we need to try and keep them indoors and, as best as possible, prevent them from running and jumping on and off furniture for a couple of days after the procedure.

If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (214) 833-9821, or you can email us at info@hpanimalhospital.com. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can. Don't forget to follow us on social media https://www.facebook.com/HighlandParkAnimalHospital, https://www.instagram.com/hpanimalhospital/