Benefits of Neutering Your Cat - Part 2

Apart from the obvious advantage of controlling the number of unwanted animals in this world, having your furry friend neutered protects them from a number of often fatal diseases later in life. Cancer of the reproductive systems in both female and male cats is not unusual in unneutered felines.

Having your family pet neutered eliminates the worry of making sure your 'in heat' female cat is watched around the clock so she does not escape from the home and comes home pregnant. It will also stop the noisy calling of male cats who sense her condition and keep you awake at night with their constant yowling demands for access to her.

Removing the urge to mate makes cats of both sexes less likely to stray from home, makes them much less aggressive, and ensures they do not get into fights with other intact cats over available females.

The habit of 'marking their territory' usually disappears once the cat is neutered, which is a blessing, as it is extremely difficult to remove the smell of cat urine once it is soaked into the family sofa or living room carpet.

The actual operation as performed by a qualified vet is simple and quick, and requires very little by way of after-care. Stitches are usually removed after 7-10 days and in order to stop your pet from licking the wound and possibly infecting it, an 'Elizabethan Collar' (which looks rather like an upside down lampshade) is attached to their regular collar, thus stopping them from licking or biting the stitches. These are very inexpensive, and once you have one, it can be washed and sterilised and kept ready in case you need to use it again. They are usually made from rigid plastic.

Some vets put your cat on a preventative course of antibiotics, to avoid possible infection of the wound, although if the operating area is clean and aseptic conditions prevail, this is sometimes not necessary. It really depends upon your vet, so be guided by his or her advice.

After the surgery, your pet will be 'groggy' and may be rather wobbly on their feet for several hours, so keep them indoors, and allow the sedation to wear off completely. It is best not to let them outside until the wound is healed and the stitches are removed.

Keep an eye on the wound daily, to ensure it does not turn puffy and the skin doesn’t go red and swollen, which are all signs of inflammation. If the vet has not given you antibiotics, then return with the cat, and show the vet the wound. He or she will probably then prescribe an antibiotic to combat the gathering infection.

There is no need to bathe or wash the wound. You may want to consider using chopped up old newspaper instead of cat litter in the animals litter tray(s) for the few days after the operation that the wound is unsealed. Granular cat litter may stick to the wound, whereas newsprint is unlikely to. Give small portions of high protein food regularly to the recovering patient but only once you are quite sure the sedative has worn off. A plentiful supply of fresh clean water should always be available.

Vets spend many years learning and qualifying to become animal doctors. And every vet agrees that neutering your cat will improve the overall health of your cat as well as dramatically improving the quality of its life (and yours!).