Kitten?
Kittens are cute and adorable, and few people want to miss the joys of this short-lived stage. However, you can save yourself the expense of spaying or neutering by adopting a grown or nearly grown cat that already has been altered.
If your heart is set on a purebred, you may get lucky and find one that is being retired early from a breeding program or the show ring. Such cats typically cost less to acquire than a purebred kitten, simply because it is harder to sell adults or find good homes for them. Usually, purebred cats placed in this way are altered and up to date on their annual vaccinations prior to sale, saving you, the buyer, these initial expenses.
Certainly, kittenhood holds special joys for cat lovers, but this stage can also be the most destructive. Kittens are not born knowing how you expect them to behave in your home. They have to be properly socialized and patiently taught not to climb your draperies and not to sharpen their claws on your couch.
On the other hand, many adult cats are surrendered for adoption because of behavior problems related to their past care or to a lack of proper socialization and training. House-soiling and destructive clawing are two of the most common behavior problems that result in cats being surrendered to animal shelters for adoption (see page 25 for tips on adopting a cat from a shelter).
Male or Female?
Unless you intend to become a professional cat breeder, the sex of the cat you choose as your companion should not matter. If you simply want a household pet, both males and females make equally fine companions after you alter them–that is, once you spay a female or neuter a male cat. If your interest is focused on the show ring, remember that even purebreds can be shown at cat shows in alter classes, also called premiership classes, after they have been spayed or neutered.
The internal reproductive organs of the female cat.
When to spay or neuter: Veterinarians traditionally recommend that male cats be neutered between eight and ten months of age and that females be spayed at six months, but both surgical procedures can now be performed safely at a much earlier age. In fact, to ensure that indiscriminate breeding does not take place, some shelters and breeders may elect to spay or neuter kittens early, before they go to new homes. Studies have suggested that the practice of early spaying and neutering appears to be safe and does not adversely affect feline maturity, as was once thought.
Generally, early spaying can take place between 12 and 14 weeks, and early neutering can be performed between 10 and 12 weeks. If you are interested in altering your kitten early, discuss the issue with your veterinarian.
Why bother to alter at all? Choosing a male cat is the strategy some people use to avoid being saddled with raising unwanted litters of kittens and having to find homes for them. Yet, they don’t give a second thought to letting their intact male roam freely to breed indiscriminately with other cats. Such irresponsible pet ownership only contributes to the existing pet over-population crisis and the annual surplus of unwanted, homeless pets that must be euthanized.
About 75 percent of cats taken into U.S. animal shelters are humanely put to death each year, simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around for so many. Annual humane death figures have fluctuated from a staggering 4.3 million to nearly 9.5 million within just the last decade. Countless other homeless cats fall victim to neglect, starvation, and other hazards of life in the wild. To help control this tragic waste of life, responsible cat owners make it their moral duty to prevent indiscriminate breeding either by not allowing intact cats to roam freely or by having their male and female cats altered.
The internal reproductive organs of the male cat.
Is altering beneficial in other ways? Yes, aside from the social and moral responsibility, there are other good reasons to spay and neuter. In the male cat, neutering reduces aggressive behaviors, eliminates testicular diseases, and decreases the chance of certain other diseases occurring later in glands affected by male hormones. Neutering also helps curb the male cat’s bothersome tendency to spray urine in the house to mark his territory.
In the female cat, spaying eliminates the female’s annoying heat periods along with her ability to have kittens. The operation also eliminates the possibility of any disease or infections in the organs removed and decreases the chance that breast cancer will occur later in life.
In addition to these health benefits, altering a male or female cat reduces the animal’s natural desire to leave the relative safety of its territory and search for a suitable mate. Eliminating this biological urge makes the animal a much nicer companion and, along with keeping the cat indoors, improves its chances of living a longer, healthier life. Animals allowed outside to roam freely in search of mates are more likely to be killed by cars, injured in fights, or exposed to contagious diseases, and you’ll likely be faced with repeated veterinary bills for treating the injuries your cat incurs. These bills can quickly exceed the one-time cost of spaying or neutering, so it makes good financial sense to alter your cat and keep it safely inside.
Cost Concerns
Many communities have low-cost spaying and neutering programs available through local humane organizations. So, if spaying or neutering costs are a big concern for you, ask your veterinarian or your area animal shelter to refer you to such a program.
Will altering make cats fat? Contrary to popular myth, spaying or neutering will not make your cat grow fat and lazy. As in people, overweight problems in cats are caused primarily by too much food and too little exercise. Obesity (see page 95) is a medical condition involving an overaccumulation of body fat. A fat cat is, in many cases, the result of an overabundance of treats, and consistent overfeeding by its owner.
What about the costs of altering? Spaying a female cat costs more than neutering a male, because the female operation involves opening the abdomen to remove the ovaries, tubes, and uterus. In contrast, neutering the male cat is a less invasive procedure that involves removing the testicles. Both surgical procedures require anesthesia, but the postoperative, in-hospital recovery period is generally shorter for males than for females. Certainly, the one-time cost of spaying a female is considerably less than the long-term cost and responsibility of raising and finding homes for successive litters of kittens.
Lifestyle Considerations
Having considered the pros and cons of a purebred versus a mixed-breed cat, an adult versus a kitten, male versus female, and so forth, it should now be obvious why acquiring a cat demands some careful planning and forethought. After all, you are adding a new member to your family that will require your care for years to come–perhaps a decade or two. You want to make sure you find a cat that will be a good fit for the way you live, as well as where you live. Following are some other equally important points to consider:
Your future plans: Acquiring a cat deserves a commitment on your part to take care of the animal’s needs from kittenhood through old age. With modern veterinary
