About a year after the appearance of the kitten in the apartment, its owners are faced with problems that make life very difficult. A matured pet begins a period of sexual hunt, and he begins to meow loudly and mark the territory. To avoid these troubles, it is better to castrate the cat. If the animal has reached puberty, the operation can be performed at any age. Still, there is an optimal time to castrate a cat.
The best age for neutering a cat is the period when the animal will be from 9 to 10 months. It is advisable to carry out the operation without allowing the first mating. Young animals at this age are already quite strong and physically developed, but they have not yet had time to develop sexual behavior. Therefore, the operation carried out during this period will exclude the appearance in the future of all symptoms caused by sexual desire: loud meowing, odorous marks, aggressive behavior and anxiety of the pet.
In general, castration can be performed on an animal between the ages of 7 months and 7 years. However, if the operation is performed on an adult cat, then some elements of sexual behavior may remain. A cat, for example, can continue to mark its territory after being castrated. At the same time, the smell becomes less pronounced, but the marks remain. Some neutered animals experience excitement in the spring: they begin to meow loudly and worry.
Neutering small kittens
In some Western countries, for example, the USA and Great Britain, there is a practice of early neutering of cats between the ages of 7 to 16 weeks. Initially, this was due to the peculiarities of American legislation, according to which homeless animals from a shelter can only be transferred to families when sterilized. Naturally, waiting for the moment until the cat reaches puberty reduces the chances of his successful attachment. Therefore, American veterinarians began to practice early castration.
Pros of early castration of cats
As practice has shown, the castration of small kittens has certain advantages. First, there is very little blood loss during the operation. Secondly, castration takes less time and fewer stitches are applied. Thirdly, small kittens recover faster after surgery and after anesthesia than adult animals.
Cons of early castration of cats
Sex hormones affect the growth and development of the skeleton. Therefore, early castration slows down the growth arrest of bone plates in a cat. As a result, the growth of long bones increases and the adult animal becomes taller and thinner than its counterparts. However, not all owners consider such a skeletal structure to be a disadvantage of their pet.
Earlier it was also believed that early castration is the cause of obesity and urolithiasis. But scientific studies have shown that these diseases are not caused by an early operation, but by a whole set of factors, including genetic predisposition, dietary characteristics and the level of physical activity.
