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Kitten & Cat Neutering

Kitten & Cat Neutering

Neutering of pets can be a very emotive topic with a pet owner being bombarded with lots of advice, some more accurate than others, and we can help you make the right decision for your pet and his or her situation.

Male Neutering/Castration

Male neutering or castration involves the surgical removal of the testicles. We usually perform this at around 4 months to a year old though it can obviously be done at any age if needs be.

What are the benefits of neutering a male cat?

The castration of male cats is performed for both behavioural and health reasons.
Behavioural reasons may include antisocial behaviours such as aggression or high sex drive as well as the danger of running away and possibly being hit by cars (the risk of RTA is increased in non-castrated male dogs and cats). Health benefits of castration are mainly to do with disease of the male reproductive tract, e.g. removing the risk of testicular cancer. Other not so obvious benefits however such as the reduced risk of fighting in male cats are a real benefit.

After the castration operation your nurse or vet will advise on care for your pet in both the short term and longer term.

Female Neutering/ Spay / Ovariohysterechtomy

The equivalent operation in female pets is commonly referred to as 'spaying'. This is an operation where both the ovaries and the uterus or womb are removed surgically. Clearly this means the female will be unable to have kittens.

What are the benefits of neutering a female cat?

A benefit of spaying is that she will not go through a 'season' and be attractive to male cats which can prove to be a nuisance.  (When cats are not neutered this can happen every 3 weeks in the breeding season of March to october) Other benefits of spaying a female pet is that the risk of life threatening diseases such as cancer of the mammary glands, womb and ovaries is reduced or removed completely and it removes the risk of pyometra.

What is involved in neutering a female cat?

The spaying operation itself is more involved than the male castrate but it is done in such a way as to allow the cat to return to its normal lifestyle in as short a time as possible afterwards. Your vet or nurse will advise on care of your pet in the period after the procedure is performed in order than the risk of any complications is minimised.


Overall we believe that unless cat is to be used for breeding purposes then neutering is strongly recommended. We don't see many cats owned by vets and nurses who aren't neutered.

For more information, contact us.

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