Spaying the cat is a responsible act. In addition to allowing her to live longer and in better health, sterilization reduces the number of unwanted litters and allows cats to be adopted a chance.

In a few years, a couple of unsterilized cats can give birth to several thousand kittens. To prevent these kittens from being abandoned, it is important to think about sterilizing cats as soon as you become their owners.

Spaying cats has many benefits. First of all, frequent, but not systematic changes in behavior are observed. Spayed cats tend to be calmer and less aggressive than whole cats. In addition, they are no longer attracted to the heat of other cats, and therefore runaways are less frequent.

Whole male cats tend to mark their territory with jets of urine. These can be very disturbing if the cat lives indoors, as they are strong smelling and can be done several times a day. Sterilization often reduces this phenomenon, which also limits odors. For females, stopping heat also means stopping the cats’ untimely meowing during this period.

Sterilization also improves the health of our hairballs. Indeed, once sterilized, cats are less sensitive to certain hormone-dependent diseases. It also helps prevent unexpected births in females. Finally, sterilization prevents the appearance of genital infections such as mastitis or metritis in the female. Sexually transmitted diseases, including cat AIDS (FIV), are also less common in sterilized cats than in whole cats.

Sterilization depends on the sex of the animal. Females can be sterilized as early as 6 months. Contrary to a popular belief which is sometimes well entrenched, it is not advisable that they have a first litter before. If sterilization is to reduce the risk of breast tumors, it should be done as soon as possible so that the breast tissue does not have time to soak up estrogen. Beyond the third heat, it is estimated that sterilization no longer has an effect on the appearance of breast tumors. On the other hand, it remains indicated since it always influences the other diseases and the behavior of the cat.

For the male, on the other hand, there is no minimum age. You just have to wait until his testicles have descended and developed to be able to castrate him. Young castration has no more side effects than when it is done later. On the contrary, the earlier the cat is neutered, the less likely it is to keep its instinct for marking the territory.

There are two ways to sterilize your cat:

• surgical sterilization, the most widely used;
• chemical sterilization, which has the advantage of being reversible.

Surgical sterilization

Surgical sterilization is definitive. It consists in removing the testicles of the cat, or to remove the ovaries in the female. Sometimes, when the female is old enough, has received the contraceptive pill, or is expecting babies, it is necessary to remove the uterus as well.

Chemical sterilization

Chemical sterilization consists of giving a contraceptive drug that will block the cycle of the cat. This comes in the form of tablets (pill) or injection. The heat is then stopped, and the animal cannot become pregnant. The big advantage of chemical sterilization is that it is reversible: it is enough to stop the treatment so that the animal becomes fertile again after a few weeks. However, chemical sterilization also has many long-term disadvantages. This treatment is relatively expensive compared to surgical sterilization. Also, if used too often, or misused, the cat is at risk of developing uterine cancer, breast tumors, or an infection of the uterus, called pyometra.

On the day of the sterilization procedure, it is important that the animal is fasting. The operation is relatively quick: it lasts about fifteen minutes for the male, and about thirty minutes for the female, where it is a little more technical because the operation requires opening the abdominal cavity. Depending on the veterinarian’s habits, the animal can go home the same evening of the operation. Antibiotic treatment is sometimes put in place for several days.

Price of the cat sterilization operation

The price of the operation varies greatly depending on the region. In general, this intervention costs around a hundred euros with the treatments for a male, and around 150 € for a female where only the ovaries are removed.

Post-operation

After the operation, a few things to watch out for. Neutering increases the likelihood of a male cat having urinary stones, but this risk is very low. It can be further reduced by providing the cat with quality food, and by alternating kibble and pâtés. However, cats’ weight should also be monitored after sterilization. Indeed, sterilization often leads to a loss of the satiety reflex: the animal will then eat more, even though its needs are less. To avoid this, it is advisable to switch to sterilized cat food directly after the operation, or to reduce the food intake by around 30%. This food deficit can be replaced by zucchini or beans boiled in water if necessary, in order to continue to fill the cat’s stomach without being too caloric.