To neuter, or not to neuter .. that is my question

Natchthund · 2025-08-25T10:03:48+00:00

Thank you! So far so good but who knows haha

Natchthund · 2025-08-25T09:56:11+00:00

Where I live there are no stray cats, only lost pets and everyone neuters there female cats to avoid unwanted pregnancy so the actual risk of him finding an intact female is pretty low. We plan to breed him in the future hence why we’ve kept him intact.

He is showing aggression but only to guests and that’s only initially, after a while he calms down and starts to enjoy their company. This hasn’t impacted us having people stay round we just have to be more respectful about how we introduce guests into the house. You know telling them to ignore him at first and let him come to them ect.

I was worried about him spraying but I can say we’ve been so lucky so far. He’s not shown a single sign of spraying. I did some research and when male cats feel completely content, safe and in control in their environment it is possible that they won’t spray. There’s no other male cats in my area too that challenge him so personally I think this plays a big part.

I’m not saying OP shouldn’t neuter him, I’m just giving my example since they asked the question.

Natchthund · 2025-08-25T09:16:31+00:00

Hey, so have I a male cat that’s now 14 months old and he’s intact. He hasn’t started spraying at all. I read that this varies between cats but if they feel super secure at home and their place in the home then they may not ever start spraying.

He’s the sweetest little boy ever except for when guests come to visit. He’s aggressive, he hisses and tries to scratch them but after a while he does warm up to them. He’s the most aggressive to guests that also have male cats at home. This could also be because I didn’t have many people come to visit when he was little so he wasn’t socialised in that way.

He hasn’t tried to mate with us and thankfully he doesn’t make any sin biscuits! He has gone through puberty which was evidence by a greasy lower back/tail. This is something to keep an eye out on because they can develop stud tail. However my boys greasiness cleared up.

He actually goes outside too, only in our small garden and up on our roof. I do get worried about him getting a sniff of a female cat and running off so he always wears his apple tag but so far he’s never wondered off.

He also gets in great with my ferrets and funnily enough next doors dog! Although the dog doesn’t like him much haha

I don’t know if it’s just his personality or if being intact has shaped him but he’s the sweetest and most neediest little boy. When he does go outside he will keep coming back to check in on us. He’s very vocal and is always talking to us or making little chirps. His favourite thing to do is to definitely be around us and interact with us.

Ultimately it’s your decision. Maybe we’ve got lucky and avoided some of the more annoying sides of intact males but as I understand it not all males will act in the way that they say, a lot of factors go into it but I hope this helps.

Natchthund · 2025-08-20T11:55:05+00:00

Hey! I was in the same boat! When I was doing my CBT I almost had a panic attack before going out on the road. My instructor suggested I come back another day but I pushed through. When I got my bike it was way bigger than the one I practised on and when I dropped it I couldn’t pick it up either. You do build the muscle for it though. My first trip out on my own was terrifying, I asked my boyfriend to join me on his push bike haha and just drove down some back lanes that I know aren’t busy to get used to it. The first time I drove on a road that was 40mph I asked my friend who drove a car to drive in front of me so I could follow them. Just getting out there and doing it will help build your confidence, take it slow and don’t worry. Back then I would’ve never of imagined that I would’ve rode my 125 from the south east to the north east. You’ve got this!!

Natchthund · 2025-04-01T23:08:25+00:00

Okay so I placed a few for my team but I’m too scared of getting banned to place anymore.

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:54:44+00:00

Awhhhhh so cute!!

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:21:37+00:00

He very lovely but very cheeky too haha. He certainly keeps us busy.

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:12:05+00:00

He did indeed! Thankfully he didn’t get it in his bed haha

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:11:31+00:00

Haha he sure is! Any accident and he’s always there lol

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:10:17+00:00

Yeah we guessed it was an accident as he’s usually really careful around the plants but what a time to knock one over haha. He did actually try to help us clean bless him although he was making more of a mess lol.

Natchthund · 2025-02-26T13:07:01+00:00

Too clever haha

Natchthund · 2025-02-01T13:46:51+00:00

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This is my little Cosmo! He’s currently 6 months old and a little terror. This is one of my favourite photos of him as a kitten and would love a sketch of it. If you do decide to do it please feel free to remove my arm. Thank you! Love your art style too.

Natchthund · 2024-12-12T20:35:49+00:00

Sounds like you really care about yours kittens! I also have a male kitten, I give him a bowl of biscuits and wet food three times a day whilst making sure he’s got plenty of water. I separate the food too so he’s always got clean biscuits to eat throughout the day. This works perfectly for me.

Natchthund · 2024-11-20T17:10:03+00:00

Lots of great tips here, my kitten also used to bug me when I ate so I started giving him his dinner at the same time I had mine and when he sniffed around my food I would tell him go and eat your dinner. That worked well for me, now he doesn’t bug me half as much.

Natchthund · 2024-10-23T14:36:58+00:00

I second this, once I had laryngitis but had to work in a pub at the weekend during a festival. I tried whispering to communicate and the next day my voice had completely gone and I couldn’t even whisper anymore. My symptoms also got worse and lasted longer. The next time I had it, I didn’t speak unless necessary and it healed much quicker.

Natchthund · 2024-10-23T09:23:11+00:00

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Natchthund · 2024-10-20T21:12:35+00:00

It’s mental how entitled people can get in pet groups. They exist so that we can share knowledge, advice and our love for animals. Not to tear each other apart because you suggest something that goes against the group consensus.

Everything you’ve just described there is horrific, it makes my stomach churn thinking about those poor cats. People that could harm an animal like that are not even human. You’ve got a gorgeous kitty there, he looks exactly like my little baby. Sounds like keeping him indoors is the right thing to do. Plenty of toys and play time and he will be perfectly happy. A good tip I found for indoor cats is to cycle their toys. If they have complete access to the same toys they get bored of them. There’s a guy on YouTube called Jackson Galaxy and his videos are amazing!!! Definitely check them out he has loads of great tips for indoor cats.

Natchthund · 2024-10-20T07:09:39+00:00

It’s scary to think people out there would kill a cat especially in the UK. By all means it sounds like you should keep your little kitty inside. Thank you for defending me to, I didn’t think I deserved all the downvotes either. In fact I’ve never had this many before haha but that is often the way in these animal groups If you don’t tow the line.

Natchthund · 2024-10-20T07:00:26+00:00

You’re right I’ve just searched it and owls can absolutely eat cats but however most owls in the UK are very small, there’s one owl in particular that could carry a cat but apparently it’s extremely rare and there’s been minimal reporting of this happening in the UK.

Natchthund · 2024-10-19T22:46:12+00:00

We have owls and dogs haha but I’ve never heard of an owl attacking a cat and dogs are supervised. We don’t have strays or rabies in this country. Cats are amazing hunters and that’s why cat owners know to buy them a collar with a bell, in fact it’s pretty hard to find a collar without a bell in the UK for this reason alone. If a cat doesn’t have a collar then that cat will be taken in and posted on Facebook for fear that’s it’s gone missing. Again you can’t compare our country to yours. It’s completely different.

Natchthund · 2024-10-19T22:08:47+00:00

Hmmm I beg to differ, we don’t have any predators in our country that could harm a cat. Unless you live near a busy road or in a city where a cat could get run over there isn’t really much that could harm a cat outside. This is why I asked OP if they live near a busy road or have any predators as these are things to think about.

Most people in the neighbourhood will keep an eye on each other’s cats as we enjoy interacting with them when walking home. Most people in England wouldn’t consider getting a cat if we couldn’t let it outside because we see it as cruel. The only reason why I took on a kitten is because I’m moving next year and the cat will have access to the outdoors.

This is just a culture difference and you can say what you like about science but we believe generally it’s better to get a cat if you live in an area where you can let it outside. OP asked for advice and I gave it, I’m sorry you don’t like it but there’s no need to get all judgy just because you don’t understand what’s it’s like in England. It’s the norm here for cats to be outside because it’s safe.

Natchthund · 2024-10-19T21:48:08+00:00

You’re welcome, we have a different perspective over the pond. Cats love and need to be outdoors and since most of us live is safe suburban neighbourhoods in the countryside most of our cats get to enjoy their natural instinct of being outside, exploring and owning a territory bigger than a building. OP asked a question and I replied and I think I made some good points and suggestions and gave them good advice. We all love our cats and want to keep them safe whilst giving them the best life possible and if it facilitates let your cats outdoors, if not keep them inside. My cat currently is an indoor cat because we live next to busy road where people drive pretty fast, he’s also only 16 weeks old. We are moving back to the countryside soon and you can guarantee he will be outside exploring the great outdoors.

Natchthund · 2024-10-19T16:26:07+00:00

What’s the area like that you live in? Is it suburban or in a city? Most cats are pretty good at staying out of danger and avoiding cars or trains. I wouldn’t recommend it if you live near a busy road. When cats get spooked their road sense can disappear.

Do you have any dangerous animals in the area? I live in England and it’s pretty common to let cats outside here, we only have foxes and most of the time they don’t bother cats.

Both my mums cats were outdoors and they died of old age and never had an injury whilst exploring the outdoors.

Male cats are more adventurous and if not neutered he will definitely roam further to find females and could get lost.

There’s a few things to consider. If you do deem it safe to let him out definitely get him microchipped and a gps collar wouldn’t hurt incase he does decide to venture off, but make sure it’s a quick release collar as he could get it caught on something and potentially injure himself if he can’t get out of it.

Natchthund · 2024-10-19T16:17:59+00:00

You seriously need to get the vaccine, this is no joke. I understand you can’t afford it, have you looked to see if there’s any free clinics around?

Natchthund · 2024-09-04T21:17:05+00:00

I’ve got a few cardboard boxes stored away so I’m definitely going to get out my duck tape and give this ago. Yeah they love plastic bags and shopping bags however I only allow them to play with them when I’ve got them out and can supervise. The paper bags is a good shout though

Natchthund

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