I'd like to get Arfcom's opinion on whether I should neuter my cat. I get tired of all the crazy cat ladies (you know the type) telling me that I'm not a responsible "pet parent" if I even QUESTION whether I should neuter the cat.

He will be an indoor only cat. I'm concerned about spraying and him wanting to roam.

This is the first cat I've ever owned, so bear with me.

unless you like the smell of cat piss, yes, get him neutered.

This.

Unneutered male cats mark their territory. Check youtube for video clips of the big cats doing it...they back up to their post, and deliver a heck of a spray. Housecats may not have as much volume, but the spray is way more pungent than just urine. And if you wait past the proper age for neutering, he may still mark his territory even after you get him fixed, because it's become a habit.

Unless you are getting some fancy breeder / show cat, the shelters are full of cute kittens and great mature cats who all need a good home. Why risk having your cat get out and add to the population of kittens that will either grow up to a short brutal life as a feral street cat, or get dumped at a shelter when the neighbor's female has kittens, where maybe one or two might make it to a home, and the rest will be euthanized?

And if you can help it, do not have your new cat-buddy declawed. That procedure is supposed to be the equivalent of taking a pair of diagonal cutters to the first joints of all your fingers--some people say there is a lot of pain for the cat to heal up from. If you start out keeping his claws trimmed when he is little, he will be used to that, and you can keep them at a nice short length.

Good luck with your new cat-buddy! If you get one with a great personality it will be worth it, and you will wonder how you made it so long without one.

Over the years I have known many cats, and, while they were all good cats, some really stood out. One was a real practical joker and cool dude, one was more like a dog than a cat and funny as all getout, and my latest (and second one that is specifically my pet) is a mischievous little stinker who only gets cuddly in the evening. By 7 am he is back to slamming cabinet doors and knocking stuff off counters and I am usually ready to kill him, but I would not trade him for anything. Okay, maybe that is a stretch, if someone offered me a dollar right when he was making it impossible to sleep for that last bit before the alarm goes off, I sell him in a heartbeat, but I would miss the fuzzbutt.

Absolutely you need to get him neutered. You will have a much lower chance of him spraying. FWIW, I've never had a neutered cat spray, or claw the furniture for that matter.

This,  I have one myself that just reached that age......

Return cat - Purchase dog - Problem SOLVED.

+1

 

If a male is not neutered he will spray, no question about it.

Yup, and consider declawing the front. Very happy indoor kitty and happy wife. No destroyed furniture.

 

It's simply not necessary to amputate fingers except under special circumstances. No reason to pre-emptively mangle kitty paws.

Yes, get him fixed.

Training a cat is NOT easy. Declawing IS easy and they will not suffer a bit because of it. No different than cutting off his balls in my opinion and you seem to have no issue with that surgery...

Emphatically yes.

 

A tendonectomy on the front paws allows the cats to keep their claws but not have the strength and mobility to scratch in the future. My wife had it done to her cat while we were dating. Looking back we would never do it again as the cat will always be handicapped while interacting and playing with other cats. We have 4 and all are indoor only, always a circus here.

Declawing WILL also prevent Vet bills associated with an owner having to take their dog to the Vet to get its nose fixed because said cat screwed it up...

Cat training is not anywhere NEAR comparable to dog training as far as being 'easy' to do.

I only had to get as far as "He" to have an answer. That answer is YES.

Not only will it be better for your house and sanity; it will be better for him considering he won't get the chance to sow his wild oats when he catches a scent on the breeze.

The smell of fresh cat piss….mmmmmmmmm.

Cheers!

-JC

ETA: Reading along the posts & I gotta add in about de-clawing too. It's really not a very nice thing to do at all. It hurts them for a long time and leaves them vulnerable and disabled.

Yes, neuter.


Please do NOT declaw. As many others have said, it is a painful procedure that is completely unnecessary. It can lead to litterbox problems as well. The reason cats use litter boxes is because they like to bury their waste. If it hurts to dig around in the litter, there is no incentive to use the box, and they may end up pissing and crapping all over the place. Doesn't happen with every declawed cat, but why risk it? If you are at all worried about him scratching up your stuff, provide plenty of scratching posts of various textures (cardboard, carpet, sisal rope, wood, etc), ask your vet to teach you how to trim his nails, and then trim them regularly. There are also rubber nail caps you can put over his claws that will prevent him from scratching stuff.

Patience and positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement doesn't work well with cats since they have no desire to please the alpha pack mate.

Having your cat declawed is the equivalent of having your dog's canine teeth removed to keep him from chewing on your stuff or biting people or other animals and saying that it's no big deal and training them not to do it is too much work.
 

Uhh, Yeah it does.

If a cat KNOWS that a couple of Dobermans WILL be on his ass 'if' they hear the distinctive sound made when cat starts pulling out carpet fibers - Said cat WILL stop pawing carpets and such. My former cat learned in about a week and I never spent a dime on treats.

Same thing goes for using a squirt bottle. They hate that shit and respond to just the sight of it coming out.

I've never had a cat change its behavior due to a squirt bottle, apparently they've all thought the fun of misbehaving was worth a squirt in the face. Most of them have also liked being outside in the rain or in wet grass, but flick a drop or 2 on them after washing your hands and you get the look.

ABSOLUTELY neuter, before he starts to spray. once your whole house smells like pee, you will be sorry. They also tend to be more docile after getting snipped. Plus, if he does escape outside, he probably won't go far and knock up females in heat.

On declawing- the short answer is- it depends. If you want to "try" kitty with claws, then get him a scratching post from somewhere like petsmart. This may do the trick, most cats love them. BUT- it may not work. One cat I have (adopted kitten) would scratch the post, but preferred the carpet. You can't train the cat to like one thing more than another, and unless you plan to keep him under constant supervision, he will go straight for the other thing the second you leave to work. Also, if you have kids in the house and they "play rough" with the cat (esp. a younger cat) the cat WILL scratch them. This is their primary method of defense. So, you may want to prevent this, or you may want to use this as a method of corrective training for the child (my parents did). like I said, it depends.