I have adopted an adult cat but he has not been neutered. He's a very timid cat, though, and doesn't want to go outside at all. He is afraid of his shadow. I suspect he was abused, althouth he seems healthy. At any rate, I'm reluctant to put him through another vetting so soon. The previous owner said he has had all his shots.
As far as I know all the cats of both sexes in our area are neutered.
Since my new cat is about a year old I hesitate to have him neutered.
What are the pro's and con's? ****************************************************** 02-25-06, 01:34 PM kittypal I'm not sure there really are any cons...Most cats are happier healthier cats when fixed....If he is only a year, that is not much older than a male cat HAS to be to be fixed, I think ours were about 6 or seven months, neither one seemed the least bit traumatized by their experience....If he isn't fixed he may spray to mark his territory and get restless...Personally I would have it done. Have you had him to the vet? Do not take the owners word unless you know for sure he would not lie, either ask to see vet records or take him in to be sure he is healthy. Good luck and congrats on your new baby.
02-25-06, 10:46 PM Tree bab - PLEEEEZE get him fixed.
02-26-06, 01:20 PM babthrower I'm hearing the same thing from my daughter that I'm hearing from you two. So I wil, first thing next week. Thanks for the advice. Smile
02-26-06, 01:21 PM misty45 i agree with tree. until people get serious about spaying and neutering there will always be homeless animals who will suffer and die in agony from hunger, thirst, mistreatment and attacks from other animals. this right here is reason enough to get him fixed. it's just another way of loving your pet.
03-18-06, 07:41 PM babthrower Here is my lovely cat. He's really sweet. In the second picture you can see that his eyes are copper. And he has a beautiful tail, very long and fluffy.
03-18-06, 11:50 PM Tree He looks to me, to be a Maine Coon. Is he?
03-19-06, 03:01 PM kittypal He's beautiful, I wuv kitty cats.
03-19-06, 05:30 PM babthrower Yes, he's beautiful and good. No, Tree, he's just a longhaired (very soft and silky) orange tabby, no guard hairs. But he's "muh maine cat".
03-22-06, 10:50 AM babthrower Does anyone else's cat do this? Mr Nogood Boyo will sometimes look at me intently and meow. I check his dry-food and water - lots. I check his litterbox - tidy. I run the tap for him, he's amused for a moment, then meows again.
So I wondered, what could he want? What would be missing? (He's not an indoor-outdoor cat yet, so he doesn't want to go out.)
So I thought, play. He needs to be active.
So I started to play with him. That was what he wanted! So now when he comes to me and meows, the chase is on. I run ahead of him, pulling my husband's bathrobe belt behine me. I chase him upstairs, he chases me downstairs. Sometimes we make an awful racket, startling my husband. Or I do, anyhow.
He has an interesting instinct. If I'm tugging a little object attached to a cord, and I pull it around an object (such as my husband's footstool) so that it disappears from his sight, he will run around in the opposite direction and waylay it on the other side! He can't see 'through' it, he just knows its there.
Reminds me of my Border Collie pup when I was a kid. It was my job to fetch the cows for milking. I got this new pup and of course, where I went, he went. When I began to drive them toward the gate, he would circle around on the opposite side, so that we were both converging on them! Even though he was tiny, the cows wanted to avoid him, so they headed toward the gate.
When we came home with the cows, my father saw the pup and I herding them, and he said, 'What a clever little girl you are, to teach the pup to herd cattle!" (I was ten.)
I said, "No, he taught himself."
I later learned that this behavior is instinctive, and not all Border Collies have the instinct.
03-22-06, 06:13 PM kittypal Aww how cute bab....Yes. my cats will look me in the eye and meow when they want me....If I ignore Jerry he then resorts to ankle biting.....Both my kitty cats like to get a ride on a big towel I have I pull them around the house on it.
03-22-06, 08:15 PM babthrower Hey, that's a good idea! I'll try it with BoyO. Thanks, Kittypal. Smile
05-30-06, 01:18 PM babthrower Advice about nail clipping, please?
New that the weather is beautiful, I was able to put his messy scratching artefacts (pole and cardboard) outdoors. We used to have them in the 'mud room', and what a mess! Bits of bark and cardboard eveywhere. But at least he didn't scratch up the furniture.
When I had him neutered, I had his claws clipped, too, which helps until they grow back. I bought a special little pair of scissors for cat claws at the pet store. Haven't used them yet.
Do they work well?
P.S. The meowing behavior is solved. He wants me to accompany him outside. He's scared to be out alone, I think. To move from an indoor urban existence to an indoor-outdoor rural existence is quite a change. Plus he lost his familiar people.
And i'm teaching him to fetch.
05-30-06, 04:31 PM kittypal The kitty clippers we had worked pretty well..WHEN he would let us use them...You just have to be super careful to not cut too far back, clip ONLY the clear part and never over the curve, it will cause pain and bleeding...I will loo for a site that has specific details for you...I found it easier to take him to the vet and get them done, he always went CATatonic at the vet and they could do anything to him!!
