Finally, beware that cats in heat may vocalize and meow uninterruptedly around the clock. The chattiness is often noisy, sometimes piercing, and downright irritating during the wee hours of the morning. You think your loquacious mother-in-law can’t stop talking? Well, wait until your cat goes into heat.
Benefits of neutering male cats and dogs also abound. Obviously, castration completely eliminates the risk for testicular cancer. Furthermore, neutering can greatly lower the risk of prostate disease later in life. Dogs with prostatic disease often have a history of straining to urinate and defecate, which would certainly put anyone in a bad mood. What’s more, neutering can eliminate the urge to mate, thus reducing the perils of roaming, getting lost, running away, and falling victim to numerous outside dangers. Some reports indicate as many as 80 percent of dogs hit by cars are unaltered. Neutered male canines also have a lowered risk for development of perianal adenomas, or tumors around the anus. These growths are usually benign, but given their precarious location, can often interfere with pooping and present hygiene issues after becoming soiled with feces. Who on this planet wants to give ole’ Spot a good wipe several times daily?
Neutering male cats can decrease the oft overpowering odor of their urine, and decrease the risk for urine marking. Intact tomcats have a nightmarish tendency to mark their territories. The smell is truly foul, and their territory is often your drapes, carpet, and furniture. The odoriferousness of your home may not improve until you convert your carpet to hardwoods. No longer testosterone-laden, neutered males are often less aggressive and more docile to people, as well as other pets. I’ve read that 90 percent of neutered cats engage in combat markedly less often than their unaltered and usually more cantankerous counterparts. Cats tend to be highly territorial, and violation of this “honor code of property rights,” will almost always invoke a cloud-of-dust brawl amongst tomcats. Keep in mind, less fighting also lowers the risk of disease transmission. Feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus are two potentially devastating illnesses spread through bite wounds and salivary transmission in the heat of battle. Fighting cats also have a high probability for developing abscesses, localized and painful pus-filled wounds, thus necessitating a trip to your veterinarian.
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