Owners of mustachioed pets decide to castrate their cat for various reasons. For example, a cat constantly meows heart-rendingly, becomes uncontrollable during periods of sexual heat, and marks its territory in a house or apartment. In addition, castration or sterilization may have medical indications for such an operation. But still, this is the only way that will help you forget about your pet’s habits associated with the reproductive instinct.
In this case, it happens that after castration a cat wants a cat, showing sympathy for individuals of the opposite sex. To understand why a castrate continues to be interested in cats and tries to mate with them, you need to know when castration is performed and what the essence of this operation is.
Why is castration performed, at what age should a cat be castrated?
Castration is a fairly simple surgical operation during which the male gonads (testes) are removed. The operation is performed on cats at the age of 9-12 months, after the completion of puberty. Until this age, furry pets do not have sexual instinct.
Castration of a cat performed at an earlier age is fraught with serious consequences and complications. Until 8-9 months, the animal’s body is not fully formed. For example, a cat may have an underdeveloped urinary tract and inflammation often develops after castration. Any problems in the animal’s genitourinary tract will cause urethral obstruction, which can cause death.
The simple procedure is performed under anesthesia and does not pose any risks to the pet’s health, but requires serious postoperative care.
Castration is carried out:
- to reduce the aggressiveness of cats;
- if a domestic cat constantly runs outside during the rut and fights with other males;
- for medical indications (scrotal injuries, congenital pathologies, orchitis);
- if the cat constantly yells, attracting cats, marks the territory (apartment, entrance).
The main purpose of castration, like sterilization, is to deprive animals of reproductive function and to correct behavior in cats that are too temperamental.
To reduce sexual desire, of course, you can use special medications and sedatives. But you need to take into account that such methods can harm the health of a mustachioed pet, for example, provoke hormonal imbalance. Therefore, the surgical method is more preferable.
Hormonal drugs
There are many special drugs designed to suppress sexual desire in cats.
They are available in the form of drops, tablets or injections. Hormonal drugs, including “Sex Barrier”, “Contrasex”, “Nonoestron”, “Stop-Intim” and others, are often used by owners of uncastrated cats, allowing them to temporarily reduce the troubles that their behavior causes.
A significant disadvantage of hormonal drugs is the enormous harm they cause to the health of the animal. Frequent use can lead to consequences such as diabetes, cancer and other diseases.
In case of emergency, veterinarians recommend using natural-based sedatives, such as “Cat Bayun” and “Stop-stress”. They are not as effective as hormonal ones, but they do not harm the health of the animal.
Castration and sexual desire
Many owners believe that after castration a cat should not show interest in individuals of the opposite sex. In general, this is true, and after removal of the testes, males do not experience attraction to females. But there are also exceptions. Owners notice that some cats' behavior remains the same as before castration. Let's try to figure out why the cat continues to get excited.
As already noted, according to veterinarians, it is best to castrate cats at the age of 8-10 months. If the cat tasted all the delights of sexual life before the operation and had contact with females, the body begins to produce sex hormones. Moreover, not only the testicles are responsible for their production, but also the adrenal glands and the pituitary gland, which, remembering the sensations received, synthesizes the necessary substances. This is why castrated cats continue to want cats and try to mate with them.
Cats need to be castrated before the pet experiences the joys of sex.
Even if castration is carried out at 8-10 months, in young males after castration the body, in particular the adrenal glands, will produce testosterone for some time. It is this hormone that is responsible for the sexual desire of males, so for several months the pet will be interested in individuals of the opposite sex.
Another reason for this behavior of males can be called too early castration or a mistake by a veterinarian. During an operation performed at an early age, due to the incompetence of the surgeon, part of the testis may be preserved, which will produce sex hormones.
In addition, the veterinarian, due to inattention or inexperience, may not inform the owners that one testicle remains in the peritoneum (cryptorchidism). Therefore, if you decide to castrate a cat, do not skimp on the procedure; trust your pet only to experienced veterinarians with a good reputation.
Types of procedures
IMPORTANT! Surgical removal of the testicles or ligation of the seminal ducts is not the only way to solve the problem of an agitated and screaming cat.
Modern technologies in medicine make it possible to solve the issue in other ways:
- Chemical sterilization can be carried out. During this procedure, a special substance consisting of sclerotizing agents is introduced into the thickness of the testes. They lead to the testicle being completely replaced by connective tissue.
- Another modern method is drug sterilization. In this procedure, an implant with a drug that suppresses libido is sewn under the cat's skin. This method does not yet have a clear positive assessment, since the reaction of animals to hormonal drugs may be different.
- Some experts also talk about the possibility of an oncological threat . The positive aspect of medical sterilization is that the implant can be removed, the cat’s testicles are not damaged, he can again become a full-fledged male and have offspring.
- Veterinarians may also offer radiation castration. It sounds scary, but, in fact, the procedure is not dangerous and has no consequences. The testes are simply irradiated with a precisely targeted beam of gamma rays, causing their tissue to die. The likelihood of side effects is minimal, the procedure can be performed without anesthesia, and it is not painful.
With such sterilization, the cat must be restrained as securely as possible; if it twitches, the beam of rays will hit the internal organs, and this is extremely dangerous.
Medical sterilization does not always have an effect; it does not suppress the production of hormones by 100%. If the cat is still interested in cats, you need to ask the veterinarian to change the drug. After all, the body of animals is individual, and it often takes a long time to select the substance that can really help.
Despite the fact that surgical castration, the removal of the testicles, is a real operation and a trauma for the animal, this method is considered the most effective. Therefore, veterinarians often advise resorting to this method. The cat will survive the intervention, recover, and over time the operation will give the desired result.
Other reasons
Cat owners often prefer vasectomy and chemical sterilization. In the first case, the testes are not removed, but only the spermatic cord is ligated. Despite the low-traumatic nature of this technique, this procedure is not very effective and does not give long-lasting results. After some time, in any case, sooner or later, males will manifest sexual instincts and the only way out is to carry out a repeat operation, complete castration.
Before making a decision to castrate a cat, we recommend that you learn in more detail about the methods, consequences, and possible risks of the chosen method.
Behavior of cats after castration
As a rule, if the castration operation is carried out according to all the rules, the cat’s sexual instincts gradually disappear over the course of several weeks or months. The duration of this period depends on the individual, physiological characteristics of the body, age, and temperament of the cat.
At first, if the cat has already had contacts with females, the male may show interest in the cats and even try to cover them. Although interest will not be expressed as clearly as before the operation. There's nothing wrong with that. Of course, in veterinary practice there were isolated cases when a castrated male mated with a cat, and she gave birth to offspring. But this is an exception to the rule and most likely this is explained by a violation of the rules of castration.
Some owners of cats who have preserved their sexual instinct do not take any measures if, for example, there is a female in the house who, for one reason or another, should not have offspring. Contact with a castrated cat has a calming effect on the cat and does not harm its health.
It is also worth considering that if two or three males live in a house and one of the pets is unsuccessfully castrated, a “he-she” relationship often develops.
Why does the castrato continue to get excited?
It would seem that the animal's testes were removed, so why does the pet continue to behave as if nothing happened? In most cases, the instinct to procreate, especially in young cats, disappears completely within a maximum of 3 months. However, some individuals and animals older than a year may retain some activity. This is not a consequence of a poorly performed operation; there are a number of explanations for this.
In situations where the pet has already had relationships with females, has begun to mark territory, or has already become a father, it will take longer to wait for changes in the cat’s behavior after castration. He feels the same, gets excited, tramples, marks territory, etc. This is due to the presence of testosterone in the blood, fatty tissue and mesenteric fat. The hormone tends to accumulate in tissues and takes time to be eliminated.
What to do if a cat wants a cat after castration
If a castrated cat continues to get excited at the sight of a female, shows anxiety, wants to constantly walk, leaves marks in the house or apartment, consult a veterinarian. The specialist will select hormonal medications and sedatives to correct your pet’s behavior.
If the cat gets very angry, shows aggression, begins to meow heart-rendingly or pesters females living in the same apartment, spray water on it or distract its attention with a treat or toy. This will not cause any harm to the pet, but will moderate its ardor.
As sedatives, cats can be given “Kot Bayun”, “Stop-stress”, “Xylazin”, “Fitex”, “Fospasin”. Regarding the choice of medications, dosages, and frequency of administration, consult your veterinarian.
The main reason for the preservation of the sexual instinct in cats is incorrect or untimely castration.
If the operation is performed according to all the rules, there is no need to worry if the cat shows interest in females. Be patient. Over time, the behavior of a mustachioed pet stabilizes. The cat will become calmer, more peaceful, and hormonal levels will normalize. To make the male calm down faster, surround the cat with affection, care, and attention.
