# My cat is neutered! ...I think.



## Sleepwalk (Feb 4, 2010)

When I got Silas at the humane society, they told me he had been neutered, but I'm not entirely sure that's accurate. 

I've wondered before, but didn't care all that much since he's never around other cats. But this weekend, we tried to socialize him with my best friend's two cats, and one was female. He started following her around until she had to jump up onto the high counters to get away from him (Silas has an amputated hind leg and can't jump that high), while ignoring the male cat pretty much entirely. He was doing this long, yowling meow I'd never heard before while he did so.

He has a shaved belly, thanks to his surgery, so you can see his *ahem* male area very obviously. I've read that neutered cats still have a scrotum, but it is empty. I really have no desire to poke them and find out, but his maintain a very distinct shape of two spheres. He also gets erections about every third day or so, which was somewhat awkward in the middle of my parents giving him a belly rub the first time they met him!

In my reading, I saw that sometimes recently neutered cats still have thigh levels of testosterone in their system for about a month after the procedure, which can cause some of these things... But looking over his medical history, I can see all his shots and his surgery, but nothing about getting neutered. If that happened, it must have happened before he was taken into the shelter, and that means it would have been too long ago to fit that profile.

He has a very good disposition and doesn't spray. Other male cats don't bother him at all. He is a strictly indoor cat, so I'm not too concerned about him roaming off and impregnating anyone. I'm not even sure he'd need to be neutered if he isn't, given his situation. But I do have a friend who has been wanting to bring her cat over, and she is an unaltered female. Sounds like a horrible idea if I'm not sure if my boy is fixed or not!

Any ideas on how I might be able to tell? I'd rather not lug him to the vet or something just to find out something like that, he tends to get a bit carsick.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Well, if you don't want to feel back there to determine whether or not he still has testes in his scrotum, and you don't want to take him to a vet, you're pretty much out of luck. I surely would NOT recommend allowing your friend with an intact queen to come visiting, though, until and unless you are certain that your boy is neutered.

Laurie


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Usually, it is very obvious if a male cat has not been neutered. Their scrotums will look like they have medium-sized marbles in the sacks. Neutered males can still show the shape of their scrotum but it will *not* be rounded and full-looking like an un-neutered male.
Neutered males can still excite/stimulate themselves and develop an erection. Neutering simply removes any chance of sperm impregnating a female cat. Also, many neutered male cats can still behave as if they were entire and exhibiting some mating behaviors; following other cats around, crying or yowling and even mounting behavior. It is normal.

Male Sphinx (hairless cat breed) un-neutered:









This male tabby is about to be neutered:









Siamese un-neutered:









This fluffy male cat has been neutered:


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

can you post a picture of him back there? That would help us decide. If his scrotum has been shaved I am sure he's neutered though. My younger cat's penis comes out whenever he cleans himself so that doesn't have anything to do with being intact.

I agree with not letting an intact females with your cat though, even if he has been neutered you want to wait a while so that everything is completely cleaned out in there. And just an FYI cats tend to be very territorial so don't be surprised if adult cats don't like his company right away (hissing, swatting, etc.), usually long intros that take days (or more) are required for adult cats to warm up to other cats.


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## Sleepwalk (Feb 4, 2010)

Well, I went ahead and gave him a poke, and it seems that he is neutered after all. I've been checking around, and apparently if a cat has been sexually active before they are neutered, they are very likely to maintain a lot of their habits as far as pursuing females, etc. I don't know any of Silas' history before the shelter, or when exactly he was neutered, so maybe that is the case. 

Thanks for the tips!


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