NEUTERING YOUR CAT

Neuter your Kitty Sooner Rather than Later

I don't want to be neutered

Should you neuter your cat?  There are those who have kittens who think it’s a dreadful idea, then there are those who don’t have cats and think all cats should be neutered and so get a reputation for not liking cats.

The truth of the situation is that unless you want your cat to have, or father, kittens of its own, you really need to consider neutering your cat as soon as possible.  Many people think that they have to wait until their cat goes through her first “heat” cycle.  This isn’t the case.  She’ll be just fine if you get her done as soon as her system is mature enough to cope.  Usually this is around 5 months old.  If you wait and she has that cycle, be prepared for the loudly serenading “beaus” who come “calling” at 2am! 

I can see in the dark

Neutering your cat early means that they are less likely to have much reaction to the operation at all – as with humans, the young are more adaptable to their situations.  Within a couple of hours of surgery, a neutered kitten is likely to be back on his feet and wobbling in the direction of his supper!  He will wash and wash at the stitches until you are terrified that he will wash them out, and you’ll take some preventative measure to ensure that nothing happens to them overnight!  By the next day kitty should be swinging once again from your curtains. 

Although most cat owners can see the advantage of neutering their queen, not many realize that by neutering a tom, they not only stop him from populating the local area with off-spring, but they will take that “tom cat” smell away.  The urine of a neutered tom cat usually smells less intrusive that that of a non-neutered one. 

Regardless what some people may think, neutering your kitten isn’t a negative thing.  If anything you are liberating your cat to go out into the world, confident that it’s not going to be helping to populate it!  

HOW TO GROOM YOUR CAT

I like being groomed

Grooming your Kitty

Cats are, by nature, clean animals and don’t like being dirty.  This is also true about kittens.  Even the youngest kitty can be seen trying to wash itself.  There are instances during your cat’s life however when it will be unable to groom itself, or it could be that the kind of cat you choose has high maintenance fur (such as a long hair Persian) and needs a little extra help to keep its fur in good condition.

Despite not wanting to be dirty, and despite the constant self-grooming, this does not automatically mean that your kitten is going to enjoy your interference in its personal grooming routine.  The best way to avoid this is to introduce your kitten to being groomed by you from the very start.  If you get into an immediate habit of combing and brushing kitty once or twice a week, then if the day comes when he’s just in too much mess, or too sick to manage himself, then he won’t mind your intervention. 

Although you won’t be able to introduce him to a bath, you can introduce him to the idea of a bath using a dish (without water) and a damp face cloth, but this should be done every few weeks.  Grooming in the form of brushing however should be done more frequently.  One perfect time for this is at night when you’re watching TV and kitty crawls up onto your lap. 

Have a brush to hand (a baby brush is fine for a short haired kitten) and gently brush the kitten in the direction his fur grows.  He’ll get used to how this feels, and often will start to purr his approval.  If you have a longer-furred kitten, set aside half an hour at least twice a week to thoroughly comb through his coat.  This will ensure that tangles don’t build up and his coat will remain healthy looking. 

As he gets older, and is allowed outdoors, make sure that you spend 5-10 minutes with him every week to gently put the flea comb through his fur.  This means that you are sure that he remains flea-free, and at the very least, can initiate a flea-removal treatment should your comb find something.

The time you invest grooming your kitten will pay dividends when he becomes a cat that needs help with cleaning his fur.  A cat that is used to being groomed is far easier to maintain than one who turns every grooming session into a battle of wills!