Nature or Neutering

Ok, in the overall scheme of things, a cat's castration is not very high on the scale of earth-shattering events. Unless you're a cat, of course. Or its owner.

My family have always had cats. Dogs too, but they generally escape the enforced neutering ritual imposed on the feline species. So this blog is about my cat who, having played innocently enough with the cats  next-door for most of his young life, had begun to show amorous inclinations. It was obviously time to get him "done". 

This assumption that "getting done" was the done thing was quite a dilemma for me. My previous cat had been female and the thought of her having kittens was a definite no-no. I never stopped to consider whether she had the right to bear young. In fact, she-cats who have more than one unplanned litter are viewed as being abused. The male, however, is somehow expected to spread his seed and emasculation seems a drastic way to control him. Cruel and unnatural.

But is that because we tend to humanise animals? To credit them with reasoning way beyond their prospects. After all, a male cat is unlikely to find a mate for life; to get married and raise a family. Toms are led by instinct, by the scent of a female on heat that is becoming rarer and  increasingly difficult to track.    

A man I knew who was irresistibly drawn to women once compared his libido to a raging animal to which he was chained. A passing glance from a member of the fairer sex was enough to trigger the beast. Fortunately, this very intelligent man was (usually) able to control his urges, to reason things out. "The wife wouldn't like it" or "I haven't the time/money/energy to pursue her, and anyway I might catch Covid." Nicely under control, as expected from a sentient being who doesn't want to get arrested. 

Humans have a choice.

It's not the same with cats. All it takes is a whiff of a fertile female and that's it. Common sense out of the window, on the trail no matter how far. She doesn't even have to be good-looking! A tom cat will brave almost anything for a one-night stand; traffic, razor wire, rival males and irate gardeners. He may get lost, run over or run out of town. But so strong is his urge to mate, he really doesn't care.  

So, it's off to the vets. 

https://www.cats.org.uk/tenterden/feature-pages/why-neuter-your-cp