3 Toms

The Hill Billy

Apologies if this has been covered before (I've tried searching on the topic but no luck).

Mrs Billy & I have 3 toms - 2 brothers (2yo) & a nephew (1yo).
They are outdoor cats & not so much pets but more working cats for deterring rats & mice as we've had problems in the past.

We've been reticent to get the cats neutered, but have been advised by a vet to have this done - no reason given apart from "it may stop them fighting with other toms".

What would you folk advise? Should we have them neutered? If so, why? Will it affect their ratting/mousing abilities? Any idea how much this would cost?

Thanks in advance.

mymo

Get them neutered, Won't make a difference to their hunting. Cats either like to hunt or don't. We have had many cats over the years and even though they're in nearly all the time one of the current 2 can be out for 2 mins and will catch something small and furry.
It will stop them wandering and fighting and will stop them spraying everywhere, so place will smell better too. They will still defend their area and chase away other cats.
They'll also be much healthier looking, and probably more friendly.

The Sweeper

Get them neutered. Call your vet for a price on all three - neutering tom cats is a very simple procedure, far less invasive than on a female cat and with a very quick recovery time.

It won't affect their personalities, but will keep them somewhat closer to home - just because they won't have the drive to seek out females in heat.

Recent research proves that neutering can reduce your cat's metabolism by up to 30% - but again, it's untrue to say "neutering will make your cat fat". No, YOU make your cat fat by feeding it too much food. It also doesn't make them lazy - the hunting drive is very different to the shagging drive, so if they were mousers before they'll still be mousers.

Finally, it is so important to neuter your tom cats, because they're the ones that range for females, and cats can and will breed like rabbits. It is perfectly safe and effective to neuter your kittens at around 12 weeks of age (or less), but a lot of people still believe you should not neuter your cat until six months of age, or until it's had one litter. This misconception does one thing - produces around four more unwanted kittens per un-neutered female! If your toms are neutered, you know for a fact they're not contributing to the feral cat problem in your area.

It may also prolong their lives - if they roam less and fight less, they have a lesser chance of dying from trauma or disease.

So yes, get them neutered, but keep an eye on their rations for the first three months - they can't turn into fat lazy buggers if you're not overfeeding them. (Saying that, don't starve them in the hope that they'll hunt more - a well-fed cat hunts for its own entertainment just as well as a hungry cat will hunt for food, if not better because they have more energy!)

Sigma Force

Deffo. get them all neutered. It has no affect on ratting/mousing my oulds have a neutered male and he is forever catching rats/mice and unfortunetly birds but mostly rodents.

Farm cats or working cats should still be given the same treatment as a pet cat esp. when it comes to health/vet care. Neutering male cats is so simple too.

If they are all good hunters now that shouldn't change at all, even an indoor cat who has never been outside loves to hunt and would if they had the chance so don't worry at all about yours loosing interest in catching rodents.

Also if you have them all done at the same time the vet should offer some sort of discount, either way it's a good investment in their health as mentioned. Cat fights can end up very nasty with abcesses and all sorts which could cost you more in the long run. Vet charges vary hugely so it's hard to say how much it would cost.

Neutering won't 100% gurantee there won't be fights but it could help as in they might not go out of their way to have a barney.