Cat Sterilization: How to Avoid Contraindications

Cat sterilization is an act of love for animals. By reading this article, you will discover why you should sterilize a male or female cat, what the guidelines are for a cat surgery that leaves no room for risks, and how to choose the best food for sterilized cats.

Cat Sterilization: The Advantages

Sterilizing your cat improves its quality of life. This also applies to male cat sterilization (more properly, cat castration), which is still too often underestimated.

These guidelines should also be observed for (and especially!) feral cat colonies.

The advantages of cat sterilization are manifold:

• It drastically reduces the risk of ovarian, uterine, mammary, and testicular cancer.
• It reduces the risk of pyometra (a uterine infection).
• It prevents unwanted pregnancies, which contribute to stray populations or the overcrowding of shelters.
• It eliminates behaviors linked to sexual urges, such as males wandering, urinating outside the litter box, aggression towards other cats, and territorial marking.

When to Sterilize Your Cat

To safeguard the cat’s well-being, it is best to consult a veterinarian to determine the best time for sterilization. The general guidelines, however, recommend sterilizing a male cat when he reaches full sexual maturity, around 6 months of age.

For female cat sterilization, sterilization is recommended between 4 and 6 months, before reaching full sexual maturity and thus before the first heat cycle.

How Cat Sterilization is Performed

Cat sterilization or cat castration is a surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia. If it is a female cat, the veterinarian may choose to perform an ovariectomy (removal of the ovaries only) or an ovariohysterectomy (removal of the ovaries and uterus). This can be done with a classic incision on the midline of the abdomen, or via laparoscopy.

If it is a male cat, the incision is made on both sides of the scrotal sac for the complete removal of the testicles. For both sexes, resorbable sutures that do not require further veterinary assistance are preferred, if possible.

The surgical procedure lasts about 15-20 minutes, to which must be added the time for preparing the cat for anesthesia. In total, the cat remains at the veterinarian’s office for about 45-50 minutes.

How Much Does it Cost to Sterilize a Cat

The cost of sterilization is variable. It normally ranges between 150 and 250 euros for females and between 80 and 120 euros for males. The choice between a veterinary clinic and a hospital, as well as between a classic incision and laparoscopy, makes a difference.

Safely Sterilizing Your Cat: The Guide

To safeguard the cat’s health and minimize the risks of internal bleeding and infections, it is advisable to observe some simple rules:

• Before the procedure, submit the animal to blood tests, urine tests, and an electrocardiogram, as well as a chest X-ray.
• Begin fasting at least 7-8 hours before the procedure.
• Stop giving water 3 hours before the operation.
• Do not leave the clinic during the first few hours of the cat’s post-operative recovery.
• Consult the veterinarian for cat sterilization well in advance to inquire about the use of anesthetic gas, which reduces the need for intravenous anesthetic.
• Obtain food for sterilized cats.
• Contact the veterinarian immediately if any complication is suspected during the cat’s post-operative recovery.
• Find out how to care for a sterilized cat, considering that the hormonal change must be followed by a change in habits for the rest of its life.

Diet of the Sterilized Cat: What Changes

Have you visited an online pet store but don’t know how to navigate the options? Or does the shopkeeper you consulted not seem knowledgeable enough? Here are the guidelines for ensuring a healthy diet for your cat.

The diet of a sterilized cat must be able to satisfy its palate and stimulate its feeling of satiety, mitigating the increased appetite and reduced energy consumption due to the hormonal change.

Striving for a balance between wet food and dry food, the preferred alternative for feeding a sterilized cat is specially formulated recipes, which can also support digestive balance and prevent constipation.

We at Naxos PetFood have created food for sterilized cats with long or short fur, for every taste and every need:

• Sterilight with pork and prickly pear, single-protein for more sensitive subjects, with a high fiber content from beetroot to prevent hairballs. It contains spirulina algae, whose benefits we have already discussed, as well as olive oil for coat health;
• Sterilight with blue fish and pomegranate, single-protein with sustainably sourced fish and pomegranate, a powerful antioxidant;
• Kitten with blue fish and pomegranate, a single-protein suitable for all kittens that have already been sterilized but are still within their first 12 months of life.

Let your friend try them! Find out now where to find us, online and near your home.