Neutering a cat

Gold Member Joined: Dec 30 2008 Posts: 1154

We adopted a stray cat from the neighborhood. He's probably about 6 months old now. He's male, so I'm not worried about the cat coming home pregnant (he spends a good amount of time outside) but someone told me that if we don't neuter him, he's going to spray all over the house to mark his territory. Does anyone know if that's true? Anyone have a non-neutered male cat? What is your experience? All things being equal, I would rather not neuter the cat.

I also know there are halachic issues with neutering an animal, so anyone with info on that, please pass it along.
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Platinum Member Joined: Nov 04 2008 Posts: 7928

Sell him to your neighbors, then buy him back.

You have to neuter him or you won't be able to stand him.
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Posted: Tue, Mar 01 2011, 5:06 am Post subject:

Yes, it's true. He also may be more aggressive.
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Posted: Tue, Mar 01 2011, 5:40 am Post subject: re: Neutering a cat

I think it is halachically problematic, thats why my family always had female cats.

Gold Member Joined: Nov 17 2010 Posts: 1016

Spraying is a potential problem, and believe me, you want to avoid it. I am pro-neutering, and both my cats have been *snipped*. The improvement in Iggy's character was instantaneous - he went from bizarre and neurotic to very loving and sweet. As a responsible pet owner, I believe in spaying and neutering my pets, and the "work-around" would be to adopt a cat that had already been neutered. (Same applies for declawing, which I would never, ever do to a cat, but once it's been done, they need a good inside forever-home because they are very much at risk as outside cats)

BTW, no expensive cat toy can replace the joys of a ball of tin foil. My cats are die-hard Canadians and play Foil Ball Hockey all. the. time.

Posted: Tue, Mar 01 2011, 7:22 am Post subject:

CatLady, our cat LOVES to steal socks from the laundry basket and tosses it around.

Gold Member Joined: Apr 11 2008 Posts: 1450

Gold Member Joined: Dec 30 2008 Posts: 1154

Our cat loves to chase around ping-pong balls.

Posted: Tue, Mar 01 2011, 1:09 pm Post subject:

I think my cat takes the cake in hockey.

She used to chase the tops to milk bottles, so we started keeping a few for her, which she would steel.
We started putting them in DHs nightstand drawer, until she got clever and realized if she stood on her hind legs with her front paws on the drawer handle and backed up (it took multiple tries) she could get it open. Cat got too smart for her own good, and we got tired of be woken up in the middle of the night. We got rid of the hockey pucks.

RE OP
I heard that you should 'sell' the cat to the vet for the time that the cat is having the surgery. Talk to your LOR, Im sure he can guide you. Enjoy your new 'baby'
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Posted: Tue, Mar 01 2011, 1:54 pm Post subject: re: Neutering a cat

The way my dh learned the halacha one can spay a female cat by selling it to a non-Jew and then buying it back. We learned that you can't neuter a male surgically (though I suppose one could buy a neutered animal from the get go.) HOWEVER, chemical neutering may not be a problem.

But I have heard other Rabbi's posken differently.
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