Have you decided to sterilize your cat and you don’t know what his character will be like from now on? Don’t worry. Although it is true that the behavior of neutered cats may change, the character of your neutered cat will remain the same as always.
Changes in the behavior of a neutered cat
When a cat is spayed, part of the testicles are removed, which is the organ in charge of manufacturing the hormone testosterone, or if it is a female, the reproductive organs are emptied.
This type of hormone is the one that regulates the sexual behavior of a cat, and some behaviors related to it, i.e., marking territory through urine, searching for female cats in heat or aggressive behavior towards other male cats, usually disappear after castration.
It is estimated that 8 out of 10 neutered cats eliminate all reproduction-related behaviors. But what about the character of the cat, does it change after neutering?
What is the character of a neutered cat like?
It has been proven that cats that go through the neutering process usually undergo certain changes in certain behaviors and even in their physical characteristics.
If you have a cat that, before being neutered, was especially nervous, you will have noticed that after neutering its character has become much calmer. This is due to the fact that when the testicles are removed, the cat stops secreting the testosterone that used to make him nervous in certain situations related to his sexual instinct.
However, if your cat’s character is cheerful, playful and affectionate, these aspects of his behavior will not disappear after castration.
Neutering will be an effective process if we wish to eliminate all those aspects that are directly related to our pet’s sexual behavior. For example, the cat’s desire to run away from home to look for cats in heat; the marking of territory through urine; or also the fights with other males when the heat season arrives.
Therefore, it is important to emphasize that when we neuter a cat, by eradicating the desire to leave the house when in heat, it is also likely that your pet will become more docile, calmer and more affectionate.
It should also be noted that cats that undergo castration do not change their behavior completely immediately, but it takes a few weeks, even months, for the behavioral changes related to their sexual desire to kick in.
You have to take into account, also, that the age at which you submit your cat to castration, will not influence in a decisive way in the elimination of all the behaviors related to their sexuality. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you do it before your cat reaches puberty or if you decide to spay or neuter him after this stage of his life.
It has also been shown that cats that are spayed or neutered can gain weight in a mild to moderate way, and in many cases can even become obese.
For this reason, cats that are castrated have to follow a diet that provides them with fewer calories, since after castration, the caloric intake of their body also decreases.
For this reason, veterinarians recommend giving less food to cats that have been neutered, or to opt for specific low-calorie foods that can be purchased at any pet store.
