Male cat?

[SLP958]

We recently found a pitiful kitten and brought it home. We have never had a male cat before and plan for this one to be an indoor cat. We have no other animals inside.

Since bringing him home I have heard nothing but horror stories about spraying. I seems that no one has ever been able to keep an indoor male.

Does anyone here have any positive stories about indoor male cats. We plan to neuter him ASAP.

Any other suggestions to prevent this behavior?

 

[Randi]

I've had both male & female cats over many years, all indoor cats. Got them nuetered as soon as possible & never had a problem with spraying.

Neutering is necessary as is monitoring any cats that may use your yard & your cat can see from inside. Spraying is a form of marking his territory.

Enjoy your new cat.

 

[Chime]

Our cat's name is Milo. We also found found him as a dirty, pitiful kitten. We had him neutered when he was 5 months old, and he's the friendliest cat I've ever seen in my life. He comes when he's called, plays with the kids, greets people at the door and tries to spend most of his life on the lap of anybody who will pet him.

He has zero unpleasant behaviors associated with unneutered male cats (spraying, roaming, etc.)

 

[pat fan]

We have a male cat that was fixed as a kitten and have had no problems whatsoever with spraying.

 

[daisymomof4]

I've had male cats that were indoor/outdoor and never had an issue with spraying by a neutered male. GENERALLY they start to spray when they come in to maturity, about 6 months. Getting them neutered at this age is the earliest I *think* vets will do it, but look in to the age because it's been along time sine I owned cats at home (in the States, I'm currently abroad). I hear once a male sprays he can continue the behavior even after being fixed, but I never had that experience. My male cats were mostly big, lovable well behaved guys
We have 2 female kittens right now and they are so much fun! Enjoy your new little friend, he'll likely be a real sweetheart.

 

[skatalite]

We have three fixed male cats and none of them have ever sprayed.

 

[momz]

I agree, the problem with males is their gonads. Get rid of those and you'll be fine.

 

[mymickeyfans]

I have 2 males cats, both neutered. They go out during the day and are in at night. Never had any spraying issues. Just be sure to neuter him early.

 

[kamik86]

I had an awesome male kitty. He passed away shortly before he turned 3 but I had him from about 4 months until then and he never sprayed. He was neutered when I got him.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I always keep my male cats on urinary care cat food. They tend to be prone to UTI's. That can cause problems. You can even use Purina in the grocery store.

 

[msjprincess]

Like others have said, if you get him neutered as soon as possible you shouldn't have a problem with spraying or keeping him indoors.

 

[SC Minnie]

The white cat in my sig is male. We got him around 8 months. He was a stray and was neutered before we brought him home. He's been with us over 2 years and has not sprayed at all. We do have a female that is spayed as well.

 

[SarahWeasley]

We've had four neutered male cats, never any issue with spraying.

 

[dawnhaze]

I'll chime in with the same answer as everyone else - I've had several male cats, all neutered at relatively young ages, and had no behavior issues with them. Well, other than standard cat stuff like scratching the couch.

 

[mamacatnv]

Multiple male cat owner here also. We don't have issues with spraying but we do have a problem child that will pee on articles of clothing/towels if left on the floor. We keep multiple sand boxes and we keep them clean, this helps greatly with the issue. We always warn visitors to not leave their bags, clothes etc on the floor because our problem child will pee on them. Its especially bad if the person visiting has multiple animals of their own. Vet says its behavioral.
Never had an issue with a neutered male marking walls, furniture etc.

 

[wiigirl]

I agree, the problem with males is their gonads. Get rid of those and you'll be fine.

 

[mom2girls1974]

We have had two males (one currently) our vet -she only sees cats- says he is what would be termed a "alpha male" like in dogs. He can be VERY aggressive, to people, certainly our other cat ect. But he never sprays, he was neutered on time, I believe that prevents it.
We have to make sure we play with him a lot -over a hour a day, that keeps him well behaved (like a dog!) if we do not my cat who is 15 suffers for it.
He is only 2 and he is huge, easily 15pounds of muscle, they are both Siamese and great cats, but a breed onto themselves LOL.
Anyway, have fun, do not worry, take care of the little guy, give him lots of love, and clean his litter box a lot, play with him ect and he will be great.
We are all about the indoor cat -they are so much healthier especially if you live in a city.

 

[Deb in IA]

We've had 3 male cats - one at a time, not all at once - all neutered, never had any spraying.

Hairballs, yes.

But spraying - no.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I agree, the problem with males is their gonads. Get rid of those and you'll be fine.

I have had a couple of male cats, one was an outdoor cat. I brought him inside and he .... in my mom's closet. Not good.

I had another one briefly, that peed and .... in the dining room. He was used to being outdoors mostly (it wasn't my idea to get this cat, it was my DH's idea because it was some of his family needing to get rid of the cat). Another issue was he was a fairly large cat. I already have a small Siamese female cat and she absolutely HATED him. She would attack him and work him over on a daily basis. I was afraid that he would get tired of her doing that and really hurt her. The whole thing was just not a good match for us.

I promptly gave him to somebody who could keep him outside. (We lived near a highway and the life expectancy of an outdoor pet would be about 30 minutes).

I have however known people who have had very nice male cats, can't judge them all.

 

[SLP958]

Thanks guys! Such a relief to hear some positive stories. We just lost our female cat of 10 years suddenly. I don't want anything to go wrong with this kitty. He is a sweet little guy.

We will definitely have him neutered.

I always keep my male cats on urinary care cat food. They tend to be prone to UTI's. That can cause problems. You can even use Purina in the grocery store.

Great suggestion. Thank you!