Why castration of cats and cats is needed. What is the difference between sterilization and castration
Castration and sterilization are different things
It should be clearly understood that the everyday and veterinary meaning of the term "sterilization" differ.
Our people are firmly convinced that castration is "when cats have everything cut out," and sterilization is "when cats have everything cut out." But this is somewhat not the case.
Let's start with concepts.
Sterilization
During sterilization, the fallopian tubes are tied to cats, and the seminal ducts are tied to the cat (this operation is scientifically called "vasectomy" in cats). The genitals themselves, which produce the corresponding hormones, remain and function.
During sterilization, sexual desire persists (both in cats and cats), such individuals do not lose their sexual instincts, they can mate, they only cease to bear offspring (i.e. become sterile).
Castration
During castration, the organs responsible for reproduction are removed:
- the cat's ovaries are removed (ovariectomy) or the ovaries together with the uterus (ovariohysterectomy);
- both testicles are removed from the cat.
Usually, healthy young cats who have not given birth have their ovaries removed, but recently they have been trying to remove them together with the uterus, since feline gynecological diseases have "rejuvenated".
Even if an ovariectomy is performed (that is, only the ovaries are removed), the cat stops flowing (since the production of eggs stops due to the absence of ovaries), and, accordingly, all cat "concerts" also stop.
In practice, it often turns out that pathological processes have already begun in the uterus at the time of the operation (especially if the cat has undergone a lot of "empty leaks" or was given hormonal drugs like "contrasex"). Therefore, many veterinarians advise removing not only the ovaries, but also the uterus. Why take the risk if you can guarantee to rid the cat of diseases of the genitals?
It should also be noted that castration is more humane, both for cats and cats. Sterilized individuals, despite the absence of offspring, still experience "hormonal storms" inside themselves every time due to the full functioning of the genitals, are at risk of sexual diseases, experience excessive stress, lose weight, behave aggressively.
A neutered animal has a higher quality of life and health.
To do or not to do?
This question sooner or later arises before every owner of an adult animal. In order not to be tormented by this question, you first need to understand what castration is, why it is done and what will change in the life of the animal after the operation.
Castration is the removal of the testicles, in the case of a cat, the removal of the ovaries and by no means complete castration, cutting off "everything".
How does this happen?
It is performed as follows: the animal is given anesthesia (much weaker than for serious abdominal surgery), a small incision is made on the scrotum, through which the testicles are removed. The incision is sewn up and outwardly it is not even very clear whether the cat is castrated or not, it is possible to determine the presence / absence of testicles only by touch.
Cats have two options for castration — the traditional, in the form of a cavity operation, when a 10 cm incision is made on the abdomen, after the operation, a blanket is put on the cat and a more modern method based on the principle of vacuum abortion, when a 3-5 cm incision is made on the side, then it is simply sewn up and that's it. Such an operation is easier to tolerate.
The operation lasts for 15 minutes, the animal departs from anesthesia from 2 to 4 hours, fully recovers in a day.
And why do you need to castrate an animal?
The fact is that the sexual instinct is one of the strongest in nature. Animals, unlike humans, do not have sex out of love or attraction, but at the call of nature solely in order to have offspring. Therefore, the very "mechanism" of the action of this instinct is completely physiological — the animal experiences physical discomfort, irritation, which it tries to eliminate as instinct prompts.
The biggest mistake people make is projecting animal behavior onto themselves, identifying actions with human ones. Everything that people do in relation to love and sex, first of all comes from the head, a person is a thinking being. But animals are driven by naked physiology, natural instinct. A person can decide for himself, for example, for religious reasons, that he wants to renounce everything "worldly, carnal". An animal can't do that, he NEEDS to and that's it.
A pet, not finding an outlet for sexual energy, will look for a way to solve this problem in ways that are understandable to him. All those tags and screams that torment the owners of non-castrated animals are just a way to tell other cats "I'm HERE!!" Nothing personal, no one takes revenge on the owners, no one is harmful, etc., etc. Even the bed or the owner's clothes are not out of this logic — here the owner will smell me, go outside and all (cats) around will find out that he has a cat, will follow him and find ME.
The cat will have estrus and estrus until she gets pregnant, the cat will desire the cat even more often. Actually, the cat is almost constantly on "alert". Even attempts to bring a cat to a cat will not fix the situation — you will not get as many cats in the district as an adult mature cat needs! I'm not talking about free range at all, it's just barbarism! There are a lot of dangers lurking on the street of cats in the form of dogs, scum-knackers, homeless people who catch cats just to eat, cars. A domestic cat has no place on the street!!
In addition, the torment of the animal is expressed not only in the inability to satisfy the sexual instinct, but also in the general deterioration of the physical condition. Many owners are familiar with the situation — a fat kitty went happy with life, as it flowed so deflated like a ball and the wool became worse. Cats can stay in such an unkempt state for months!
Thus, castration is primarily a help to the animal to get rid of physiological torment, and only secondarily will the disappearance of the accompanying "charms of life" in the form of marks, ora, and sometimes wild argessiveness, into which the accumulated sexual energy pours out.
There is a completely scientific explanation for this extremely high reproduction instinct. The fact is that in the wild, the life of a cat is very short, on average 5 years, and during this time it should have time to leave offspring so that the feline genus does not die out. Therefore, in non-standard favorable conditions, cats begin to breed at an alarming rate and their livestock can seriously disrupt the ecological balance of the area, it is enough to recall the sad story of the Australian island of Macquarie - for the sake of saving local birds, it was necessary to destroy the population of cats brought there earlier. :((
Are their torments so great?
Good question. Maybe that's not how they suffer, you think, well, they won't get involved, people live for years without a partner and nothing. So, all the physiology of the torments of non-knitting cats and cats can only be compared with the urge to go to the toilet. Try to drink a few bottles of beer and be patient!
And yet, it is absolutely wrong to identify cats with women, because they have a fundamentally different physiology! A sexually mature woman has a cycle in which the egg first matures, and then, in the absence of fertilization, it is washed out of the body during menstruation. In a cat, until intercourse occurs, the eggs do not come out of the ovaries. Let's assume that fertilization has occurred. In this case, everything happens in the normal way - pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, then the recovery period and all over again. Such a cycle cannot but say its "fi" to the body, and in the wild, constantly giving birth to cats quickly go "to naught".
If fertilization has not occurred, then the hormonal background does not return to normal, remaining elevated. After 2-3 weeks, there is another jump and again the expectation of conception (remember that the natural cycle is short and the task of accelerated reproduction is very important). And so, gradually, step by step, climbing the stairs up and up, until a critical mass is gained and the body "explodes" with a bouquet of diseases: oncology (the sex hormone progesterone is the first cause of cancer in cats), pyometers, adenomas and other "feminine" charms. (See, for example, Feline mammary hypertrophy/fibroadenoma complex: clinical and hormonal aspects. Hayden DW, Johnston SD, Kiang DT, Johnson KH, Barnes DM).
And what will happen after?
Sexual activity is significantly reduced or completely disappears. It all depends on the environment in which the neutered cat lives. If he lives alone, then his sexual desires will die, if he lives with cats, he can quite calmly continue to knit, but without the possibility of having offspring.
As for everything else, the castrati are cheerful, active, cheerful, and also not subject to "thinning" due to leaks. I have extensive information on the mass of castrated animals, who in no way feel violated, and in the case of living with non-castrated animals, they still shake their rights for who is more important!
And what is sterilization?
Isn't that the same as castration? Not at all, and it is a very common mistake to confuse these two concepts. Sterilization and castration are different things. During sterilization, only the spermatic cords in cats and ducts in cats are tied, without removing anything. This is done only in order to deprive the animal of the possibility of reproduction, but it does not eliminate the causes of sexuality, which means that it is categorically not suitable for solving the problem. Unfortunately, even veterinarians sometimes do not understand the difference well, without understanding what motivates the owners who brought the cat to the operation and offer sterilization as a way out, although it is categorically not suitable. There were cases when the operated cat started to leak again, and the owners could not figure out what was going on. And only repeated surgery corrected the situation.
And what about the cryptorchids?
Cryptorchid is a cat whose testicles have not descended into the scrotum, they are stuck in the abdominal cavity. There are complete cryptorches and one-sided ones. It would seem that the testicles did not descend, they turned out to be underdeveloped, so the cat seems to be not full-fledged, why castrate it? A very common misconception! https://www.oldbluzcoon.com