Is it possible? Neutered but still potent?

[miss_thenorth]

WE have 6 barn cats. 5 males and one lonely female. We have neutered 4 of the males, but one tom cat came to us last year already grown up. He appears neutered--he has the ball sac, but it is empty.

But dd went outside today and saw him on our little kitten, who is probably of age to be bred. (we havn'ty actively thought about fixing her, but it was our intent -as we do not want to contribute to the overpopulation of kitties ) We didn't think the rush was on, since we thought all of our boys were fixed. Is it possible for this tomcat to still be potent?



Please tell me what I want to hear?!?!?

 

[lorieMN]

my neutered male will still ride the girls,,but thats all he gets done,neutered dogs can actually still tie,but no puppies..I have even seen gelded horses actually breed,again,no foals result.

 

[MetalSmitten]

if he was fixed after he came "of age," it might just be old instincts kicking in, but, for lack of a better term, he'd be shooting blanks.

however, there ARE instances with some animals where (just like with people) the neuter doesn't take 100%; usually it's when a cat is cryptorchid, where a testicle didn't descend all the way... sometimes vets either don't or can't remove it all the way, and it's sometimes still functional. this is somewhat rare though.

i'd -guess- it's the first explanation, but keep an eye out just in case

 

[patandchickens]

It is possible, but as others have said, most likely he IS neutered and is just doing it anyways, in a non kitten producing fashion.

HOWEVER even tho you have no intact males you really oughta get that girl cat fixed PRONTO because there can so easily be an intact male passing through -- it only takes about 15 seconds plus about three months -- even though your existing cats will likely keep a strange cat from setting up territory there, that is totally different than what happens in those fifteen seconds with a queen in heat.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[miss_thenorth]

you really oughta get that girl cat fixed PRONTO

That was the intent, although, for some reason or another, it got forgotten about. What a wake up call!!!!! But, now, do I make the appt right away, or wait out the gestation period to see if kitties show up or not?

 

[patandchickens]

you really oughta get that girl cat fixed PRONTO

That was the intent, although, for some reason or another, it got forgotten about. What a wake up call!!!!! But, now, do I make the appt right away, or wait out the gestation period to see if kitties show up or not?

If it were me I would do it immediately right-away, AFAIK there is no medical issue with spaying in the earliest stages of pregnancy even if the cat IS pregnant which seems vanishingly unlikely from what you've said.

Mind, if you have reason to believe the cat may be pregnant and have strong personal religious beliefs about when kitten life starts and are pro-cat-life and all that, you could wait a couple months. Either she will begin to show obvious pregnancy, or she will come into heat again due to not actually being pregnant. However if you take that route then unless you can catch her AS SOON AS she comes into heat and lock her yowly unhappy self into the tackroom or something until her heat is over (can't be spayed during actual heat, AFAIK) you will be in exactly the same boat, with a vanishingly-small but not technically zero chance of her being pregnant.

personally I'd do it now.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[TanksHill]

I thought when animals were neutered their Sacs shriveled and disappeared?

Is it possible that his testicles had never dropped?

Sorry.

 

[patandchickens]

I thought when animals were neutered their Sacs shriveled and disappeared?

Not so much in cats -- male cats always have "something there", even my Bunny (cat) does who was neutered at 4 months because he started bothering my female cat too much. He is now 11 and his undercarriage looks the same as one of my other cats who I know for a fact was not cut til about age 3.

(e.t.a. -- cats really ARE different. My dog was neutered at 5 months by the same method as cats are neutered and just 8 months later there is NO sign whatsoever that there was once anything "there")

Even in other animals, the scrotum mostly only disappears if they're neutered young enough. At least with dogs and horses. I have known individuals of both who were 'fixed' in early middle age and always had a sort of an empty flap down there thereafter, although it became *somewhat* less obvious as the years went by.

It is scary what a person has brain cells devoted to remembering...

Pat

 

[Shiloh Acres]

My boy cat's is very small, but not disappeared.

I guess it might depend on the method used. If the vet does an incision and removes the testicles from inside, you still have a little furry sac? In the case of a banded wether goat, the whole thing does shrivel up and fall off.

So I guess it depends on method? But most toms are surgically neutered.

Haha, ETA that Pat gave a better answer. I shoulda just waited.

 

[TanksHill]

Thanks, cats are not my norm!!

:/