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Old 05-02-2012, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Jersey
869 posts, read 1,487,994 times
Reputation: 880

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We are moving tomorrow and we have a male that is not neutered. He sprayed a few times in our house and on my husbands sweaty work clothes (my husband threatened to pee on him to show him the dominant one! lol). We managed to break the habit by following him around and relocating him everytime he even started to sniff around the few places he was spraying. He now only sprays in the litter box when he gets the urge.

We are moving to a new apartment and I am concerned he will get a little excited or stressed or territorial and mark my new place which will then smell icky! I bought some spray that is supposed to remove the smell and deter him from spraying again.

My question is whether it would be better to let him go before we move anything in and walk around and check things out OR move our things in and then take him over? Or in the middle, where there is some here and some there.

Also I am aware that its recommended that he be neutered but he is deathly afraid of leaving the house, even to go into the hallway of our building, he is not going to escape and impregnate the neighborhood strays. And my DH prefers him in tact and frisky
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Old 05-02-2012, 09:18 PM
 
Location: Hookerville, formerly in Tweakerville
15,110 posts, read 32,134,438 times
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I highly recommend having him neutered. He'll still be frisky, but just not intact. He may be deathly afraid to of leaving your house now, but a stray in heat will come by, and he'll change his mind.
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Old 05-02-2012, 09:21 PM
 
Location: Jersey
869 posts, read 1,487,994 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moved View Post
I highly recommend having him neutered. He'll still be frisky, but just not intact. He may be deathly afraid to of leaving your house now, but a stray in heat will come by, and he'll change his mind.
My neighbor has unspayed females and he would rub against the wall between our apartments and spray but would never go near the door. Sometimes he sits in the window and makes noise but he really wont go outside.
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Old 05-02-2012, 10:29 PM
 
Location: home...finally, home .
8,797 posts, read 21,198,469 times
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My neighbor has unspayed females and he would rub against the wall between our apartments and spray but would never go near the door.

Oh, my gosh. For so many reasons , you should definitely have him neutered. Not only will he be happier and healthier,
it's so unfair to the owners of the building and the next tenants of the apartment where you are now living.
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Old 05-02-2012, 10:38 PM
 
2,873 posts, read 5,822,552 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave5150 View Post
My question is whether it would be better to let him go before we move anything in and walk around and check things out OR move our things in and then take him over? Or in the middle, where there is some here and some there.

Also I am aware that its recommended that he be neutered but he is deathly afraid of leaving the house, even to go into the hallway of our building, he is not going to escape and impregnate the neighborhood strays. And my DH prefers him in tact and frisky
Hmmm...I think I would move everything in first, then him. My reasoning is that having his familiar things around him may make him less likely to mark. I could be completely wrong though.

As for the neutering part of it....so long as you can tolerate the marking behavior and the odor and you are responsible enough to make certain he never gets out, I think it's a personal decision. It does put him at an elevated risk of testicular and prostate cancer, but not as elevated as in an unneutered dog. Do keep in mind that if he does ever start marking full time even neutering might not break the habit at that point, so be sure you're committed to keep him if this happens, as it will be a consequence of a decision you made.

As an aside, I actually do love that big tomcat head of an neutered male. We used to have one named Chuck who was a frequent flier at our hospital. Sadly that was because his owners let him out and he constantly had abscesses from cat bites, but he was the friendliest old guy you can imagine. He did make the hospital reek pretty bad though.
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Old 05-02-2012, 10:40 PM
 
2,873 posts, read 5,822,552 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nancy thereader View Post
My neighbor has unspayed females and he would rub against the wall between our apartments and spray but would never go near the door.

Oh, my gosh. For so many reasons , you should definitely have him neutered. Not only will he be happier and healthier,
it's so unfair to the owners of the building and the next tenants of the apartment where you are now living.

I do wonder...how are you dealing with the odor? Is your cat younger? As noted, I'm familiar with the odor of neutered toms and its'...not pleasant. I wonder if he's too young to have developed his full aroma yet?
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Old 05-03-2012, 05:47 AM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,890,740 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave5150 View Post

Also I am aware that its recommended that he be neutered but he is deathly afraid of leaving the house, even to go into the hallway of our building, he is not going to escape and impregnate the neighborhood strays. And my DH prefers him in tact and frisky
What makes him think neutered cats are not frisky? Most people don't neuter indoor-only males because they fear they'll impregnate the local females. My indoor-only male is neutered, has no odor, never sprayed that stinky intact tomcat urine in my home and is as frisky and playful and active as any cat be.
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Old 05-03-2012, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,890,740 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ParallelJJCat View Post

As an aside, I actually do love that big tomcat head of an neutered male.
I have seen those big "tomcat" heads on females and on neutered males both. I have seen intact males that don't have those big heads. If the big head is important, the person can wait and see if it develops and have the cat neutered then. (Seems a silly reason to stall neutering) The head can't shrink due to neutering. But by then the male cat has that disgusting tomcat odor and no amount of scooping and pan scrubbing will keep the home odorless. And if he's already been spraying for awhile, neutering may not stop it.
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Old 05-03-2012, 06:02 AM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,890,740 times
Reputation: 5448
Quote:
Originally Posted by nancy thereader View Post
Oh, my gosh. For so many reasons , you should definitely have him neutered. Not only will he be happier and healthier,
it's so unfair to the owners of the building and the next tenants of the apartment where you are now living.
It's reasons like this that make apartment owners stop allowing their tenants to have pets. The stench of a intact tomcat is truly disgusting and pervasive and can be almost impossible to remove. It permeates flooring and walls... everything in the apartment or house. If this couple is renting you can be sure the owner of the place will not allow pets after this experience. If this couple owns their own home, they will find it even more difficult to sell or rent out, should they need to, if it smells from tomcats.

Once tomcat urine soaks into furniture padding, carpeting/backing and mattresses, porous wood, they may as well be thrown out.
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Old 05-03-2012, 06:50 AM
 
11,190 posts, read 19,354,529 times
Reputation: 23931
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave5150 View Post
We are moving tomorrow and we have a male that is not neutered. He sprayed a few times in our house and on my husbands sweaty work clothes (my husband threatened to pee on him to show him the dominant one! lol). We managed to break the habit by following him around and relocating him everytime he even started to sniff around the few places he was spraying. He now only sprays in the litter box when he gets the urge.

We are moving to a new apartment and I am concerned he will get a little excited or stressed or territorial and mark my new place which will then smell icky! I bought some spray that is supposed to remove the smell and deter him from spraying again.

My question is whether it would be better to let him go before we move anything in and walk around and check things out OR move our things in and then take him over? Or in the middle, where there is some here and some there.

Also I am aware that its recommended that he be neutered but he is deathly afraid of leaving the house, even to go into the hallway of our building, he is not going to escape and impregnate the neighborhood strays. And my DH prefers him in tact and frisky
Tell your DH to get over himself. It's not HIM being neutered.

I think it's cruel to keep a cat intact. Intact cats have biological urges, that, when they are kept from them, can make them really crazy.

As for the stench, I don't understand how anyone can live with it, like someone else said, keeping an intact male in a rented home may make the landlord decide to no longer rent to people with cats.

Keeping a non breeding cat intact, male or female, is irresponsible and cruel. Not to mention, disgusting. A spraying male is not about being dominant. It is about territory and...since he is kept inside, frustration. And...he WILL spray. UGH!
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