Expert: Jessica - 8/3/2011

Question
My sister brought home a stray male kitten (tabby) last year (he's now 1.5yrs old), and she brought home another stray male kitten last March (that would make him approximately 5.5-6months; he fit in the palm of one hand when we got him). Neither cat has been neutered yet, but they're indoor cats, and neither have sprayed, nor are there any non-spayed female cats around.

To my family's shock and surprise, the older male cat immediately took to caring for the new male kitten, and to this day, they play together, groom each other and sleep together. Furthermore, both of them are lap kitties, and are very well socialized and friendly with people, even strangers, and other spayed cats in the household. My question is this: if they're not showing any aggression and aren't spraying either, do they still need to be neutered? What are the chances that they'll start spraying? If the 1.5yr old male is already past sexual maturity, and hasn't sprayed or shown aggression, is it likely that it'll still happen? As far as I'm aware, there are no un-spayed female cats anywhere near our street, and we have a large property at that; could one of our male cats detect a female cat from miles away?

The 1.5yr old cat is a mixed tabby cat and the 6 month old kitten is half Siamese, half tabby.

Answer
Hi Heather,

Some toms never end up spraying. However, more than 9 out of 10 do. It’s a behavior you should expect. As a general rule, tom cats spray, and those who live with other males are more likely to do it than those who live alone. They are also very likely to begin fighting with one another once the younger ones testosterone levels really start to reach their peak, around a year old. A male can pick up the scent of an unspayed female from miles away, so chances are there will be some competition at some point. If the younger male reaches maturity and starts spraying, this will very likely trigger the older male to spray.

I do recommend neutering to prevent spraying, fighting, and also because it will eliminate the risks of testicular cancer and infections. You can use a wait and see approach, but by then, you might have some hard to remove urine stains in the home, and spraying might be a habit. Worse, you might have cats who have developed aggression problems with each other. Since neutering is safe, quick and relatively inexpensive, I always recommend doing it before any problems start.

Good luck!

Jessica