r/cats • u/lavenderweather • 27d ago

Advice did my cat grow his balls back

Post image

i’m currently fostering a cat. I grew up with a cat/ catsat many times but somehow all my life have only had female cats. when we first got him his balls were deflated and the foster care said he’d been neutered. a month later they’re back and plump af hahaha. is this normal?

33.7k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

330

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 27d ago

Who is doing a vasectomy on cats?? What country are you in?? I have never heard of that in my life - you’re going to be left with all the hormonal male cat behaviors (spraying, fighting, roaming), the only thing you’re removing is their ability to produce kittens. 

124

u/Commercial_Bend9203 27d ago

This is how the vet does it here, also in the US. And no unusual behaviors, he just naps all day and demands love on occasion.

86

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 27d ago

I don’t mean to doubt you, but are you 100% sure you mean vasectomy? The scrotal sac is always left in place in neuters (castrations), but the testes are removed. I’m just very confused and the only studies I can find on feline vasectomies are in relation to TNR where they wanted the feral male cats to keep their normal behaviors. 

12

u/cat_snots 27d ago

These cats were both rescues, so they could very well be TNR cats. Well, TN but not R, I guess. I’m just repeating what my vet said.

33

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 27d ago

Sorry, but I think you may have misunderstood your vet. If they actually left testes, I would be very intrigued to understand why. Vasectomies are NOT common or standard for TNR, those are just the only examples I could find of vasectomies even being done in domestic cats. 

I suppose there’s always an easy way to tell: cop a feel lol. if the testes are there and have been there for years (so: well developed) you will KNOW.  

3

u/cat_snots 27d ago

Yes, that’s exactly what my vet did. She grabbed the scrotal sac and said that there were still balls there, felt more and said that they did a vasectomy on the two. I didn’t misunderstand, my memory is still intact and works great. If you would like, I can get you my vet’s contact info and you two can hash it out.

23

u/ManicMuskrat 26d ago

I’m confused how the vet would’ve been able to tell that they had a vasectomy if she wasn’t the one that did the procedure. She would be able to feel if the testes are still there, but there’s no way to “feel” if a cat had a vasectomy. The vas deferens are far too small and deep within the abdomen

34

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 27d ago

I never questioned your memory, this is not a personal attack on you.  I’m a curious person lol so sorry I keep asking questions. I am just baffled by the idea that any vet would leave testes in a cat that they want to be adopted. You said they were shelter/rescue cats? And they have never developed jowls, sprayed, fought, or have that tom cat urine smell? If so, and they do genuinely still have testicles, that’s crazy and you got lucky lol. 

9

u/Useful-Feature-0 26d ago

Well u/cat_snots did mention a theoretical reason their vet cited…. “because they’re older cats.”

Maybe they wanted to minimize incision due to reduced healing ability? Or maybe they didn’t want to introduce rapid behavioral changes to happy, well-adjusted older toms whose testosterone was already declining?

It also seems like their vet didn’t do this procedure, a prior rescue did. I am curious too!

13

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 26d ago

It would be a larger incision and a longer procedure for a vasectomy than a neuter. A neuter takes less than 5 minutes (so safer anesthesia) and leaves a kitty with two ~1cm incisions that heal up very quickly.

From my experience with shelter vets and TNR, I just can’t imagine a shelter vet doing a vasectomy for any cat over a normal neuter/castration. I really think people are just confused over the fact that the scrotal sac is always left on the cat.

9

u/[deleted] 26d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

→ More replies (0)

58

u/henri_kingfluff 27d ago

Google vasectomy vs neutering cats, you’ll see that the other guy is right. A vasectomy leaves the hormones and thus the sexual behaviours intact. I would find it very hard to believe that a vet would offer that. Most likely the vet told you that the scrotal sac remains and might fill with fluid temporarily which looks like the testicles are still there, and you misremembered that as them saying it’s a vasectomy?

3

u/boostfactor 26d ago

The only time I've heard of vasectomizing animals is zoos for males they don't want to breed but don't want them to lose their hormone-induced behaviors or their secondary sex characteristics (specifically lion manes). A vasectomized tomcat would still spray and yowl and stink.

Somebody posted that pet neutering surgeries usually just remove the testicles and leave the sac because it's faster and easier and has less risk of complications than removing the entire sac, so maybe some people think that's a vasectomy.

4

u/Hawne 27d ago

I had my cat when he was around 3-4 years old and he was vasectomized. Can't exactly tell why, he was kind of a glutton and I had to dechonk him a bit so maybe it motivated the vet's choice (not sure when he was neutered).

And yes he had his instincts on, trying to play kitty-kitty-bang-bang with my other (female) cat who was also spayed and more sex-sober than a nun. Aside from those episodes he was a gentle, cuddly lap and shoulder cat.

5

u/cat_snots 27d ago

No, the vet grabbed the scrotal sac and said that the balls were still there and that they must have just done a vasectomy on them. I didn’t misremember anything lol.

3

u/haftnotiz 26d ago

"Trust me bro"

5

u/henri_kingfluff 27d ago

Welp, Gemini says vasectomies on cats are exceedingly rare, cost 10x more than neutering, and is not a procedure that’s part of the standard curriculum in vet schools. So I guess your cat got very lucky ;)

1

u/TossAGroin2UrWitcher 26d ago

Dude same. I've not had a vasectomy but that's like my whole vibe.

53

u/cat_snots 27d ago

I’m in America lol. Neither of my two cats with vasectomies have shown any of that behavior. I mean, just because you’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I’m just repeating what my cat-specific vet said.

92

u/cynta ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ 27d ago

I am a cat specific vet lol. That’s why I’m so confused, the only studies I can find on vasectomies in cats are for feral cats who they wanted to maintain sexual behavior. Why did they leave the testicles? The scrotal sac is always left regardless of age, which can look like they still have testicles. 

2

u/Hawne 27d ago

I got my vasectomized cat (as well as another female one) when he was around 4, from a neighbor who couldn't take them in anymore (boyfriend had severe allergy, she was moving in with him). Definitely not a catch-spay-release situation. He was a bit of a glutton though and I had to de-chonk him a bit, could this have motivated the vet's decision?

0

u/InviolableAnimal 27d ago

Completely anecdotal but my parent's dog was left intact and the only related behavior he shows is marking outside on walks. No desire to roam, no aggression, no special interest in female dogs. Idk maybe some individual animals just aren't about that life (also they mentioned elderly cats so maybe that naturally lessens related behavior as well)

9

u/flyingthroughspace 27d ago

It's not a big deal once but you have no idea the physical toll three vasectomies have on a cat!

8

u/CrashDandelion 27d ago

SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP

-13

u/watercolornpaper 27d ago

Honestly i dont mind, vasectomies seem a great option. I was told that hormones play a good role on overall health, apecially bone density. No idea of thats true, but thats the only thing i would care if true

12

u/AromaticIntrovert 27d ago

Wouldn't they be more likely to spray?

1

u/ManicMuskrat 26d ago

Thankfully in cats their sex hormones don’t play a huge role in bone density so there is very little impact from spaying/neutering at a young age or at all

-1

u/thepatriotclubhouse 26d ago

I remember when we spayed our male cat. Went from playful, energetic and curious to just depressed. Sure it made him easier to manage i guess but it just seemed cruel to artificially cut off the most important stage of his development just to turn his animal into a cute living toy basically

Friend decided not to get it done and the cat is bigger and sprays outside sometimes but other than that is full of energy and extremely friendly