Failed Castration?

Soupie · 07-03-2007, 12:20 PM

On the phone to my lil sis last night and she is having lots of problems with her 2 year male cat. He was castrated at minimum age as he was showing tom like tendencies of spraying, humping lil sis's leg

and agression.

Gradually his testes appear to be growing back according to lil sis but vet won't do anything. He is spraying and marking his territory again and humping her leg and is becoming very agressive all over again. I said to ask vet for a blood test but then lil sis says he is so agressive at the vets he has to be sedated for any treatment

He has been getting into more and more fights and is always coming home with abscesses and nasty cuts and bites so lil sis has had to take him to vet a lot and now it is becoming very difficult to examine him.

Is it possible for him to have been castrated and it not to have worked?

dinahsmum · 07-03-2007, 12:29 PM

Wow!
I've never heard of it but it doesn't half sound like he has some excess testosterone in his system.
Could the vet not do a trial with a testosterone supressant pill/jab, or giving him oestrogen? If he calms down, it would show that there is testosterone and they ought to get the boy in and have a look at what is left in his scrotal sac.
Good luck with it.

Fran · 07-03-2007, 01:13 PM

Gosh, I have not heard of this either

It certainly sounds like he needs some tests running. Do let us know how he gets on

Soupie · 07-03-2007, 01:28 PM

I haven't heard of it in cats but have in horses. My sis is finding it increasingly difficult as he is a big cat and she can hardly handle him at all now and yet she needs to as he is scrapping quite a bit and needs tablets and wounds checking and keeping clean.

He has injured his leg as well - strained it not broken and with him being so difficult at the vets I think sis is a bit apprehensive about more vet trips

In horses you can blood test for the hormones so I guess that could be done for cats?

alexgirl73 · 07-03-2007, 01:33 PM

I just read something recently about castration that have taken place where very rarely one testicle has been left behind. It obviously isn't a common occurence but it has been known to happen. I would say to your sis to take him to a different vet!

dinahsmum · 07-03-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexgirl73

I would say to your sis to take him to a different vet!

I agree.
The future does not look good for this boy unless he changes

Maybe he has got a brain problem (psycopathic cat

) and there's nothing that can be done, but I'm sure it would be better to know sooner rather than later. The current vet doesn't sound very sympathetic

Soupie · 07-03-2007, 02:00 PM

When we chatted last night I said to sis to ask for a blood test and if they wouldn't do one then to get a second opinion so glad you agree

That's interesting about the testicle being left behind Alex as in horses it happens like that where the testicle has not decended into the scrotal sac. As Scampi was castrated quite early then I suspect this could be what has happened and would explain the hormones and tom like behaviour.

Fingers crossed it is this and not something more sinister. He is insured and little sis adores him and so will do her best to find the cause and get appropriate treatment for him.

alexgirl73 · 07-03-2007, 02:04 PM

Hope she manages to get some answers soon Soupie! Let us know how she gets on!

Mags · 07-03-2007, 02:17 PM

How strange, I haven't heard anything like this either

I hope your sister's vet (or a different one) can help Scampi......

charliebubs · 07-03-2007, 02:31 PM

Hi Soupie, When one of the testicles hasn't dropped it is called a cryptorchid and can be seen in cats and dogs. When I worked at Wood Green we came accross this fairly often in cats, but the vets always knew that it was the case. I do think that your sis should get a second opinion.

In the meantime, I have found this link....

http://www.2ndchance.info/cryptorchid.htm

this is an extract from the site too...........

"A special problem comes up when an adult dog or cat that appears to be castrated still exhibits male behavior. Here, we can be uncertain if we are dealing with a castrated dog or a cryptorchid dog. Sometimes the retained testicle can be visualized in the abdomen with ultrasound. When this is not the case, the pet can be given an injection of bovine (cow) chorionic gonadotropin. If this hormone causes a rise in serum testosterone level one hour after injection we are dealing with a cryptorchid pet. When this question occurs in a cat, we can examine the penis for spines. Spines are much smaller in castrated cats than in cats that still have their testicles – cryptorchid or not."

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