Do all uneutered Tom Cats spray in the house?

[borderdawn]

To those that have had uneutered Tom Cats. Do they all smell and do they all spray in the house?

oh and female Cats when they are spayed, is it always on the same side? (apart from mid-line)

[Fran]

Well, Clooney never sprayed in the house at all whilst he was entire and I think Kay keeps her stud boys in the house without them spraying. But I'd hazard a guess that this is the minority and that the majority of entire cats would start to spray at some point.

My vets have always speyed my girls on the same flank, not sure if this is their preference or if there is some anatomical reason for this (would be interested to know myself actually!)

[smudgley]

never had a male cat so can't answer that one, but all the rescues never spray in the pens, but the entire ones urine stinks & once they are neutered (which is ASAP) their urine smells less & less each day over the next few days/week.

Vets usually spay on the left side. I know they think this helps if we have no history on a cat so they can shave and try & check for a scar, but that's about all they can do to see if they've been spayed. Not sure if there's any other reason.

Have only had one spayed midline (I think) & that was to check her as they thought she had a tumour / liver problem, so they opened her up midline for ease.

[dinahsmum]

My only experience is with the stray tom (Mr Balls!) who used to visit us and who I wanted to adopt. He didn't smell in himself and never sprayed when he was in the house.
Smudgley's hypothesis for using one side for speys sounds reasonable.

(btw, my vet student neice will be staying with me for a couple of weeks early next July, whilst she does a placement at a local equine vet practice. She'll be at the end of her third year then. Get your vet-type questions ready! ... but remember her answers will be classroom-type rather than hands on experience. )

[smudgley]

**thinking of questions**

[yola]

My ex-stray who I subsequently adopted and neutered sprayed like crazy; inside, outside . . . wherever he could

[Jac]

C-Fur never sprayed in the house. In saying that though we didn't have him very long

[Rosie]

I used to have a cat called Hissing Sid only it wasn't his hissing that was a problem!! He had been neutered but sprayed everywhere in the house so I don't think the problem is confined to neutered males.

[borderdawn]

Thanks folks. I try to think of Cats on here when they have been spayed, which side its on, its been 15yrs since I had a female spayed! Its just I had a conversation with somebody, who said all female Cats are spayed on the same side, but she didnt know why, she thought it was for some medical reason, the way the organs lie or something, so I thought Id ask on here.

Thanks for the info on males, interesting some do and some dont. Catteries, including ours, wont board an entire male after 8/9mths because of the spraying and the smell is awful, and almost impossible to get rid of. I smelled it at the Cat show I went to, I was heaving!!
Dawn.

[smudgley]