I believe that some people are searching for information about whether a cat’s behaviour after spaying changes because they believe that a queen needs to have a litter of kittens to be psychologically fulfilled. My impression is that a segment of cat owners believe that their female cat should have at least one litter before they are spayed in order to ensure that the cat’s personality is the best it possibly could be. This is not true, I say, and I’m sure that the experts will back me up.
The first picture below is of a fine looking spayed tabby and white. All the cats are from Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue on Flickr…..
Neutering Cats
In addition, the spaying operation, which is called an ovariohysterectomy, will not change her basic personality except perhaps to make her less irritable at certain times of the year. Neither will the operation effect her hunting instincts. A female cat who has been spayed makes a first class household cat companion able to devote herself more completely to her human family because she is less distracted by mating behavior and instincts.
Neither does spaying a female cat make her fat and lazy. It is said that by coincidence the queen (unspayed cat) is usually spayed at the time that she enters adulthood which is when she requires less food anyway. If a female cat eats the same high calorie kitten diet she will put on weight and some people may inadvertently blame the spaying operation for this increase in weight. The best time display a female is at 5 of 7 months of age before she enters her first heat.
Female cats who are not spayed can become very affectionate and clingy at the time they are in heat. They will tend to be calmer and more independent after being spayed.
Another reason why a cat may put on weight after the operation is that she would have spent a lot of energy in heat and in seeking a mate. In addition she would have spent more energy when pregnant and in feeding her kittens. Remove these aspects from her life and there is a possibility that she may gain some weight. The answer is to ensure she has a well-balanced diet and to keep her active by playing with her more often.
It is said that the operation will, on average, extend her life by avoiding certain potential health problems and of course most importantly the operation prevents her from bringing unwanted kittens into the world.
One last point: after the operation it may be preferable to leave her at the veterinarians clinic overnight to assist her to recover better from the operation as she can be kept very quiet and under supervision at the clinic while recovering from the anaesthetic. The alternative is to bring her home after the operation which requires much more care. Obviously she will be groggy and possibly uncoordinated and may even be more aggressive than normal. Any young children in the household should be kept away.
Source: Book 1 on this page and general web surfing.
I just had my kitten spayed she’s about 6 months & she is not hungry much & seems more moody & skittish is this a common thing ? Its been a week since she had surgery so we let her go outside for awhile today hoping that would improve her mood.
I would be a little bit more patient and wait to see what how her mood develops. It is quite a big operation and she’s probably feeling the effects of it still. She probably feels pain and discomfort. Her appetite has dropped a bit and she is tender hence the skittishness. Watch her and check she is healing nicely. If not call your vet. You might even call your vet anyway for reassurance. Thanks for asking and visiting.