Fertility Testing Before Neutering

[Trish Allearz]

Completely correct, Shelby, the personality you are loving Sunny is partly BECAUSE of the neuter. This has allowed your Savannah male to be a good pet.

My stud Zak is a very loving Savannah male and like his greatgrandfather Kashka, I so look forward to the day he can be neutered and be a loving housepet. BUT his every waking moment is prioritized for available female cats... he cries for them, he is always looking for them. Although he doesn't spray very much his urine reeks. As a kitten he was the most loving of boys, a great housepet, but as he came to sexual maturity you could see his focus changing. Those hormones have a STRONG effect on our cats.

And as Shelby notes, the unpredictability of an intact male cat is dangerous. Many a person has ended up with serious injury from a split-second change in behavior from a stud male.

YES- B- exactly. Liam is the same way. He does not give a whit for me- he'll let me love on him and he is cool with it, but he is ALWAYS looking for a girlfriend. ALWAYS. Like a heat seeking missile!

 

[Trish Allearz]

I was just saying today to Mrs CC i wish they had re-palacement ball for when triton get done,and here they are.I will do this if its safe,anyone done or know of anyone doing it.

Yes, Neuticles are safe.

And by all means- if that's what it takes for you to get your cat neutered at the appropriate age- go for it. Just realize- if he ever got out, it could mean he ends up neutered twice if the shelter gets ahold of him (I think they'd snip first, ask questions later).

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Yes, Neuticles are safe.

And by all means- if that's what it takes for you to get your cat neutered at the appropriate age- go for it. Just realize- if he ever got out, it could mean he ends up neutered twice if the shelter gets ahold of him (I think they'd snip first, ask questions later).

Oh what a waste of money that would be... those things aren't cheap I'd think?

 

[Trish Allearz]

Oh what a waste of money that would be... those things aren't cheap I'd think?

Nooo- I want to say they were probably about $80. Okay- google to the rescue- they START at $94.

 

[Trish Allearz]

They make eye implants too!

http://www.neuticles.com/eyeimplants.php

Kinda neat, but silly... My one eyed old man doesn't care about his one eye.

 

[SV Dad]

So I suspect that you men take this more seriously than the cat does...

Whoa! Wait a sec. First of all, when I took Rascal out for his beer (it's a thing we men do with our newly neutered cats, just ask John Popp.) he lamented that he would never know what he missed. He pointed out it was quite hypocritical of me to clip him, and yet I shudder at the thought of being clipped myself. Rascal pointed out that since I had decided to halt descendant production, why didn't I just clip myself. He had a point.
Secondly, no red blooded male tolerates emasculating very well. It's a macho thing.
But I finished the conversation noting that the only time I ever marked the neighborhood was when I was drunk.. And I would probably have done it , clipped or not!

 

[ScottKelly911]

I think one of the things you might be missing is.....the neutered male is a happy go lucky boy that is not torn between their love for you as the human parent and their love of a female in heat. I know that the female in heat will win out no matter how much that boy loved you prior to reaching sexual maturity. I will also say that intact males can be a holy terror. Not only will they spray everything in your house, they have been known to attack a human that they see as a threat if there is a female in heat...anywhere around them. Just think long and hard about what you will be able to accept if left intact. You know they are sweet now. If you decide to keep him intact....remember when the spraying or acting out happens...IT IS NOT HIS FAULT. Be careful what you wish for.

Shelby and everyone else who has given their input, thank you. I agree with what you have all been saying. Tomorrow, I'm making my appointment to have Shelby clipped. Quick question and may seem dumb, but should I have a vet that's worked with SV's before do this type of procedure? Reason I ask is my vet that I use is far away and does house calls but he suggested to do this procedure, that I have it done by a nearby veterinary office as to not risk infection as well as having all equipment and medications available should something go wrong like an allergic reaction etc. Reason I ask if having SV experience is because I don't know if when they do things such as anesthetize them if it's done by weight of the animal or other factors. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[shelby]

I think you will be safe with any reputable vet. You might call several...asking price of neuter and the medications that will be used during surgery.This way you will at least have a choice ...since you won't know any of them;>)

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I don't think that Savannahs need a specialized Savannah vet, they need a good kitty vet. And one that is not put off by the thought of the breed as there still are some vets that seemingly are scared by the thought of the Savannah and assume they are "wild and dangerous"...

 

[ScottKelly911]

I just wanted to update everybody on Shelby. I did have him fertility tested. I just wanted to know for sure and didn't know if him being an F3B as opposed to an F3C gave him an increased chance of being fertile. I know the chances of him being fertile were slim and none and Slim had apparently left the building. As expected, Shelby was shooting blanks. There were absolutely no sperm in his semen at all. No deadsy's, no deformed swimmers, nadda, nothing, zilch With the peace of mind knowing he was sterile, I set up an appointment to have him Neutered. He quickly nudged his way into the hearts of all the Dr.'s, assistants and patients that met him. He even made a friend in the waiting room, a French bulldog that was white and had a black patch over her eye that reminded me of Petey from The Little Rascals. They nosed each other and Shelby just kinda hung out while she sniffed him. Once in the exam room, Shelby was nervous about the visit but didn't hiss, scratch, bite or even protest once. After the initial exam (found out he has a grade II heart murmur that will require further analysis ), I left my little guy in the care of Dr. Furhman. Everything went smoothly and I picked him up a few hours later. He didn't even require being put in a carrier. He's such a good boy! I know this was the right choice and he'll be happy about it once the pain subsides, he's on pain killers now, but only for a short while.

An alternative suggestion, if you are interested, is to send off a cheek swab, as well as the testicles once neutered to Dr. Bill Murphy at Texas A&M who has been doing fertility research in the hybrid cats for years now. If you email him, he will send you all the information you need (if I recall correctly, although it's been a few years since I've done this, he will also send the packaging to ship the testicles). His email is: WMurphy@cvm.tamu.edu

Patti, Thank you so much for suggesting to get in contact with Dr. Murphy. He did take interest in Shelby and sent me a package and seemed quite happy that I was interested in having Shelby as part of his research. My Vet, Dr. Furhman was glad to be part of this and followed all instructions and I shipped the package as instructed immediately after I dropped Shelby off at home. Hopefully Dr. Murphy will stay in contact and let me know what information, if any, can be ascertained by Shelby's specimens. Thanks again!