Every year the RSPCA deals with the consequences of unwanted cats and litters of kittens. Often the litters are accidental and can be prevented by neutering – we are able to provide help neutering your cat or kitten in certain circumstances (see below)
We recommend neutering your kitten at four months – just before they are able to have kittens of their own.
The benefits of neutering a female cat can include:
- preventing behaviours associated with being in ‘heat’, which can include calling, spraying, and trying to escape or wandering further than normal
- reducing the risk of womb infections
- reducing the risk of tumours and certain cancers, for example mammary cancer (which is over 90% less likely if cats are spayed before six months old)
- helping your cat to stay healthy. Female cats can have up to 18 kittens a year which is a lot of extra mouths for owners to feed and rehome, and can cause females to lose condition and be more vulnerable to disease
The benefits of neutering a male cat can include:
- reducing the risk of them roaming far away to find a mate, therefore making it less likely they will get lost or injured in a car accident
- reducing the risk of them fighting with other males, which in turn can help to prevent them contracting and spreading infectious disease such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)
- reducing the risk of spraying in the house
Follow this link for more guidance: Kitten Neutering Database (cat-kind.org.uk)
RSPCA Sussex North and Brighton Branch offers some heavily subsidised neutering for dogs, cats and rabbits for owners on named benefits or low incomes. Neutering is essential for a happy healthy life for your pet and prevents unwanted litters and animals ending up in rescue. We ask owners to contribute to neutering costs:
£75 for a dog spay, £55 for a dog castration
£25 for a cat spay, £20 for a cat castration
£5 for a rabbit spay/castration
Please contact us for help with neutering, by phone on: 01273 554218 – from 10.30am – 4pm daily.
As a charity we need to make our resources go as far as possible and the help we give is means tested.