I've a stupid question about knowing a (stray) cat's sex and if it is neutered or not

[DodoRevival]

There's a cat on my estate that's quite agressive. He's bitten my own cat several times already, and has (I've just learnt) go for a neighbours puppy.

I'm just back from the vets with my Gentle Ginger Giant having had him once agian need an injection of antibiotics and a pain killer.

Now the thing is I'm assuming the cat is male and not neutered (because I've seen him spray a lot) but I don't actually know for certain AND I don't know how I know 😳 (without handling the cat mind you I'm not too sure I'd know if I did handle him 😳😳)

If he's not neutered I'd be more than happy to pay for the op myself if it meant his aggression would lessen (well even if it doesn't it'd be better for any unspayed female cats he comes across)

But how do I tell (said it was a stupid question!!) is it obvious like a dog? My own cat was neutered early and I didn't check what he looked like prior!

The man that this agressive cat seems to live with claims the cat is nothing to do with him.

To be blunt you can usually see their balls! Contact cats protection not sure if it's just a London thing but where I am they will neuter strays for free if you contact them and tell them where they can find the cat.

Yes you do see their balls.

Harder on a fluffy cat but they are visible

Are you certain he's a stray? If you can trap and neuter you're probably doing the whole neighbourhood a favour but if there's a tiny chance he's owned, you can't do that

It's usually obvious, they have balls like conkers. Ours is neutered but is still the most territorial aggressive little shit bag in the street.

If you do trap and neuter make sure you've either kept him in your house overnight, if he aspirates vomit during the anaesthetic it's really difficult for the vet to deal with.

Mine still has tiny balls despite neutering.

He's quite fluffy but I'll try look

Man whose house he (as in the cat) lives in has directly said he (the cat) is not his (that's the man) responsibility.

I'm asking as I want to contact the local cat charity to help TNR and don't want discover he's actually neutered (know that male cats still stray and are aggressive even after neutering).

So he lives in the house but it doesn't belong to his owner?

Sounds like he doesn't really want a cat OR is trying to wiggle out of paying vet bills

Have you offered him the neutering thing to see what he says?

Bet he would say no.

Yes the balls are quite obvious if you can get close enough. There's an uneutered tom around the corner from us and he has a distinctive walk too as if to say hey I still have my nuts. He is an arrogant cat too-shouted at me in the street for no reason!

We had this. I borrowed a trap from the local cat charity and trapped him. Turns out he is neutered and chipped and lives down on the main road and called Yoda. I was a bit embarrassed and brought him home again and released him. He still spends hours in our garden and bites my cats all the time. Has cost me a fortune in antibiotic injections and abcess draining ops.

He 'can't afford it' too (heard that from my son who just told me he asked the man why the cat wasn't neutered)

There was a cat on the estate years ago who used to walk with a limp. I spotted a growth on the cat's leg took him to the vets and cat turned out to be toothless, underweight and to have a tumour. It was only after the cat was pts I discovered the man 'owned' him.

My neutered boys do still have fluffy balls (!) but they look sadly deflated. Unneutered stick out more. Best bet is to just take him to a vet to be sure.

Sounds like he shouldn't be owning animals really

No he shouldn't.

But I need to do something about this cat, mine can't keep on being attacked by it. I might as well have a direct debit into my vets to at this point.

So the cat who had to be pts through neglect/tumour, and the entire tom belong to the same person? Same person, 2 neglected cats?

I'd be ringing the local cat charities to see what can be done. I'm sort of loathe to mention RSPCA, but I think they're the only organisation who can take a person to court, to prevent them from having more animals, that they neglect. Why acquire a pet if you "can't afford to" give it basic care?

And yes, you can see an entire tom's balls - they stand proud. They look like an empty, fluffy purse once they've been neutered. The vet only removes what's inside the scrotum.

Hopefully TCN, who works with neglected cats will be along soon to give some good advice.

Yes, get him neutered (but he should stay inside for at least five days afterwards to let him recover from the anaesthetic and to make sure the wound doesn't get dirt in it). Do you have a spare room you could put him in?

If not, perhaps you could borrow a hospital basket from the vet to keep him in.

Unneutered males (Toms) have big heads/faces

I'm not in England either but I'll contact the cat charity who helped me with the previous cat (I don't know for certain he 'owned' the cat who I took to the vet it was my neighbour who said it was his after I told her that I'd taken the cat to the vet and he had be put to sleep). The man isn't seen very often, he's quite the loner.

I don't have a spare room here unfortunately but I'm back in the vet tomorrow with my own cat so I'll chat with them (they are in fact the vets that help the cat charity).