Inappropriate pee-ing, will neutering help?

[mobear]

I have a 4-year old BSH and she has gone through spates of inappropriate pee-ing which I now think might be due to the fact she’s not neutered. Has anyone noticed an improvement in this after having their cat neutered?

She’s a tiny little thing and I had been hoping she’d bulk up a bit before we had her ‘done’, but she’s not going to get any bigger at this point so it seems pointless waiting.

It may or may not solve the issue. Neutered cats are less likely to urinate where you don’t want them to but it’s not a guarantee. The behaviour might just be too ingrained now, even if it was initially related to being unneutered. There are lots of other good reasons to get her spayed though, so definitely do it,

The size thing is confusing me a bit, as cats neutered as kittens grow larger than those that aren’t. Your cat would have grown more if it was neutered whilst still young. Who advised you that leaving her unspayed would bulk her up?

@MadameMinimes I think it was that when I first approached a vet about getting her neutered the vet told me she was on the small side and to wait a bit. I then asked if there was any harm in waiting longer and they said no, but it needed to be done before a certain time to reduce her risk of cancer in later life. She’s an indoor cat, for now, we’re moving and will have a garden next year, so I had intended to get her done before then anyway.

@MadameMinimes Also she goes through spates. I think twice in the last 9 months. So I’m hoping for that reason it’s not too ingrained at this point.

Why have you left her unspayed until that age? It's so dangerous

Please get her fixed. Even if it doesn't fix the urination issues it will very likely save her life. Pyometra is not pretty.

@icedcoffees Because I wasn't aware of Pyometra (which I have now looked up). I asked the vet if there were any risks in delaying it as she is currently an indoor cat and he said no, not until she was older when cancer may become an issue.

You may be in luck and find that it helps. I hope so.

You might also find that spaying combined with a house move breaks the habit. I’m assuming you have multiple litter trays in different places already in case it’s something like another cat at the window spooking her?

@MadameMinimes Yes, we’re in an upper level flat though - so no risk of other cats at the windows! We do have another cat but they get along well. We also have a 9-month old, and they have definitely both found that unsettling (we have Feliway everywhere), but the pee-ing pre-dates him. I’m sure it hasn’t helped though.

@MadameMinimes I should also mention it’s only tiny little wees she’s doing in odd places - she still uses the litter box normally.

Thanks so much for all your comments!

I have BSHs, definitely get her done. They are a slow maturing breed so I have heard of people waiting however it does often lead to undesirable behaviour.

I'm on a Facebook group for BSH breeders and owners, it's really helpful for things like this. Could probably gives tips on bulking her up too.

Lots of small wees suggests UTI, which is often stress related.

Thanks @BridgetInHerBravery. I’ve had her checked over twice for a UTI on previous occasions and it wasn’t that, but I will ask the vet to check again if I take her in to be neutered.

@bshfan They’re funny little things (or not so little things, in some cases!), aren’t they! I don’t often use Facebook, but I’ll have a look. Thanks!

It depends why she's peeing indoors. It's often stress related

This article has good info icatcare.org/advice/soiling-indoors/

[quote mobear]@icedcoffees Because I wasn't aware of Pyometra (which I have now looked up). I asked the vet if there were any risks in delaying it as she is currently an indoor cat and he said no, not until she was older when cancer may become an issue.[/quote]
I would be really angry with your vet if I were you. He has put your lovely cats welfare at risk

Repeated heat cycles in cats are dangerous - there is absolutely no benefit to keeping a female cat un-spayed. Pyometra can spring up on any un-neutered female and by the time it's visible to us, your cat already has a raging infection that means they need emergency surgery or they'll die.

Please please get her neutered. Even if it doesn't stop the weeing it will save her life.

@icedcoffees

Please don't be overly dramatic.

The key phrase is 'repeated heat cycles'
It generally takes years for pyometra to become a risk. It sounds as if the OP's cat is young, is seeing a vet fairly regularly and that the delay discussed was relatively short term.

[quote Veterinari]@icedcoffees

Please don't be overly dramatic.

The key phrase is 'repeated heat cycles'
It generally takes years for pyometra to become a risk. It sounds as if the OP's cat is young, is seeing a vet fairly regularly and that the delay discussed was relatively short term.

[/quote]
I'm not being dramatic.

My old cat was the same age as OP's when she got pyometra herself. Like OP I'd never heard of it and didn't understand the dangers of leaving females unspayed.

She was four and had to be rushed into the vets and kept in overnight for emergency surgery. The only clue I had that she was unwell was a tiny bit of bloody discharge. She was absolutely fine in herself - eating, drinking, playing etc.

Our vet said if we'd not spotted the discharge and brought her in when we did, it was likely we'd have lost her. She needed surgery and was in the vet overnight afterwards as she also needed IV fluids.

It cost me almost £1000 and wasn't covered by insurance as they said we'd chosen not to spay her.

Then I understand your anxiety.

Yes pyometra can be life threatening but it generally occurs in only 25% of unspayed cats and dogs and affects middle aged to older animals.

It doesn't sound like the vet suggested the cat should not be spayed ever (and spaying can itself increase some disease risks) but only that it would be ok to wait a bit.

I think it's very easy to be 'really angry' when you don't have all the information, but making an automatic assumption that an Animal care professional has put the OP's cat's welfare at risk based on an internet thread with minimal information is an enormous and unfair leap. You have no idea what the vet actually said or what the specifics of the advice was.

You have no idea what the vet actually said or what the specifics of the advice was.

No, but I also don't know any good reason to leave a female cat unspayed (unless the surgery would kill her).

Standard advice now is to get your cats neutered as soon as possible, not to leave them to go through four years of heat cycles.

I also have a very small (spayed) female and so I do understand OP's concern re. size and weight but is it not generally much much safer to get your female cat fixed?

What reason would there be to not do it?

To allay everyone’s fears, she’s booked in to be neutered early next week.

And @icedcoffees, I’m sorry you had such a bad experience, but to answer ‘What reason would there be not to do it?’, as I’ve already said I was advised there was no reason to do it until she was older. Googling, it it appears Pyometra is more common in older cats so perhaps this is why the vet didn’t consider it a risk until later, along with cancer, by which time she would have been done.

In any event, she’s going to be done next week now as it would have needed to be done soon anyway when she’s given access to a garden.

What reason would there be not to do it?’, as I’ve already said I was advised there was no reason to do it until she was older. Googling, it it appears Pyometra is more common in older cats so perhaps this is why the vet didn’t consider it a risk until later, along with cancer, by which time she would have been done.

I'm still pretty surprised that a vet would recommend a female go through four years of heat cycles for no reason, but I'm glad you're getting her booked in.

It seems like such a no-brainer to me. A standard spay takes 20-30 minutes and the cat can come home a few hours later, whereas the operation for pyometra is more complex, more expensive and often involves multiple overnight stays at the vet.

I do really think the risks of pyometra need to be more widely advertised. I would never ever leave a female unspayed now having seen what my poor girl went through - she was really poorly

I'm still pretty surprised that a vet would recommend a female go through four years of heat cycles for no reason, but I'm glad you're getting her booked in.

Where in earth does the OP say that? She's clearly said

I think it was that when I first approached a vet about getting her neutered the vet told me she was on the small side and to wait a bit. I then asked if there was any harm in waiting longer and they said no, but it needed to be done before a certain time to reduce her risk of cancer in later life.

There's no suggestion the vet 'recommended 4 years of heat cycles' so please stop using your creative writing skills as an excuse to attack an professional based on your clear misunderstanding of the advice they gave.

As you have another cat, could it be that she's found the litter tray not quite to her liking and peed elsewhere?
One of my cats (as a kitten) constantly peed in the house as she disliked sharing a litter tray. (We had several but our other kitten would scent new litter as soon as it was changed).
Has her smallness been checked? Could there be anything underlying?