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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Um.. It's about testicles

20 replies

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 09:42

The Google search was less traumatic than I thought but also less helpful.

We've an intact 8mo male (obviously, it's about testicles) Bengal x maine coon. Not a pedigree, just lovely.

Had a female cat for 23yrs so am new to the world of boy cats & their funny little fuzzy balls. He's got dark extremities & a pale body so his scrotum (?) is very obvious, this isn't some weird obsession I have. Though I do find them hilarious.

ANYWAY! In the past week they seem to have grown & I don't know if this is normal. They don't look sore or swollen, just uniformly bigger. He's suddenly got much more confident with the dogs too, not aggressive but definitely more confident interacting with all 3 at once.

So is this a developmental thing? He is going to be neutered, the vet wanted us to wait till 1yr due to stress induced ideopathic cystitis (his person had two resi trips in one month & he disapproved so mightily he made himself ill).

I'll ring the vets at the drop of a hat for our animals, day or night, & I'll sell a body part to cover bills if necessary. But I draw the line at 'Hi my cat seems perfectly well but he's got some big ole bollocks, is this OK?' without some input first.

No. Picture. I can't get his consent.

OP posts:
longtompot · 10/11/2023 10:13

Is he an indoor cat?
We discovered when our old boy first started going out was going into our neighbours house, trying it on with their cat, eating her food, and then howling on the end of their bed for more! He was booked in the next day for the snip, but he was a very bolshy ginger tom

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 10:39

@longtompot yes indoor though does go outside in the garden on a tethered lead & harness when he wants. He's a brutal hunter so I'll not subject the wildlife to him, he gets his kicks out of spiders, mice, flies, bees, winding the dogs up & being Toilet Guard.

OP posts:
FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 10/11/2023 10:44

We had a bengal, his balls were massive. First thing dh did when he took him for a kitten check was lift his tail and ask "Is this normal?"

I had him neutered at 20 weeks and looking back should have waited but he was full bengal and unmanageable. He did suffer cystitis which I feel horrible about.

margotrose · 10/11/2023 11:20

I really wouldn't wait until a year - if he's becoming aggressive. Sometimes that kind of behaviour becomes "learned" and they don't forget it even after they're fixed.

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 11:48

@margotrose Oh he's definitely not agressive, that's not what I meant re the dogs. If he's had enough of them he'll chase them off (well, two of them, the other one & he have a special relationship cos she's not an idiot & the boy dogs are.) but doesn't hiss, arch or puff up. He'll bat at them but not slash. We managed their introductions very carefully. It's just he's more confident. We're around a lot so see all these little changes.

He's not aggressive with us either.

OP posts:
margotrose · 10/11/2023 15:11

Ah sorry, I must have misread!

Sarvanga38 · 10/11/2023 15:17

I would think you'll be very lucky indeed to keep him as a pleasant indoor companion for another four months when he is obviously maturing fast!

Toddlerteaplease · 10/11/2023 15:59

Why can't Bengals be snipped at 4-6 months? Just wondering, not being goady?

dementedpixie · 10/11/2023 16:02

Maybe that's him reaching sexual maturity/going through cat puberty.

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 16:17

@Sarvanga38 the maturity thing is what I'm wondering about with the volumous increase in testicle. He's not in the least bit agressive, doesn't like the cold, rain or wind (we're in Cornwall so that's the next 4 months) so his garden time is getting shorter. I'm hoping things will continue smoothly...

OP posts:
Caerulea · 10/11/2023 16:19

Toddlerteaplease · 10/11/2023 15:59

Why can't Bengals be snipped at 4-6 months? Just wondering, not being goady?

I can't speak for all of them but in our case the vet doesn't want to do anything at all to interrupt the physical maturation of his bits & connected tubeage after the cystitis issues as it could cause more issues. Before that he was due to be done at 6 months.

OP posts:
Caerulea · 10/11/2023 16:21

@dementedpixie thank you, that's what I was wondering but have zero experience of male cats & reading up didn't tell me anything about an increase in testicledge.

I guess we are entering unknown behavioural territory for us 😁

OP posts:
FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 10/11/2023 16:28

Can we have a pic of the front end?

I've already seen bengal boy bits so can imagine the back end.

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 16:36

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy ah yes, I didn't pay my taxes.

Here's him after an excellent day of catching voles in the garden & one of him and his playmates.

Um.. It's about testicles
Um.. It's about testicles
OP posts:
FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 10/11/2023 16:47

He looks more siamese x bengal than maine coon. Your poor doggos though!

He's gorgeous, those eyes are hypnotic.

TheLongRider · 10/11/2023 16:50

OP you need this calendar in your life.

Caerulea · 10/11/2023 17:08

@FormerlyPathologicallyHappy He is stunning, honestly. Definitely siamese/Burmese in there somewhere. We just saw mum & dad who were MC & Bengal but who knows ultimately, not a fancy bloodline or anything. Our old cat was a tiny thing, he's already 5kg 😳 & despite the dogs being 4x his size he gives precisely zero shits & loves rough play with the tri-colour especially.

These are his Playing Fetch eyes

Um.. It's about testicles
OP posts:
Caerulea · 10/11/2023 17:09

TheLongRider · 10/11/2023 16:50

OP you need this calendar in your life.

😂 Clearly not just me that thinks they are hilarious!!

OP posts:
Clarich007 · 10/11/2023 23:00

He's gorgeous.I'm glad he's ok but I would be very cautious about not having him neutered until 12 months.We rescued a street cat and he was not neutered until he was 2 years old.He's mostly white and looked as if he had a couple of large hard boiled eggs strapped to his undercarriage .They were enormous.He was aggressive and sprayed all over the house.We had him neutered within 4 days of rescuing.Couldn't get an appointment before that.
But he's now 9 years old and still fights and is very grumpy and bad tempered.

Toddlerteaplease · 11/11/2023 07:55

What a gorgeous boy he is!

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