Can I neuter stray cats?

[NotDarkGothicMama]

There are a bunch of stray Tom cats locally who are quite friendly - so not feral - but not microchipped or seemingly owned by anyone. They've been reported to the RSPCA and Cats Protection but they're full to bursting and can't take them at the moment.

Would it be a terrible thing to book them in to a vet for neutering, then put them back? My thinking is then at least they won't be fighting over females or getting them pregnant.

Yes in theory this would be ok if you are happy to pay for the cost of neutering but I’d also check with local vets if they know of any feral cat organisations. Also I’d recommend having a read of this https://icatcare.org/working-with-unowned-cats

I work in animal welfare in case that matters but not with feral cats. If you tell me roughly where you are in the country and I can try and see if someone at work knows of any cat welfare organisation that does stray neutering

That's a great resource, thankyou.

I'm in touch with various local rescues and know they're run off their feet at the moment. This just seemed like something I could do to help. The trouble is that I don't know whether it's ok to just put them back. Do they need microchipping and if so, do I then become liable for their care forevermore? Ear tipping? I have no idea. I will have a good read of that website and have a chat with the local cat rescue lady.

The vet won't make you microchip them. They will recommend it but won't force you.

I'd be kind of surprised if you could get them into carriers easily? Domestic cats are hard enough!

As DiscoBob said, you might struggle to catch them. Usually ‘cat trappers’ use specialised equipment to do it.

On your other point, if the vet is aware that they are feral, they shouldn’t make you microchip them but the law has changed for pet cats. And yes you can and should (!) put them back in the same place where they usually roam/live.

Yeah the rescue I foster for will return them to where they came from usually if they are too spicy or if they have no room with the view to trap again if room becomes available. It’s better for them as will get in less fights and stop making babies

I'd definitely put them back where I found them, just not sure whether they'd need identifying in some way. I'd take photos and details to update the rescues who have them on their waiting lists.

They're friendly boys and happy to get into a carrier in exchange for some nosh (I've taken several to the vet for chip checks already). Ferals are beyond my capabilities.

The local RSPCA do this. They call it Trap Neuter Release (TNR). I think that this would be a marvellous thing to if you can afford it. It will not only stop them from breeding, it will stop them fighting with each other and any neutered pet cats in the area. My neighbour and I are considering doing this with a tom that bullies my cat, eats all of their food and sprays in the neighbour's house.

As a vet we work with charities to neuter colonies as we know the charity will have investigated the colony and ensured no one owns it.
But a member of the public turning up with cats stating they are paying to neuter them we would be very wary of - how do we know you are not in dispute with your neighbour over their unneutered cat and have caught it to sort the problem yourself. We don’t we could be in very hot water if we allowed an unauthorised agent to consent to a surgical procedure.

In Spain this is quite common and they take a tiny 'v' shaped bit out the tip of their ears so that they are easily identified as having been neutered.

@Needanadultgapyear - presumably you could check the chip details, as every pet cat must be chipped by law?

When it is done in an organized manner, they’ll usually clip their ear during the surgery to avoid the cat being recaptured for neutering/spaying. Not sure if that can be done here (it’s super common where I live in South-East Asia).

I take the unclaimed stray/ferals to my vets for neutering. Providing an effort to trace an owner (unless properly feral) has been made my vets are happy to neuter. I've taken over 15 over the years.
Far better from a welfare perspective to neuter.

Despite the law having changed there are still a significant number of unchipped cats out there. There is no one policing the law so many clients whilst you advise them of it they ignore it.

Interesting. I've already had one random cat spayed because she had someone feeding her who was happy to keep on looking after her if I sorted it. The vet asked where she'd come from, I explained she'd been hanging around for weeks, been paper collared and posted on SM, and they were ok to go ahead.

I understand TNR as return to somewhere the cats have people willing to feed them daily and monitor their health, as well as keep an eye out for newcomers. I don't have capacity to set that up, hence asking if what I can offer is better than nothing.

I would look for a local organisation properly doing trap, neuter, release. They will be thrilled if you offer to pay but will be equipped to trap and record. Normally they will also do a set of vaccines at the same time. Whereabouts are you

It's also standard here.

Of course it's better than nothing. If the cats aren't currently starving then they are managing to find food somehow, even if you haven't worked out how.

I've asked my cats' vet practice whether they have any rules on neutering strays. The weekend staff weren't sure so I sent a follow-up email and am waiting to hear back from their manager.

Of course vets can neuter strays! How ridiculous they even have to ask. What do you think rescues do? As long as someone is paying and the cat isn't chipped then there is no problem.

I've stressed that I chip check, paper collar, talk to neighbours and post on local groups on SM. I'm not just kidnapping people's pets. Hopefully they'll be on board as they're only round the corner. The vet the local rescue I know uses is an hour and a half round trip in ok traffic.

What are you going to do about keeping them in post neutering?

That is so kind of you. But they will need to be in a donut/recovery thing around its neck to stop it licking the wound; and also pain meds should they be in pain - for at least 2 weeks post-op.. females take longer due to their anatomy.

Wish there were more people like you around op.

Pop them in a crate each with food, water, an igloo bed and a litter tray, keep an eye on them and pop the boys back the next morning if they're ok and the girls back after their pain meds are finished.

My boy cat had a cone post-op, but he got it off within 10 minutes of getting home and never showed any interest in licking his incisions. Girl cat went to the rescue vet as my usual vet doesn't do early spays. The vet there advised against using one entirely unless she was licking. Again, totally fine.

Sounds like a plan. They definitely won't need cones. It's best to keep the boys a few days to make sure everything is properly healed. Boys incisions are more likely to get infected than girls because of the positioning.