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.

Good tip, thankyou. They're going to be very grumpy with me by the end of their stay!

I'm with a specialist neuter clinic. We never use cones/body suits for either males or females. Pain relief is given at the time of neutering. Males don't need to have anything further. Females are sometimes given an extra two days, but not as standard. With a larger incision, following a gravid spay, we give pain relief for five days.

Cones and days of pain relief are not necessary.