Dear Sinéad, Siouxsie and Thomas:
My mother has a cat she loves. Over the past few months he has gone from being quite gentle and shy into a street fighter. It's gotten to the point where he looks like and old battered sailor, and my mother has to keep taking him to the vet to be sewn up. I know she has tried everything and talks to him often.

I don't think there's an easy answer for this question, but maybe you have a new angle for us.

Many thanks with love,
Stephen

Sinéad: Well, Stephen, there's one crucial piece of evidence that will help us solve this mystery.

Siouxsie: It's our guess that this boy cat is probably about a year old and not neutered, and that's why he's turned into a fighter.

Thomas: When male cats reach sexual maturity, around 7 months of age, we begin to show signs of our maleness. Physically, you'll see that our jowls (cheeks) start looking fatter. You'll also notice that we begin to take on a muscular look, as if we've been bodybuilding. Our testicles will get bigger, too. I personally was neutered before puberty, so I still have that boyish look about me.

Sinéad: You'll also notice behavioral changes. Male cats begin to roam farther afield if they're allowed to go outside. They begin fighting with other male cats to establish their territories and win the right to mate with female cats. They might also start spraying urine to mark their territory.

Siouxsie: Spraying is not the same thing as simply urinating. When cats -- both male and female -- urinate, they squat in their box and let the urine sink into the litter, and then they bury the dirty litter. When a cat sprays, on the other hand, he backs up to a vertical surface, such as a wall, and urinates against that surface in a series of spurts. Generally, the tail jiggles during the act of spraying, too.

Thomas: For some reason, the urine that is sprayed is a lot more pungent than urine that is simply "tinkled" in the litterbox. You can always tell when a cat has been spraying by the odor.

Sinéad: If your mother's cat has never sprayed inside the house, then she is very lucky indeed. Some cats do limit their spraying to outdoor locations. Our barn cat, Kitty Jim, was one of those outdoor-only sprayers.

Siouxsie: The only real way to keep a male cat from roaming and fighting is to have him neutered. Neutering is a simple surgery in which the male cat's testicles (b) are removed from the scrotum, the sac where they are located. The vas deferens (c), the tubes that connect the testicles to the urethra, are cut and sutured. The penis (e), bladder and urethra are left intact, so the cat can still urinate normally. The incision is so small that it doesn't even require stitches, and usually the cat can go home the same day he has the operation.

Thomas: Studies have shown that neutering reduces roaming, fighting and urine marking behavior by up to 90 percent, and that 60 percent of cats who are neutered show these behavior changes right away. We always thought that cats who are neutered at an older age (such as your mother's cat) would take a bit longer to show these behavior changes, but apparently the age at which the cat is neutered has very little effect on how quickly these behavior changes are manifested.

Sinéad: If your mother has had this cat neutered and he's still showing signs of sexual maturity, there's a possibility that he has an undescended testicle (known as cryptorchidism in medical terminology). When the vet neutered the cat, he or she may have removed the one testicle that was in the scrotum, but the other one may still have been inside the cat. Cats with an undescended testicle are sterile, but the testicle still produces enough male hormones to cause behaviors like fighting, roaming, and spraying.

Siouxsie: It's possible that the testicle eventually descended into the scrotum, or that maybe it's still inside the cat. If the cat has been neutered, it might be a good idea for your mother to ask the vet if he or she made any notes about the surgery. If only one testicle was found, it seems to us that a vet would note such a thing. And, if only one testicle was found, maybe she should look into having an ultrasound done on the cat to see if there's another testicle in there somewhere.

Thomas: Undescended testicles are pretty rare, but apparently Persian and certain other breeds of cats are more prone to the condition. Also, cats are at an increased risk of developing cancer in the undescended testicle, so we would recommend having it removed.

Sinéad: If your mother's cat is neutered and he doesn't have an undescended testicle, then the mystery gets harder to solve. Some cats may become aggressive due to organic brain problems -- either injuries or pathological changes such as infections or tumors. We would think, however, that a cat suffering from brain problems would be aggressive with people as well as with other cats. So we're pretty sure that with this guess we're wandering into the land of hearing thundering hoofbeats and thinking it must be a herd of unicorns running by.

Siouxsie: Basically, Stephen, we think the only way your mother is going to get her sweet kitty boy back is to have him neutered. We strongly recommend that cats be spayed or neutered to prevent the birth of unwanted kittens. Having your cat "fixed" is an essential part of being a responsible pet caretaker.

Thomas: If your mother is on a fixed income and paying for the operation is a problem, there are resources that can help. First, a few states (including our home state, Maine) offer assistance for low-income pet owners who wish to have their cats spayed or neutered.

Sinéad: This website has a list of organizations that provide financial assistance for low-income pet owners.

Siouxsie: Care Credit also offers long-term loans for veterinary care (and medical care for humans, including dentistry!) at low or no interest, for amounts up to $25,000 US. Care Credit is available in the United States and Canada.

Thomas: So, Stephen, we hope we've helped you and your mother solve the mystery of your sweet boy turned street fighter. Good luck to all of you!

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.