Male cat owners face additional challenges because their cats often have additional behavioral problems compared to female cats. The first being that they are more active and need the company of female cats. As a side effect of this need, male cats often try to leave the house. He doesn’t quite run away, though, because they’re so willing to go home after doing the work. The problem is that they face a lot of danger outside the home. They will fight with other male cats. You may also get run over by traffic. These additional fears of owning cats can give owners early gray hair.
For these reasons, veterinarians and many animal rights groups strongly recommend that cat owners neuter their cats. Neutered male cats lose the urge to roam, which makes it easier to keep them close to home. They will stop chasing female cats in heat, and they will stop fighting aggressively with tom cats. No more running away and fighting – all this means they are less likely to get seriously hurt outside the home. Another side benefit is that she will not produce stray kittens from her unauthorized rendezvous with female cats.
Many veterinarians prefer to err on the side of caution and will not neuter male cats until they are one year old. Others are willing to do this as early as four months of age, with some recent studies indicating that even younger kittens do not show negative reflexes. The earlier you get your cat neutered, the better. They are less likely to develop habits of fighting, wandering, and chasing female cats. Despite this, it is better to have them neutered late than not to be neutered at all. As long as the habit is no longer driven by natural instinct, it can be broken and replaced with something else.
With that said, cat cats tend to be more aggressive, whether they are confined or not. While you can’t get rid of this aggression completely, you can reduce it over time. One simple method is to put a collar with a bell on your male cat. What does this do? More often than not, your male cat likes to attack other animals. You will chase them down and ambush them. It is clear that the attacker often has the initiative in the fight. If your cat can startle the other cat and pounce first, he is more likely to win the fight. While winning is generally a good thing, in this case it encourages your cat to get into more fights. Once you pet your cat, it will have a much more difficult time successfully chasing and attacking other cats and animals. Slowly, you will lose the desire to get into fights.
Another problem that is more common in male cats is spraying. Spraying is different from urinating. For one thing, it usually affects vertical surfaces like walls. Your cat does this to mark her territory. Common litter training techniques won’t help. And he will not be punished. One thing you can do is find out your cat’s favorite spray spots, and clean them with some form of enzymatic solution. Ordinary cleaners won’t work – they don’t remove the underlying odors of male cat urine. Your local vet or pet store will likely have something for you. After cleaning, you can spray one of these “pet disposal sprays” to keep the cat away.