Last Thursday we had a neutering session here at the adoption centre and one of the cats being neutered had a special condition called Cryptorchidism. Cryptorchidism is a condition characterized by incomplete or non-existent descent of the testes. The testes normally descend into the scrotum while an animal is still very young. For cats, the testes have generally dropped into place before birth. When the descent of one, or both, of the testes does not take place, the testis that has not descended is retained somewhere in the lower part of the body.
This abnormality can occur in almost all breeds, with the right and left testes failing to descend at equal frequency. One-sided failure to descend is more common than both sides failing to descend.
Neutered male cats are:
- Less likely to roam, reducing the risk of them being run over
- Less likely to fight, reducing the risk of them getting injured
- Less likely to contract serious diseases such as feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) or feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) through fighting
- Less likely to display territorial behaviour such as spraying
- Unable to develop tumours of the testicles
The cat in question a lovely ginger and white male named Stig had seen our vet Fiona before a few weeks early and we noticed that one of his testes had not dropped. He came back on Thursday to be neutered. This was a quieter session as it this operation takes longer than a regular castration. When Stig arrived we noticed that both of his testes were now retained inside the body. Fiona went ahead and operated on the day.
The photos above were taken during the surgery. We are happy to say that Stig has recovered very well. He can now lead a happy normal life and his owners will have peace of mind knowing that he can now no longer develop testicular cancer.
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