Time to neuter?

In article ,
lid enlightened us with...

Toms develop thick padding on their cheeks - it helps to protect their
eyes in fights. It gives them a characteristic jowly look.

Check out the picture of Bigfoot in my "Ferals" album:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...404&uid=514878

(He's also in the "Rikers Island Project" album.)



Oh, hey, that's interesting.
I don't see too many unaltered males. Our cats are always neutered and
there are no colonies around here.

Do the jowls go away after neutering, or do they become permanent?

--
--
~kaeli~
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

Toms develop thick padding on their cheeks - it helps to protect their
eyes in fights. It gives them a characteristic jowly look.

Check out the picture of Bigfoot in my "Ferals" album:


Gosh, that's a handsome couple. Yes, that's the look I'm talking about. Boz has
a thick neck, fat cheeks and a big head, all have developed over the past few
months.

Sherry

Toms develop thick padding on their cheeks - it helps to protect their
eyes in fights. It gives them a characteristic jowly look.

Check out the picture of Bigfoot in my "Ferals" album:


Gosh, that's a handsome couple. Yes, that's the look I'm talking about. Boz has
a thick neck, fat cheeks and a big head, all have developed over the past few
months.

Sherry

In , kaeli
wrote:

| Do the jowls go away after neutering, or do they become permanent?

Loss is usual (and gradual), but varies with the cat. They still have
the oversize heads. A lot of the time one can tell that a tom was an
adult in his prime before neutering.

My Scruffy is one such. He has lost just about all of the padding, but
that's due to CRF more than anything else.

In , kaeli
wrote:

| Do the jowls go away after neutering, or do they become permanent?

Loss is usual (and gradual), but varies with the cat. They still have
the oversize heads. A lot of the time one can tell that a tom was an
adult in his prime before neutering.

My Scruffy is one such. He has lost just about all of the padding, but
that's due to CRF more than anything else.

In , itty
(Sherry ) wrote:

| Check out the picture of Bigfoot in my "Ferals" album:

| Gosh, that's a handsome couple.

Ollie and Creamy? Yes. I'll probably have to take that picture down,
though. It was taken by my friend Meredith, and it's now being used on
the Neighborhood Cats website.

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/about/about.htm

There are more pictures of them in these albums

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...009&uid=514878
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...092&uid=514878

(Creamy disappeared Fall '02. Maybe he wandered off in search of fresh
pastures, in that we had never managed to catch him, and we had caught
Ollie, the last intact female, in the Spring.)

| Yes, that's the look I'm talking about.

Bigfoot's jowls are classic.

| Boz has a thick neck, fat cheeks and a big head, all have developed
| over the past few months.

Does his pee stink? (You could also have the vet check his penis for
spines - that would be a sure indication of testosterone in his system).

Or it could be that he's genetically predisposed to look very tommish,
in which case one might wonder what he would look like if he weren't
neutered!;-)

In , itty
(Sherry ) wrote:

| Check out the picture of Bigfoot in my "Ferals" album:

| Gosh, that's a handsome couple.

Ollie and Creamy? Yes. I'll probably have to take that picture down,
though. It was taken by my friend Meredith, and it's now being used on
the Neighborhood Cats website.

http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/about/about.htm

There are more pictures of them in these albums

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...009&uid=514878
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...092&uid=514878

(Creamy disappeared Fall '02. Maybe he wandered off in search of fresh
pastures, in that we had never managed to catch him, and we had caught
Ollie, the last intact female, in the Spring.)

| Yes, that's the look I'm talking about.

Bigfoot's jowls are classic.

| Boz has a thick neck, fat cheeks and a big head, all have developed
| over the past few months.

Does his pee stink? (You could also have the vet check his penis for
spines - that would be a sure indication of testosterone in his system).

Or it could be that he's genetically predisposed to look very tommish,
in which case one might wonder what he would look like if he weren't
neutered!;-)

The kitten in question is an F1, he's born of a feral mother, abandoned
(truly) and rescued, crying, on abandonment day two. We took possession of
him at his 2.5th week. He's been hand raised and travelled all over with
us,
in a kangaroo-pouch since we got him, nearly half the day. He's leash /
harness trained, and pretty well adjusted - except for his inability to
lose
play-fights with our other two kitties. He's got a serious issue with not
knowing when to quit. Stays violent, often times, until he's held for a
few
minutes (usually wrapped up like a kitty-burrito) and has a time to calm
down. We're starting to clicker-train him this week, and since it was
about
time to fix him, i wondered what positive effect it might have on his
anger
management.

b



actually, it mostly likely isn't anger, but a complete lack of understanding
of the rules of the game. when kittens are born, they are taught by their
mother and their siblings where the boundaries are in play. When they bite
too hard or are two rough, the kittens cry out almost as if saying OW, and
immediately stop play. if the rough kitten keeps going, the other kitten
walks away, ignoring the offender. I would recommend the same treatment to
your own little guy. Saying OW in a meow like way, and immediately stopping
all movement and attention. if he continues to be aggressive, say it again,
and put him by himself.

Good luck!

The kitten in question is an F1, he's born of a feral mother, abandoned
(truly) and rescued, crying, on abandonment day two. We took possession of
him at his 2.5th week. He's been hand raised and travelled all over with
us,
in a kangaroo-pouch since we got him, nearly half the day. He's leash /
harness trained, and pretty well adjusted - except for his inability to
lose
play-fights with our other two kitties. He's got a serious issue with not
knowing when to quit. Stays violent, often times, until he's held for a
few
minutes (usually wrapped up like a kitty-burrito) and has a time to calm
down. We're starting to clicker-train him this week, and since it was
about
time to fix him, i wondered what positive effect it might have on his
anger
management.

b



actually, it mostly likely isn't anger, but a complete lack of understanding
of the rules of the game. when kittens are born, they are taught by their
mother and their siblings where the boundaries are in play. When they bite
too hard or are two rough, the kittens cry out almost as if saying OW, and
immediately stop play. if the rough kitten keeps going, the other kitten
walks away, ignoring the offender. I would recommend the same treatment to
your own little guy. Saying OW in a meow like way, and immediately stopping
all movement and attention. if he continues to be aggressive, say it again,
and put him by himself.

Good luck!