We got our daughter a kitten last spring. We know it is important to have dogs spayed and neutered, but is it necessary for cats?

Answer: It is every bit as important for cats to be spayed or neutered as dogs, if not more so. For one thing, cats are reproductive machines. A female cat can have multiple litters in the same year.
The overpopulation of domestic cats in the U.S. and the suffering and death that result are a disgrace because the problem could be virtually eliminated if people would have their cats spayed or neutered before sexual maturity.

In addition, cats benefit from all the same health advantages as dogs when their owners provide them with this surgery. Breast cancer is especially virulent in female cats, and it can be largely prevented by spaying before the first heat cycle. Likewise, ovarian and uterine diseases are avoided.

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to live with most intact male cats, because they are so territorial. They mark their territories and try to attract females by spraying foul-smelling urine seemingly everywhere. This behavior is much less likely to occur if male kittens are neutered.

Cats that are not spayed or neutered are constantly searching for mates, and therefore will take every opportunity to escape the house, placing them in danger of engaging in fights with other animals, acquiring potentially deadly diseases, and being lost or hit by cars.

There is no good reason not to spay or neuter your cat.