Hi. Everything I write about is about my pup, now I want to bend your ears about my cats :)

I have never been a cat person, had never really met a nice one and thought all were the same. Untill I met my current bf 4years ago, and his 2 family cats. I adored them, and them me. They were lovely. Sadly they both passed away within the same year, an accident and a poisoning :( As I then loved cats and missed them terribly I decided to get a kitten (Nemo, name chosen by my son). He was adorable and full of character. I then had a phone call of a friend who also had one from the same litter and she wanted to know if I would take in Edward, the brother, which I did, twice the size of nemo twice as fluffy and totally diff in personality.

Nemo - Quite small, quite timid with things ie noices cars etc but at the same time 'the boss' and picks on the 'big un' (edward). Bags of charactor, very funny little chap, pulls funny faces, goes around shouting at everyone and everything, and talks to you if you say the right things to him :) We always say he is a bit gay hehe he walks with such elegance and if he comes for a cuddle every step he takes on you he shakes his paws haha Not really a 'fussy' cat more of a lap cat but still allows you to fuss him when ever you want for as long as you want, you can basically do anything you like with him, but will never hear him purrrrrrrr lol

Edward - Big, Fluffy, confidence (but not with other cats). VERY loving, sits on your shoulder all day long (well used to) follows me to shop and into the shop and all around the shop, comes with me and my son to the park and follows us up the slide hehe always purring, gets as close to you as poss, loves fuss, if you dont stroke him he does all sorts to get your attention. Never ever played with you even as a kitten unlike Nemo. Just a lovable giant. But not all the time :( He goes out ALOT, weeks at a time and I know come summer I wont see him like last summer :( and he gets knots :( that I have to cut out, and its painfull for him, so basically all summer cant fuss him he is on edge to much. and rest of the year he is unrelyable, one min having a fuss next min going to attack you :( Or he could be sat on his own, u sat down, nothing happens but then he just starts :( and I hate it becasue I know how he usually is :(

Well sorry for all that just got carried away, I love my cats and just wanted to share about them but ill ask myquestion now :) Would neutoring help with edwards occasional agression and dissapearings ?? and also would it be wise to get Nemo done aswell as he is not aggressive and does not go out much (comes back every day for a long sleep). And will they loose there quirky individual personalities if I got them 'done' ?? As I dont want to change them really as I love thm for who they are :)

Your cats sound lovely, but I would never willingly live with an un-neutered male cat! They might not spray or fight in your home, but you can bet your bottom dollar they will be doing it in other people's

I have been on the receiving end of other people's entire toms before, when I had my own indoor cats. Going back 15 years, one scaled the drainpipe and broke in through the bathroom window (second floor) to court my in-season pedigree queen. Thankfully she missed, there is no mismate jab for cats, but she contracted metritis afterwards which was scary and expensive to treat.

Another one squeezed through a tiny window in the loo and was seen eating her food while she was only a few feet away nursing her kittens. If they do break in they will always spray, and tom cat wee is the worst in the world... I was living in a shared house at the time and my neutered male got blamed for that, until we discovered the true culprit [£50 dry cleaning bill later].

With the latter chap (who was also going round local gardens and beating up everyone's neutered cats including the 15 year old fragile oldie next door, on a daily basis) I contacted the local animal warden who came round with a cage trap, and he was carted off to be removed of his wherewithals. As she said: "His owners have NO idea what a thug he is, and as they didn't do the decent thing, I'll do it for them."

We never saw him again.

Outdoor cats have secret lives which we can never really follow... but entire male tomcats are sure to be some kind of a nuisance, as that's their secret nature. I am sure you wouldn't like to think of yours being so dastardly, but they could be for all you know!

Plus fighting cats can pass on FIV... no vaccination for that, no cure! and abscesses are very common after cat fights - if yours are winning, then you won't know how many neighbours' cats are having to get vet treatment for infected wounds at £70+ a throw.

Sorry to sound so heavy but that's the reality, and why I would never ever advise leaving a male cat entire unless he was breeding material and given his own bachelor pad where he can spray to his hearts content and receive suitable ladies... to be neutered after his breeding days are done and be welcomed indoors by the fire as a pet.

Me too would never entertain keeping even 1 un-neutered tom cat!

We board cats and unless they are under 6 months of age, any male cats that we look after have to be castrated.

The smell they leave behind is awful so we just dont entertain the idea. 

We've problems with an entire 3 year old tom cat who lives up the road, coming down and peeing up the cat pens, he sat outside the pens trying to fight with the boarding cats through the sneeze barriers, and it got to the stage I couldnt leave my conservatory door open because he kept coming in and spraying.

I went up and asked the owner to have him neutered when I eventually found out where he lives but they did nothing.  I then went up again in a not so pleasant manner some weeks later when he attacked one of my cats who is 17 when she was lying sunbathing and he bit her on the side and she ended up having a huge abscess on her side. 

Fortunately they did something about it.  What amazed me is they also apparently have the litter sister who in turn was not spayed either!

They roam and cause other people nothing but problems so unless you want a cat who is likely to be out scrapping amongst other things ;) you will save yourself alot of hassle removing the said items :) !

Wow, another thing I have gotten wrong haha
I alwyas thought I was so lucky that I had 2 males who never sprayed in my house. The little one who does not go further than the pub car park (I live next door) sprays every car in the car park everytime he goes out, I watch him. The other one goes to far away for me to be able to watch him. But I had no ida they could be causing problems for other people, as they are so golden to me. And I would hate to thing something bad could happen to them :( So ok I will get them done. :) Thank you for the advice. They are a year old now, so suppose they have had there 'roaming' days and there fun, time to be responsible now haha Thank you :)

>Would neutoring help with edwards occasional agression and dissapearings ??

Emphatically yes. Unneutered tomcats are a liability to themselves (getting into fights, and needing regular vet treatment for the abscesses from the bites) and others with their noise and nuisance spraying. My cat breeder friend can only keep her toms in an outside pen to stop the house stinking. Her castrated toms, however, are wonderful friendly affectionate cats, and civilised enough to live in the house. So yes, get your boys castrated as soon as - they'll be healthier and happier for it.

We breed and show cats and for us personally at this current time own 1 moggie - castrated around 8 months...he is allowed outside but only goes in the garden and back indoors.  We have 2 neutered males who are not shown, one was neutered at 1 years old the other slightly younger and we have 5 girls.  3 queens are entire and the other 2 spayed (one for medical reasons the other because she was not going to have a litter).

I wouldn't let any cats of mine outdoors now but if you do then neutering will/should stop the tom cat from wandering off after any girls and also lessen fights etc.

I would always neuter my cats, male or female. I rescued an unneutered tom cat who was about 4 or 5. I had him neutered but was too late for him as he had feline aids. I did have him for 5 years though so he had 5 quality years.

I have never been a cat person, had never really met a nice one and thought all were the same.

Me too -until I met Persians and realised breeds are as different as in dogs, and you chose the breed with the personality trait you like -moggies are often 100 % different to pedigree cats and you don't often get two the same -they are mongrels after all. I couldn't live with a Siamese, I find it hard at times to live with my husband's Maine Coons, but give me Persians any day -they suit my temperament. :) We always have the token odd rescue mog, always have had, but have just had to accept that they will never be as friendly and will be more independent.

Just to add to what others have already said -you need to get both cats blood tested to check for FIV (and FeLV unless they are vaccinated for that -it's not the routine vacc but most vets would recommend it for cats going outside) because if either is infected you absolutely must keep that cat indoors only, to not spread it around. FeLV can be spread by just sharing food bowls, whereas FIV is via bite wounds.

Oh and one final thing -when you keep an entire male cat, they often don't eat for periods of time when they are lacking female company, therefore go very thin, so it is only possible to keep a male entire if they have a regular supply of queens to mate. I have 6 stud cats which isn't always easy, some accept neutered females as company, others do not think it's good enough. And obviously you don't want to be breeding from a moggy in any event, so neutering is an absolute must for all the reasons mentioned. It's interesting to note that if you neuter a male dog, only certain parts of the behaviour may change -in fact only male to male aggression and then only in 50 % of the cases, leg cocking may decrease but may not. However castrate a male cat or a male horse and the behaviours changes a LOT -for the better. The cat will be so much more settled and calmer -but does not lose any good qualities at all, they don't get fat and lazy when the have company of another cat. (A single cat often do turn lazy and fat, they do need company of their own kind to keep playful and active.) The species just do not work the same. So whereas you can keep a male dog entire for life, with a cat it's not kind, practical or responsible.

Marianne, I was about to post that your post was very informative till you put down my beloved Mainecoons!!!lol.  I do agree, however, about different breeds suiting.  What about Bengals?  Have you any experience?(My wish list!)

Sorry to OT!

Please do get them neutered,I have had a stray entire tom hanging around in the area on & off since last July and last night I eventually caught him in  a cat trap.  He's now a resident at Dundee CP.    He was someone's pet originally and they didn't want him so have left him wandering around the village for a couple of years now, he wasn't a happy chap in the trap but he will be made a lot happier once he's neutered and assessed.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">What about Bengals?  Have you any experience?(My wish list!)<br />

From the Bengals I know of that come into the cattery, they are a little feisty and quite an active breed.   They are absolute pigs, wolfing down several pouches a day.      I have 5 pedigree cats and as much as I love my two Brits, I find them a little staid, the Selkirks have a bit more mischief & character about them.    Persian's are the sharpest knives in the drawer!  ;-)

I agree with all the others deffinitely get them neutured. I have always neutured my cats but my current moggie now 4 odd as it may sound I completley forgot until he was almost a year old. I casually remarked to my sil "Bentley seems to be disappearing a lot recently " then realised he was down the vets post haste :)
The difference in his behaviour now is amazing he is around most of the time and happily sleeps indoors

I have had british blue persian and 2 burmese as well as moggies. My two burmese are like chalk and cheese the male was very soft and cuddly my current female is very much everything on her terms and thinks nothing of taking a swipe at you if you are passing  
Just to add my blue died from fiv quite young. We dont know how she got it as she rarely went out of the garden and was not a fighter to our knowledge it is not a pleasant thing to watch at all :(
Interesting thread regarding the different personalities of breeds not something that is bought up often unlike dog breeds

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Persian's are the sharpest knives in the drawer!  <img alt=";-)" src="/images/default/sml_wnk.png" class="sml" />

Should be 'aren't' the sharpest knives in the drawer!   

We own Devon Rex cats and they are a law unto themselves!  They act like dogs in that you cannot walk through the door without them 'chatting' at your feet until you pay them attention, they play fetch, steal anything that they fancy...jewellery, paper, food, candles...one even dragged the pillow off the bed lol!  And are so affectionate, they love cuddles but do expect to be allowed to sleep in your bed...yes head on the pillow and cuddled in...they are a fantastic breed!

Should be 'aren't' the sharpest knives in the drawer!  

lol, I did wonder, I have a couple of friends with Persians and I suspect each and every one smokes dope lol ( the cats, not the owners ).

> lol, I did wonder, I have a couple of friends with Persians and I suspect each and every one smokes dope lol ( the cats, not the owners ).

Was Fat Freddy's Cat a Persian? (just wondering).

Marianne, I was about to post that your post was very informative till you put down my beloved Mainecoons!!!lol.  I do agree, however, about different breeds suiting.  What about Bengals?  Have you any experience?(My wish list!)

LOL it's just me knowing what I get on with and not (after experience -my ex had Siamese, my current husband MC) -although I do have rather a soft spot for hubby's MC Ringo. (But I will not admit that in public ROFL.) Just like I couldn't imagine having a terrier breed for instance -it's not disliking the breeds, it's just not what fits me personally. I have very limited experience with Bengals, only in judging them as pets at shows occasionally, and I was not impressed at all there, plus know a breeder that gave up on them because the temperament at times is poor. But that is a) very limited experience indeed, and b) hearsay!, so really nothing to listen too much too. :) It's like we say in Sweden -taste is like the bum, it's divided!! ;) Good job too, we can't all like the same!

I have a couple of friends with Persians and I suspect each and every one smokes dope lol ( the cats, not the owners ).

LOL, to me a good cat is one you can throw over your shoulders like a sack of potatoes and all it will do is purr. :) It's funny really because a DOG like that would drive me nuts, I want my dogs to be full of energy (hyper even) and super intelligent but my cats have to be totally laid back! My favourite cat Prince is intelligent and he even responds to various commands, but the rest of his family are pretty thick indeed! And I love that! Weird really. Just like I want a cat to have a flat face to look pretty but a dog to have a long face. No idea why!

My ex also had a devon rex and a balinese, two more breeds I just could not cope with. Too clever for their own good!!

> LOL, to me a good cat is one you can throw over your shoulders like a sack of potatoes and all it will do is purr.

How funny - my first Siamese was like that!

How funny - my first Siamese was like that!

That would have been one I'd have loved! :)

> That would have been one I'd have loved! :-)

Yes you could do that with her - she loved any kind of attention, from anyone - was sociable as well. And she would retrieve, and try to get guests to play with her - really the most doglike cat you could think of. She was from old, non-show pedigree lines and I wish I had preserved her temperament. More than one of her kittens inherited her nature as well.

I often see people on here claiming that showing is the be all and end all, but modern Siamese cats do not have her character at all. But if I had decided to preserve her character and breed on regardless of looks, I would have been classed as a BYB...

My second Siamese queen was almost a different breed. Much more highly strung, and went into full blown hysteria during the labour of her first and only litter; she turned into a wild creature and hid under my bed - her first born had an umbilical hernia (not common in cats) because she dragged it around while I was trying to calm her. I will never forget that experience - I had six or seven litters under my belt by then but nothing could have prepared me for that! She was always a very nervous cat even after spaying and in stressful times would pull out the fur on her chest and forelegs, and then lick them raw.

As opposed to Fuchsia, my first girl, who popped out 7 kittens so fast I needed to be there to help - with her second litter she actually held off delivering until I was there with her.

I really regret not carrying on her line purely for their temperament, the likes of which has probably now been lost within the breed.

> What about Bengals?

My experience with Bengals is all through friends that own them, rather than owning them myself, but have known a lot and temperaments have all been fabulous. Dog-like, really - very active, outgoing cats who love human interaction and can be trained to do all sorts. I love them.

They were a breed that became very popular and money-oriented at one time though, so I guess that there will be some lines that suffered from poor breeding. From a good breeder though, I'd thoroughly recommend them.

M.

That's another difference I suppose.  I would never have another female cat ever again(and I've only had one!!).  My cats always need to be boys as I find them just much more loving and easy-going.  The female we had was so independant that we barely saw her!
I love the MC nature(or maybe just my boy).  He's such a loving boy and snuggles with anyone/thing that's remotely warm!lol.  He's always grooming the dogs and loves to groom my hair too.  I'm always watching TV with parts of my hair sticking up from the cats hairdo! in the evening.  But outside? He's a different boy!  He patrols our road with military pressision.  No other dogs or cats are allowed on his turf and he soon chases them off if they do.  He follows the dogs (with owners, on lead) along the road swiping at their back legs.  He terrifies the owners!  But they all know him now and bring a cat treat to stop him.  I warn him he is going to meet his match one day but he knows his limits and when to get out of there!  Aren't they funny creatures?

My first cat was a huge tabby moggie, he was so layed back, didn't bat an eye at any other animals coming into the house, although he did have a fondness for jumping on visitors shoulders from the floor, you really had to keep an eye on him for that. He also made a bit of a sport of divebombing us in bed, he'd jump to the top of the wardrobe then launch himself, it was quite a shock in the middle of the night lol. No one minded though, he was such a lovey boy. One of his favourite past times was cardboard box surfing, box with string handles and one willing human were all he needed, said human had to run through the house towing box, Kinks would then fire himself into the passing box and hang on...he was a one in a million.

I agree cracar, I'd only have a boy cat now, we have one very old grumpy lady just now but can't have any other cats as she commences a strategy of mental torture and intimidation on them, which results in a pee war. All my boys have been great characters and the girls just don't compare.