Will neutering or a female cat stop my male cat from wandering?

Hi. Yes, neutering will help Toby want to stay home more and hopefully make him less likely to fight. It can take a couple of months after the surgery for his testosterone levels to completely drop but neutering typically does resolve a lot of male to male aggression in cats.

It's likely that getting him neutered would help - "spraying" or urinating on objects in the house and wanting to roam outside are both very normal behaviors for intact males, so this is definitely the first thing I would suggest. These two things are the main reasons that almost all indoor male cats in the US are neutered :) Since he's almost two years old, there is a chance that neutering may not resolve these issues completely - behaviors like this can become a learned habit if they go on for long enough, so I would recommend having the neuter done as soon as possible.

Neutering will keep him from roaming as much although if he continues to go outside he may still fight with other cats. The urine marking in the house may stop but there is no guarantee as he is already older. If they are neutered young (like less than 6 months of age) then that behaviour is virtually non-existent. So, to answer your question......maybe some of the bad behaviours will stop but there is no guarantee. Regardless, it is better to have him neutered and I highly recommend it.

If Billy is not neutered yet, he is now old enough to be interested in mating females. This also makes him more prone to fighting with other male cats and may cause him to roam more. This roaming and fighting can lead to injuries from cars or other animals, FIV infections (which suppressed the immune system) and abscesses. Neutering him can help to decrease these behaviors which may end up saving his life. I recommend you speak with your veterinarian about the procedure. Most cats do very well and you should not expect to see any change in personality. I hope you find him quickly! Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Frankly, getting them neutered will make all of you much happier. They won't worry about getting out and trying to find a mate, they will be calmer and more content and won't keep you awake all the time with their attempts to escape. It also reduces the scent of the litterbox, as the testosterone contributes to the strong odor of male cat urine, and they will be healthier for being calmer and quieter. It will not harm their personality or make them lazy and fat.

It will help with the calling constantly and wanting to run outside, but it may not completely cure the spraying. With some cats it does, so fingers crossed it will in this case. Definitely have RJ neutered, it sounds like you are dealing with some extremely annoying behaviors!

I see that Bagpuss isn't neutered. He's likely roaming for females to mate with, which is why he's disappearing for days at a time. It could also be that there is another home feeding him as well, and he's been staying there. To cut down on roaming behavior, I would have him neutered. He's a domesticated cat used to being handled, so he won't become feral by being around feral cats, but because he isn't neutered, he could get into fights with them over females and territory. After you have him neutered, you can keep him indoors all the time, and set up a litter box for him inside. That will keep him safe from the feral cats and home all the time. It's perfectly find to make Bagpuss an indoor only cat. Many people do it, and cats are perfectly happy with that arrangement. I have four indoor only cats, and they are happy :-)