Can Feral Cats Be Neutered Without Surgery?
What non-surgical neutering options exist for feral cats?
Is "Testicle Banding" Feral Cats Ethical?
"I recently heard that a neighbor was testicle banding feral cats (successfully) due to the long wait list for subsidized vet services. I thought this was only done in livestock, but my father reminded me that his mother did that all his life with their dogs. That said, could you please share any insight on this process just for my personal education?
What does that process itself look like? I understand that the recommendation is always to have these things done by a veterinarian, but people are still going to do sometimes barbaric things, and I am just wanting to learn overall so I am more aware of what is supposed to be happening near where I live and because I also help feed some strays. Lastly, what are the reasons why this not done in cats as commonly as it is, say, with goats, etc.?" —Shannin
Cons of Elastration
When someone bands, they use a small rubber band stretched by a small tool (Elastrator) and placed over the scrotum. When it is released, the tiny rubber band contracts and destroys the blood supply to the testicles and the skin of the scrotum.
There are a few problems with banding (a.k.a. elastration) that make us reluctant to use it even in livestock, and especially not with cats and dogs.
- It Is Extremely Painful: There are no studies (that I know of) that discuss how painful this is for cats, but in sheep, they stop eating, are not able to walk normally, have tremors, and try to get away from other sheep. (1) It is not unusual to see sheep and goats that have had this procedure fall down from the pain when this is done to them.
- It Is Inhumane: Cats feel pain, and it is generally accepted that we do not cause them pain if we can avoid it. Calves that were banded and received pain medications did much better than calves with no pain medications for 15 days, so this procedure would probably cause a cat to be in pain for at least this long.
When this procedure is over, the testicles just fall off and leave a small scar. Unless you found the cat when they still had the band on, you would probably just see a healed wound.
Alternatives to Surgical Neutering for Feral Cats
Since this procedure should not be done in cats, and you said that there are no veterinarians available to do regular neutering in a timely manner, you can look for alternatives to surgical neutering for feral cats, such as:
- Testicular Injections: A single injection of calcium chloride into a cat's testicles will castrate them without surgery. They do need to be sedated or anesthetized. This procedure is not yet widespread, but if it is available in your area, is a good alternative to surgical neutering. (2) Toms that are neutered in this way still have testosterone production, but this would be a problem in house pets, not feral cats. Unfortunately tom cats are still fertile for 1–2 months because of the sperm still in the epididymis and vans deferens. (3)
- Burdizzo: This is a device used for closed castration that crushes the blood supply to the testicle. Cats would need to be anesthetized and would still be fertile for several months after the procedure. This procedure is not usually used in cats. It has been used in dogs and found to be successful, but no data is available for cats. (4)
- Birth Control Hormones: During the pandemic, when clinics no longer did elective surgeries, some people working with feral cats used medroxyprogesterone to stop cats from becoming pregnant. It is not a permanent solution like castrating the males but is the most humane of the avaialable altervatives.
Unfortunately there are not a lot of alternatives. If cats cannot be neutered normally, I see burdizzo instruments as the only humane alternative. This has not been studied and I base my comment on personal observations when castrating sheep. When sheep are castrated with burdizzos, they do not show pain like with banding, but all castration causes pain for several days after the procedure.
Sources
(1) Steagall PV, Bustamante H, Johnson CB, Turner PV. Pain Management in Farm Animals: Focus on Cattle, Sheep and Pigs. Animals (Basel). 2021 May 21;11(6):1483. doi: 10.3390/ani11061483. PMID: 34063847; PMCID: PMC8223984. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8223984/
(2) Jana K, Samanta PK. Clinical evaluation of non-surgical sterilization of male cats with single intra-testicular injection of calcium chloride. BMC Vet Res. 2011 Jul 21;7:39. doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-7-39. PMID: 21774835; PMCID: PMC3152893. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152893/
(3) Kutzler MA. Intratesticular and intraepididymal injections to sterilize male cats: From calcium chloride to zinc gluconate and beyond. J Feline Med Surg. 2015 Sep;17(9):772-6. doi: 10.1177/1098612X15594991. PMID: 26323801. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26323801/
(4) Ortega, Antonio & Bolio-González, Manuel & Colin-Flores, Rafael & Sauri-Arceo, C & Gutierrez‐Blanco, Eduardo & Jimenez-Coello, Matilde & Linde Forsberg, Catharina. (2006). Evaluation of a Burdizzo Castrator for Neutering of Dogs. Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene. 41. 227-32. 10.1111/j.1439-0531.2006.00668.x. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7091228_Evaluation_of_a_Burdizzo_Castrator_for_Neutering_of_Dogs
This article is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from your veterinarian. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.
© 2023 Mark dos Anjos, DVM
