It is during estrous, or heat, that female cats accept a mate and can become pregnant. Romantic girl cats loudly proclaim their desire, roll with abandon on the floor, and may even mark objects with urine to announce their availability to male Romeos. Heat behavior continues every two to three weeks during breeding season, from January to October. The behavior ends only when a cat becomes pregnant, the season ends, or she's spayed.

Male cats may breed at any time after sexual maturity. Intact male cats aggressively mark their territory (the front door, the wall, your bed) with strong-smelling urine. If allowed outside, an unaltered male cat roams far from home and engages in ferocious fights with other boy cats. Cats are extremely prone to abscesses from scratch or bite wounds. Neutering dramatically reduces, and in some instances totally eliminates, objectionable spraying, fighting and roaming behavior, and the resulting battle wounds.

Because cats may become parents at as early as four months of age, the American Veterinary Medical Association now endorses neutering from sixteen weeks on. Some shelters provide the services as early as eight weeks of age. Young kittens bounce back from surgery more quickly than do older cats.

The surgeries are performed under general anesthetic, so your kitten doesn't feel and discomfort. A male cat's testicles are removed in surgery. This is called a gonadectomy or castration. A female cat's ovaries and uterus are removed in surgery; this is called an ovariohysterectomy, or spay surgery.

If you've not already done so, call your veterinarian NOW and schedule the operation. Neutering procedures are the most common elective surgeries veterinarians perform, and they are very safe when conducted by a veterinarian under sterile conditions. Altering may be a requirement of shelter adoptions, and agencies often offer reduced rates for the surgeries.