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Old March 3rd 05, 05:48 AM
Phil P.
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"-L." wrote in message
ups.com...

Phil P. wrote:
"Corey Maddox via CatKB.com" wrote in message
...
First off, I would like to say that I am new here, and after

spending
hours
and hours on the net, I have not found an answer to either of my

questions.
First question is: At what age do a male cats' testicles "drop"?

Long
story, but basically I am new to cats, and would like to know his
approximate age.


The testicles should be in scotum at birth. In some cats, the

testicles
fall into place by 4 weeks - but they may not remain in the scrotum
permanently until 4-6 months. If both testicles haven't decended by

4-6
months, they most likely never will. Undecended testicles is called
cryptorchidism in case you want to Google the condition.


When I worked for the feline speciliast he never recommended surgery
until 10 months, FWIW.



Surgery is another matter. If its inguinal cryptorchidism, I wouldn't be in
too much of a rush either.




He had seen some cases where the owners delayed
surgery and the testes eventually dropped on their own. I don't know
why the magic number was 10 months, but I assume it has something to do
with sexual maturity...(?)



I think it would depend on the type of cryptorchidism; inguinal or
abdominal - bilateral or unilateral. If the testicle(s) are stuck in the
groin area (inguinal) there's still a chance of them dropping by 4-6
months - and if not, surgery isn't as traumatic as it would be for abdominal
cryptorchidism. If they're stuck in the abdomen - there's little chance of
them dropping after 4 months.

If the cat had abdominal cryptorchidism, I wouldn't wait that long because
the more muscle and fat that the cat develops, the more traumatic and
riskier the surgery (longer anesthetic and surgical times) and the longer
the healing time.

If they don't drop - they *must* come out - retained testicles are more
likely to become cancerous later in life.

Phil