In honor of our newest Wildcat Flynn's upcoming neutering, here is some information on feline castration. First, correct terminology. Neuter is a gender-neutral term and can mean a castration or a spay. Castration is the lay term for the male neuter, while the technical terminology is orchiectomy. Spay is the female version, or oophorohysterectomy to be technical.
This veterinarian's website has a beautiful, simple explanation. At the bottom of the page is a link for a slide show of the actual surgery. If you are squeamish at all, do not click that link, as it shows photographs of an actual open surgery.
Given my background and experiences with anatomy, body functions, and surgery, my daughter has heard from a young age about proper body names, and age appropriate body functions. She has known for a while how a baby grows in mom, and how a baby is born naturally, including viewing diagrams and pictures. She knows about male and female body parts in a very basic way, including identifying the very obvious testicles of our male rats, guinea pigs, and her new kitten, so I made the decision to let her watch the slide show (after I previewed it) and learn a bit more about male anatomy. Her opinion of the surgery? "Not a big deal." Once she knew that Flynn was going to have surgery, she asked me several times to explain what would happen so she would know he will be okay. I know my daughter, what I've already taught her, and her squeamishness level- please take your own child's knowledge and maturity into consideration before you decide to discuss the details!
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