Neutering Affects Animals’ Personalities

Most recent answer: 10/22/2007

Q:
If you neurter an animal (like a cat or dog), does that affect the personality? If so, how?
- Carissa (age 15)
TASIS, Switzerland
A:
There is a great deal of debate on this question, but the general consensus is that yes, this can affect the cat or dog’s personality. It depends on how old they are though. If you neuter an animal, you are taking away a source of hormones from its body. (In a male, it’s called testosterone, in a female, estrogen). These hormones affect the animal’s personality.

In a male dog, testosterone makes them agressive, it makes them defend their territory more against other animals, and it makes them more active, or energetic. When you neuter them, they become more quiet, less agressive, and in some cases they may gain a little weight because they are less active. In females, you don’t see a change in personality as much, but they will not want to breed with other cats and they can’t have kittens.

If the animal is older, it will have a larger effect, since the hormones have had more of a chance to get into and affect the body - there is more of a change when you take the hormones away. That is one of the reasons why it is best to neuter the animal when it is young.

-Kim-

(published on 10/22/2007)