Can A Male Cat Be Born Without His Bits?

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi, I was just wondering if any one has heard or known any male cats that were born without their testicles, balls, bits, or whatever you want to call them. The reason I'm asking is because Starr is almost 5 months old and his testicles still haven't descended.

His foster mom had e-mailed a while ago to tell me that he's a doublecrypt orchid which means that his testicles haven't descended yet. She still has him with her and the vet at the shelter said to wait until he's at least 6 months old before any neuter surgery is performed. They'll probably have to do exploratory surgery on him to try to find his testicles. They could be any where from his sternum on down.

What if he doesn't have any? I wonder if they could x-ray him or do an ultrasound to see if he even has any testicles inside of him. I'd hate for them to have to cut him open and then not find anything. Hopefully by 6 months of age his testicles will appear and descend like they're supposed to. His foster mom also said that she can't feel anything on his stomach either.

Thanks for reading this and I'd appreciate any advise too.

[QueenScoopalot]

I'm sure his testicles are hiding out inside him somewhere. Poor Starr...your heart must be aching to have him by now. I trapped a feral siamese kitten (blue-point ) years back that was a hermaphrodite! It baffled me and 3 vets as well, trying to determine the kittens sex. Shroomie ended up needing to be spayed AND neutered! Is Starr's ringworm over by now? If so I hope you can have him before he's full grown.

[catmandu]

THERE ARE CATS,LIKE MALE CALICOS,AND TORTIES,THAT DONT HAVE,TO BE NEUTERED,AS THEY ARE PERMANANTLY SEXUALLY IMMATURE.

I WOULD WAIT,UNTIL SOMETHING SHOWS UP,BEFORE THEY DO,WAHT YOU SUGGEST YOURSELF,COULD BE UNECCESARY SURGERY.
WE HOPE,THAT LITTLE STAR,IS LIVING,WITH YOU SOON.

[catlover4ever]

Gabriel was double crypt orchid. When it came time to have him neutered they did his surgery the same way they would with a female. He had an incision in his tummy. He did just fine with the surgery.

Here is a picture of his surgery incision.

[catnapper]

Poor Star. He's had such a rough time medically! I hope his ringworm and coccidia are completely better and that he can home to his meowmie soon... and I hope his surgery is successful.

[K & L]

Some male cats may have undescended testicles. These must be surgically removed, as they often turn cancerous later. This is a more serious (and expensive) surgery than the usual castration, as the vet will have to use a general anesthetic and exploratory surgery to find the undescended testicles and remove them. Poor Starr, he sure has been through a lot lately!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Originally posted by catlover4ever
Gabriel was double crypt orchid. When it came time to have him neutered they did his surgery the same way they would with a female. He had an incision in his tummy. He did just fine with the surgery.

Just wondering: did they find "them" then?

[smokey the elder]

This seems to be a genetic problem with Siamese males. I've heard of more cryptorchid Siamese than any other breed. I hope they can locate the missing equipment!

[catlover4ever]

Originally posted by Maya & Inka's mommy
Just wondering: did they find "them" then?

Oh yes, they found his "bits" and they were removed.

K&L is right that the surgery is more expensive than regular neutering. I have to say I am very fortunate to have a vet that is very reasonable with their pricing.

[sirrahbed]

Cryptorchism can happen to most any animal and humans. The testicles can even be located well into the belly. I am not sure about a small animal like a cat - but a sexually mature human or large animal - can be checked by a blood test for the male hormones. I have never heard of an animal not having testicles at all though it is no doubt possible. They are in there somewhere! Since cats are considered sexually mature at 6 months - I am suspecting that a blood test will confirm that Starr is a cryptorchid and that his surgery will be similar in price and recovery time to a hysterectomy.

[moosmom]

Well, first of all, I call them who-whos. Sometimes testicles don't drop right away. If they don't, as what happened to your cat, they have to go in a surgically remove them. I hope he's doing okay now.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks everyone. Since the neutering was also covered in Starr's adoption fee, if I use the vet at their shelter then everything should be covered. I do,however, plan on having a blood test done on Starr to make sure that he's not allergic to the anesthesia and in good health for the surgery. I know that this won't be covered but he's been through so much and I'd hate for something to go wrong that could've been prevented.

Starr's ringworm is almost completely cleared up and I'm hoping to have him home by Aug.27th or 28th. I also hope that if he has coccidia again that it will be cleared up by then too. His foster mom has been giving him more Albon just in case because he still has mushy stool. He may just have to mature more and then the mushiness will go away. He's my dream kitty and I guess that sometimes you just have to wait a while for you dream to come true.