My male cat was neutered but still appears to have testicles.

QUESTION

I recently adopted a male cat from the local humane society. They estimated his age to be one year old. The shelter had taken him to a local veterinarian to be neutered prior to his adoption. He appears to still have testicles. Is this possible? Is neutering done differently these days? They are not large but definitely noticable.


ANSWER

Many male cats still have the appearance of having testicles due to the way the surgery is performed. Only the testicles are removed. The multi-layer sheath that surrounds the testicles is left as well as the scrotal skin. Once healed, this can give the appearance of testicles when actually it's just layers of tissue and skin.

Thank you for writing,
Dr. Neely