Behavioral Outcomes Associated with Hormonal Sterilization in a Questionnaire-Based Study of Cats

Treatment of cats with pharmacological reproductive control is becoming increasingly common, with deslorelin implants as the primary non-surgical method. However, few studies have systematically documented behavioral changes after implantation. This study evaluated 28 behaviors, grouped into eight categories, in 82 cats at one and three months post-deslorelin implantation. At the group level, behavioral changes over time showed a consistent pattern, with decreases in reproductive behaviors, inappropriate elimination, and activity and increases in positive social behaviors and feeding and drinking from one to three months post-implantation. Given the large number of statistical comparisons performed, these findings should be interpreted with caution in the context of multiple testing. Sex-related differences were limited, with females showing a greater increase in feeding and drinking than males at one month. Age-related effects were also observed, with cats younger than one year being more active than those older than three years at one month. Coat type was associated with behavioral variation at three months, with shorthaired cats showing higher levels of reproductive behavior and inappropriate elimination compared with longhaired cats; however, these effects should be interpreted cautiously given multiple testing considerations.