A castrated male lives longer (on average) than a non-castrated male. This seems to be a true statement, at least when we look at the animal kingdom, i.e. cats and dogs, where we have plenty of data.

The big question is: Does the age of the male at castration time affect the length of time his life gets 'extended'? For example, if a male at age 30 figures out he wants to be castrated, from a health point of view, is it better for him to do it right away, or maybe to suck it up for 5 years and do it at 35?

I understand that there are psychological factors that may make castration more desireable on a different timeline, but on this post, I am just interested in the effects of the castration timeline on longevity only.

I was wondering if there are any of you vets or friends of vets that could compile some data from cats and dogs to extract some basic theory on the subject. A rough study could be made by comparing data from a number of animals of the same kind.

For example, getting a table with the following data for 'dogs >> golden_retrievers' only:

Age of castration lifespan

. ..

. ..

. ..

. ..

. ..

I don't even know enough to know if it is ok to compare golden retrievers to one another, or we should go a little finer in the specification of a group of like animals, but I think there is some valuable knowledge to be gained from this kind of simple study. If someone was able to gain access to the data, but didn't know what to do with it, I'd be happy to help with whatever I remember from Statistics class...

Spirono13

Hi Spiro! Well,I think that a 30 year old male is not going to be aware of the benefit's

like older folk's.A bunch of my old friends with baldness,heart trouble,PROSTATE CANCER,lot's of hair where you don't need it.Still having sexual drive like you was 25 ,yet can't perform as such. Wife could care less or not interested.These are a few things that fuel older males to make changes.This manifest's itself a little different in everybody,we are all individual's,we all have a little different psycological make-up.

Hugs,Leona

Hey Leona~ True, as I am in my 30s, I will probably not appreciate all the potential benefits of castration as much as others, that is why I was wondering about Longevity in particular. Will eunuchs that were castrated in their 30s tend to live longer than those castrated in their 40s or 50s? Is there (just from a longevity point of view) an ideal age for castration?

I'll have to say, though, that even at my age I still I hate body hair, and the thinning of the hair on my head That is what got me the prescription for Spironolactone in the first place.

Thanks!!!

Spirono13

Well,Spiro! I think that at your age there may be other problems such as weakening bones,hot flash's,body weakness,your body changing in a feminine way.Breast developement,softer smoother skin-more sensitive.I would suggest you give this a lot of careful thought and study.You can't put them back,with chemical's ,you do have a time span to decide.

Hugs,Leona