How old to spay/neuter kittens?
07-31-2011, 09:45 AM
#52
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Midland, Michigan
Posts: 1,951
We had a stray male and I took him in for shots and worming. My vet actually said he was ready for neutering at what we figured about 4 q
1/2 months . He was a big boy that ended up being a good 20 lbs. I'm sorry if I sounded kind of judgmental in my earlier post-I didn't mean to. I think there are different schools of thought on this subject so it's probably best to go with what your vet decides. The earlier point about people not bringing backmtheir adopted pets for fixing is a very valid reason-one I had not heard. Could be why the one I talked to did it that young. This is kind of a touchy thing for me as my DD had a cat taken in to be fixed. He was just under a year old(was a stray so not sure) and through neglect(again not proven, just my thoughts) he died before surgery. She was heartbroken and the vet was kind of rude I thought. She (the vet) started talking To DD about getting another cat, etc. And the other one was barely cold! And she kept talking to me, not my daughter. Anyway the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and I have never liked that vet. The HS works with her for reduced fixing of pets which is why DD had gone there. Ok vent over. It still bugs me and it's been over a year now.
1/2 months . He was a big boy that ended up being a good 20 lbs. I'm sorry if I sounded kind of judgmental in my earlier post-I didn't mean to. I think there are different schools of thought on this subject so it's probably best to go with what your vet decides. The earlier point about people not bringing backmtheir adopted pets for fixing is a very valid reason-one I had not heard. Could be why the one I talked to did it that young. This is kind of a touchy thing for me as my DD had a cat taken in to be fixed. He was just under a year old(was a stray so not sure) and through neglect(again not proven, just my thoughts) he died before surgery. She was heartbroken and the vet was kind of rude I thought. She (the vet) started talking To DD about getting another cat, etc. And the other one was barely cold! And she kept talking to me, not my daughter. Anyway the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth and I have never liked that vet. The HS works with her for reduced fixing of pets which is why DD had gone there. Ok vent over. It still bugs me and it's been over a year now.
07-31-2011, 09:55 AM
#53
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Midland, Michigan
Posts: 1,951
Probably the most important thing about this whole subject is the fact that you are being a responsible pet owner and fixing them. So many people get them and then say they can't afford the surgery. Then their pets just keep reproducing. I admire the ones that fix their drop offs and strays and to all who adopt. Kudos to you! My DD has a friend whose outdoor cat is on her 4th or 5th litter. They always have some excuse.
07-31-2011, 09:59 AM
#54
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Tucker, GA
Posts: 2,042
Originally Posted by Naturalmama
Inside we have Kiki, who showed up in our backyard about 16 years ago as a kitten (and now has chronic liver failure), and O'Malley, who showed up a few years ago as an adult - and found his way inside after our Maggie passed away from cancer (she was also a stray who had multiple bb's in her - an abused past).
Outside, we have two wild cats that we feed - Scruff, a mangy black longhair with a mouth (he's very demanding when he's hungry - but will not let himself be touched), and a large black & white cat we call Mugsy - who appears to be deaf and freaks when she realizes that we're about a foot away from her.
Depends on your vet....usually the earlier the better BUT it varies throughout the country.
Now, as of a couple of weeks ago, it seems we have a pair of kittens. Pretty wild, although with work we were just able to pet each of them - enough to find out that we have a male and a female. *sigh* I do love animals, but I wish others did as well - I'm sure these were dropped off. I do not want more kittens roaming around, so we will need to take them to be "fixed". It's been so many years though since we've had a kitten though - can someone remind me of how old they need to be to have this done? I guess I don't know exactly how old they are now... not newborn by any means, but not adolescent either. (and the male has already been in a scrape, so he will probably need antibiotics as well, plus they both look like they need deworming....) How do they know which house has the softy in it?!
Outside, we have two wild cats that we feed - Scruff, a mangy black longhair with a mouth (he's very demanding when he's hungry - but will not let himself be touched), and a large black & white cat we call Mugsy - who appears to be deaf and freaks when she realizes that we're about a foot away from her.
Depends on your vet....usually the earlier the better BUT it varies throughout the country.
Now, as of a couple of weeks ago, it seems we have a pair of kittens. Pretty wild, although with work we were just able to pet each of them - enough to find out that we have a male and a female. *sigh* I do love animals, but I wish others did as well - I'm sure these were dropped off. I do not want more kittens roaming around, so we will need to take them to be "fixed". It's been so many years though since we've had a kitten though - can someone remind me of how old they need to be to have this done? I guess I don't know exactly how old they are now... not newborn by any means, but not adolescent either. (and the male has already been in a scrape, so he will probably need antibiotics as well, plus they both look like they need deworming....) How do they know which house has the softy in it?!
07-31-2011, 10:01 AM
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
How do they know which house has the softy in it?![/quote]
They know by the smell of other happy cats. (I think it could also be an 'underground railroad' sort of thing).
:lol:
They know by the smell of other happy cats. (I think it could also be an 'underground railroad' sort of thing).
:lol:
07-31-2011, 10:37 AM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: slaton, texas
Posts: 752
My vet told me that male cats need to be 6 mo old cause they need the hormones for their urinary tract to develope properly or they will probably have urinary problems when they are grown. I know that they now nuter both male and female at a very young age now because of over population but if you do it properly, 6 months. Females, after their first heat. Treating urinary infections in your male cats can get very expensive and if they are indoor/outdoor cats they are very hard to medicate cause they are never around when it is time for their next dose. Ask me how I know.
07-31-2011, 01:28 PM
#57
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Warrenville, IL
Posts: 2,009
Originally Posted by Cris
They have to be at least 2 pounds.
07-31-2011, 02:22 PM
#58
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: The Ohio Wilderness
Posts: 136
We have a new kitten...a stray who just wouldn't go away and made it into our hearts when she was out on the front porch with a skunk one night.
We took her to the vet yesterday and she is 4 months old and the vet said they spay cats at 5 months. So we go back in four weeks for that. I believe males can be neutered at the same age.
Is there a no kill shelter in your area that could possibly take the kittens. You may want to check before spending a lot on them. But if you're going to keep them definitely get them fixed. If they are brother and sister you could end up with some really messed up kittens to deal with.
We took her to the vet yesterday and she is 4 months old and the vet said they spay cats at 5 months. So we go back in four weeks for that. I believe males can be neutered at the same age.
Is there a no kill shelter in your area that could possibly take the kittens. You may want to check before spending a lot on them. But if you're going to keep them definitely get them fixed. If they are brother and sister you could end up with some really messed up kittens to deal with.
07-31-2011, 02:24 PM
#59
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Wonderfully Wet PNW
Posts: 246
I was sent to an early age neutering day long seminar by the vet I worked for. What I learned there, was that the younger vets were more inquisitive and open to the idea. The older ones were not going to change their thoughts on it. This is of course a generalization, there may have been vets that did not verbalize their opinions, so I would not know which way they were leaning. The one vet that stood out for me, though, was the older gentleman that stood up and quite loudly and angrily asked why anyone in their right mind would neuter a male animal. He felt there was no reason for it, he'd never done it, and would NOT alter a male animal in his clinic. He just spayed the females-they were the ones producing the offspring after all!
We too, were spaying pregnant 5-6 month old kittens. Not as commonly as the 7-8 month olds, but it happens. As a bonus, cats can become pregnant while nursing a litter, so you can have a cat with kittens that aren't old enough to find homes for that is gestating her next litter for you!
We too, were spaying pregnant 5-6 month old kittens. Not as commonly as the 7-8 month olds, but it happens. As a bonus, cats can become pregnant while nursing a litter, so you can have a cat with kittens that aren't old enough to find homes for that is gestating her next litter for you!
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