Hi all

I am about to get some kittens and keep hearing about early neutering at about 12-16 weeks old, for both males and females. Apparently they have done it in other countries e.g. US, Australia, for years, and now CPL and FAB are recommending it.

Does anyone know anything about this or ever had their cat done young? I know in dogs it's not thought to be a good idea by a lot of people (is it because they need to be fully grown and developed first?) so I would have thought similar might apply with cats but haven't seen anything saying that.

Thanks for any info anyone can come up with!

Also, does anyone know a good cat forum that they can pm me a link to? Can't find any I like as much as Champdogs!

Cheers
Alex

The optimum time for neutering cats isn't actually a specific age-had a good chat with my vet regarding my two moggie kitlets last year & research has shown that it is actually the weight of the kitten that rules the time that they can be safely neutered. @ my vets it's when they go over 2 kgs in weight-males are checked that their penises & testicles are fully developed

My tom, Reg, was castrated @ 13 weeks & my queen @ 20 weeks(she's a lot smaller that Reg), Reg was entire very early & has already started to pester his sister.

Neutering in cats is totally different in my eyes to neutering dogs, obviously unless the cats are confined to a cattery or the house permanently they are able to mate ad lib. male cats of course spray mark & queens can end up ill if they are not mated as they come into season far more frequently than dogs.

My previous cat was done @ 16 weeks & lived until he was 19 1/2 years old. I think cats mature much quicker than dogs & the growth plates are unaffected if the cat is entire before castration.

The breeder of Hope, my Selkirk Rex, has all her 'pet/show neuter' kittens neutered before they leave her house so they go a bit later than the 13 week GCCF recommendation.    I don't think any have suffered from any problems getting neutered that early although I have to say she was probably a little hasty with one she sold on as a show male neuter because he became the first Selkirk Rex to win a Best In Show - and he'll never have any progeny to show for his 'greatness'!

Sphynx kittens sold as pets are nearly always spayed/neutered at around 12-13 weeks of age.... my male sphynx was neutered at 12 weeks old before i got him. 

I know a fair few people who neuter before selling their kittens -and yes, the FAB does recommend it these says.
Here's some info from the GCCF: http://www.gccfcats.org/neuter.html

Personally I am against it, various reasons, but the main one being the increased risk of FIP. It's way too much stress all at once for a kitten -being neutered, vaccinated AND sold. Makes me shudder just to think about it.

There are a few cat forums but none that I personally like as many are a bit, erm, heated! (although a new one is about to start up) -the best discussion places are definitely the mailing lists at yahoogroups. I can give you details via PM if you want them. It depends on what you're after of course -showing, breeding, pets,a mixture, and if showing, what organisation it's with. :)

Thanks for your replies.

Moodmaiden - I hadn't thought of the weight thing, I'll ask at the vets and weigh my kittens and go from there. Good to know Reg was ok having been done so young, also your other cat that lived to be 19 (wow!) my kittens are half-siamese so are likely to mature early (and I have male and female and definitely don't want any more kittens!)

ChristineW - great to hear that your Hope was also done early and is fine, I have come across a few breeders who do this nowadays so it must be reasonably problem-free. Apart from possibly missing out on breeding from any stunning cats grown from mediocre kittens!

Sue H - also good to hear your experience. I find sphynxes fascinating, do people ever let them go out, can they mix with other cats ok? There was one in the local paper looking for a new home and he had a woolly knitted jumper on.

MarianneB - thanks, I see what you mean about the stress on their system. But perhaps I could neuter earlier than 6 months but leave a bit of a gap between jabs and the op. Is the increased risk of FIP proven / documented anywhere? Is there any info on how much the risk increases by, and for how long? Would they get FIP in later life or is it a casde of, they may develop it a few days after the op and if they don't, then their risk is back to normal?

I'd be very interested in some info on cat mailing lists, really just pet rather than showing, I just fancy some general cat chat :-) What's the new forum, please can you pm me about it if might be good?

Cheers
alex

> ChristineW - great to hear that your Hope was also done early and is fine, I have come across a few breeders who do this nowadays so it must be reasonably problem-free. Apart from possibly missing out on breeding from any stunning cats grown from mediocre kittens!
>
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Hope is definitely NOT neutered, her breeder neuters some of her kittens but Hope was kept as a queen and then sold on to me after she'd had a litter - she's too nice not to have some curly babies!

I have to say, I'm uncomfortable too about neutering such young cats.  All my moggies were done at 6 months old which was the age advocated by my vet & that is a decent age IMO.

Oops sorry I misread your post. Will she be having kittens with you? If so I am envious, I'd love to have some kittens! :-) Does Hope have curly whiskas, bet she is gorgeous!

I know 6 months has always been the traditional age advised but it seems like 5 months or even slightly less is an age I am comfortable with, as long as they are settled in and otherwise healthy. I've been reading that some (especially ferals) are done at 8 weeks, which seems quite shocking, but apparently they do tend to do really well at that age.

I do hope she will have kittens for me and yes, she has curly whiskers that's how you can tell which kittens will be curly & which will be variants (Straight haired) when they are born.  As she has won as much as she can do for the breed at this time in their progression to get Championship status, I will look around for a nice stud cat!  I'd love to breed a litter of kittens too, I thought cat breeding was supposed to be easy?

HG's already got her name down for at least 2!

Hi there

Im no expert on neutering but have had lots of cats in the past, just have three now, and when I got my latest, my siamese a few years back i was reading up as you do, and it states in all the books neutering at an early age can stump the growth, so I waited till he was about 10months.
I had no problem with his spraying etc.... cant remember what age my others were done, although i expect a couple were done when i got them as some were rescue kittens.

Have a good read about it on the net

Kim

Hiya Kim

Thanks for your reply.

The trouble is that my kits are two boys and a girl, I don't want them to breed and I heard siamese types mature early!

That's my big worry, growth stunting, but various studies seem to have shown that it is a myth - there are lots of fallacies about early-neutered cat's heads staying small, etc.

Anyway I will keep researching.

Hope your three kitties are well. I know this is a dog site but I do love cats as well! :-)

Cheers
Alex

You would know if your girls were calling especially in the Oriental breeds, so you would just keep your boy away from them for several days.   I still think 6 months is young enough to neuter a cat & its only a very small percentage of females that call before that age.    My male cat Jack, is almost 3 and unneutered and he's never sprayed in his life but then he's also never made anyone pregnant in his life either......insert crying smilie here    

I think thats good- helps with the cat population :)

Sphynx cat did you say- aaaaw just wuv em :)