Neutering Cats

[TheresaW]

We said goodbye to our old boy on Thursday evening, he was the last of the famous five, and for the first time in almost 20 years, we are catless. Our cats have always been neutered, usually at around 6 months, and we never had any accidents.

I have been browsing pedigree cats, we’re not actually looking for another cat, and if/when we do, we will go down the rescue route anyway, was just looking. One breeders site I looked at said that all kittens that go to pet homes will be fully vaccinated, flea’d, wormed and neutered before leaving at 13 weeks. That seems very young to neuter, but is it?

One of the previous boys we had was a Maine Coon, who we brought home at around 12 weeks, and we had him neutered later.

 

[AmyMay]

Wow, that’s pretty awful. I don’t think any of my lot have been done until they were at least six months old.

 

[julesjoy]

A lot of local rescues seem to advocate neutering at 12-14 weeks and switching vets if yours doesn't agree. Can't say I agree with it either and haven't with any of mine, but there do seem to be a lot of people incapable of keeping their kittens in until the appropriate time and thus having more.

 

[Umbongo]

A lot of rescues do neuter around that age. I don't hugely agree with it but I do understand why they do it.
Pedigree breeders tend to do it so you can't go on to breed from that cat. Have unfortunately come across it for pedigree cats and some dog breeders too.

 

[Shady]

Actually this is something that iv'e recently looked into a little deeper as I'd been kitten hunting and one breeder I liked was doing this to stop her kittens from being bred from and possibly exploited.
It's a fairly new thing beyond rescues and if i'm honest I don't like it as I think some maturity is better. However when I poked around I couldn't really find anything to support this now or anything negative about neuturing so young. Vets say it's just as easy an operation, if not easier, and recovery is quicker. It doesn't appear to affect development either.
Still not convinced ,I spoke to a long term breeder friend fully expecting her to support leaving kittens until 6 months + and she didn't have a problem with it either.
I don't know tho, i'm still not comfortable with it but maybe it's my age and the fact that if anything goes wrong and an infection sets in ,putting tiny kittens through more surgery or giving antibiotics is not ideal at all.
Personally i'm going to wait until they are older

 

[honetpot]

My favourite Youtube cat page ATM.

For ferals they definitely want them done at three months. My two, well it's taken two months to get them in the house and catch them, so they will be about four and a half months, not through choice. The vet does all the CPS cats.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I'm so sorry for your loss @TheresaW . I haven't been catless for around 35 years, it feels strange for me to imagine an ordinary day without even a single cat around. {{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}

I euthanised one of my cats yesterday, and I have to admit that I've been browsing cat adverts a little now and then ever since Berta got her diagnosis 5 weeks ago. I'm okay with being a fogey, I would not want a new cat that had been spayed before 6 months old, and for me that is a deal breaker.

 

[Equi]

Mine were done as soon as the vet would do it so around 12 weeks. They were feral though so I wanted to get it done before they were ever to be allowed out of the stable. Week or two after the fixing they all became suddenly tame! Not saying that helped but it was a happy bonus I suppose lol

 

[BeckyFlowers]

So sorry to TheresaW and FinnishLapphund to hear that you have both lost your kitties, very sad

 

[twiggy2]

Actually this is something that iv'e recently looked into a little deeper as I'd been kitten hunting and one breeder I liked was doing this to stop her kittens from being bred from and possibly exploited.
It's a fairly new thing beyond rescues and if i'm honest I don't like it as I think some maturity is better. However when I poked around I couldn't really find anything to support this now or anything negative about neuturing so young. Vets say it's just as easy an operation, if not easier, and recovery is quicker. It doesn't appear to affect development either.
Still not convinced ,I spoke to a long term breeder friend fully expecting her to support leaving kittens until 6 months + and she didn't have a problem with it either.
I don't know tho, i'm still not comfortable with it but maybe it's my age and the fact that if anything goes wrong and an infection sets in ,putting tiny kittens through more surgery or giving antibiotics is not ideal at all.
Personally i'm going to wait until they are older

The irony of a breeder neutering kittens so they cannot be red from and exploited in their new homes.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Mine were done as soon as the vet would do it so around 12 weeks. They were feral though so I wanted to get it done before they were ever to be allowed out of the stable. Week or two after the fixing they all became suddenly tame! Not saying that helped but it was a happy bonus I suppose lol

That's the type of situation where it makes perfect sense to me to castrate/spay a kitten early.

But I have cat enclosures both at my city home, and Summer cabin, and I'm looking for a new cuddly companion, not a feral, barely handled kitten/cat. Even though I realise that a lot of cat buyers doesn't have the same set up as me with cat enclosures, it seems to get more common to see balconies, patios, etc, fenced in to accommodate cats.

 

[Shady]

I'm so sorry for your loss @TheresaW . I haven't been catless for around 35 years, it feels strange for me to imagine an ordinary day without even a single cat around. {{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}

I euthanised one of my cats yesterday, and I have to admit that I've been browsing cat adverts a little now and then ever since Berta got her diagnosis 5 weeks ago. I'm okay with being a fogey, I would not want a new cat that had been spayed before 6 months old, and for me that is a deal breaker.

Oh no Finny I'm so sorry.

Hugs to you and TheresaW xxxxxxxx
It's so hard losing them , even when it's their time to go

 

[Snow Falcon]

Sorry for your losses Theresa and FL.

 

[Boulty]

A lot of the advice from ISFM, CPL etc now is that 16 weeks onwards is a good age to neuter & there isn't any need or advantage to wait until 6 months & risk the cat getting out & unwanted pregnancies so long as everything is "there" in terms of male cats (obv if only 1 testicle has descended then worth waiting a little longer to see if the other one does the same). Further to that I think early neutering is advised in rescue situations to ensure the cats can never be bred from / for ferals & other outdoor cats) as in these situations it's of benefit to the cat. Not 100% convinced with the breeder logic but can sorta see some of what they're trying to do.

I had my own cat neutered at 16 wks & he was back to bouncing off the walls as soon as the drugs wore off. (I live with someone who's allergic & neutered cats produce less of the protein that drives the allergy & he was showing interest in escaping outside so wanted him done so could start introducing him to the garden in a controlled way from a young age whilst we still had some house he hadn't destroyed!)

 

[The Jokers Girl]

We said goodbye to our old boy on Thursday evening, he was the last of the famous five, and for the first time in almost 20 years, we are catless. Our cats have always been neutered, usually at around 6 months, and we never had any accidents.

I have been browsing pedigree cats, we’re not actually looking for another cat, and if/when we do, we will go down the rescue route anyway, was just looking. One breeders site I looked at said that all kittens that go to pet homes will be fully vaccinated, flea’d, wormed and neutered before leaving at 13 weeks. That seems very young to neuter, but is it?

One of the previous boys we had was a Maine Coon, who we brought home at around 12 weeks, and we had him neutered later.

Its very normal to neuter at that age especially boys. As soon as the nuggets are visible they can be snipped off. I'm having mine neutered tomorrow, he was born in July, if it hadn't been that vet was fully booked he would have been done 2 weeks ago. If i waited another 2-3 months to have my boy neutered he'd be harassing my female (who is neutered) and spraying all over the house.
Females are a little different but about 15 years ago I got 3 kittens, 2 girls and a boy, all from same litter, at about 12 weeks the boy was mounting the girls so vet neutered them all. It was done as keyhole surgery, so a couple of stitches by the belly button for the girls.
My personal view is the breeder is being responsible to stop people buying their kittens and producing litter after litter to make a fortune.
The feral kittens at a yard I was at were caught earlier than 13 weeks and done by cats protection.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

So sorry Teresa and FL for your losses, it never gets any easier. I still miss our boy who we lost in June. x

 

[FinnishLapphund]

So sorry Teresa and FL for your losses, it never gets any easier. I still miss our boy who we lost in June. x

Thank you, and {{{{{Hugs}}}}} to you for your loss.

It happens that I think that I should go, and give Berta a cuddle, that I haven't heard her today, and that I look for her in her favourite spots, all those things ending with me having to remind myself that she's not here anymore. It's been like that with all my pets, so I know it will happen less, and less, but it's still hurts.


Strangely enough, after only rarely having seen it in a few adverts from rescues, or regarding not tame cats, before reading this post, afterwards, I've came across several adverts mentioning that the kittens will be sold from 12 to 16 weeks old, already castrated/spayed. And one which said the kitten had to be spayed at 6 months of age, and then you would get some of the money you paid for her, back.

The majority of the adverts where I've seen lately is for purebred kittens, and I can't help that every time I see it, my first thought is What is wrong with it? My second thought is that if you're not breeding purebred cats with future breeding quality, why should I pay so many several thousands more in SEK, for a pet quality purebred cat. Some thousands more, fine, but that much more, meh.

Not to mention that I seem to see more and more, who wants the same price for their purebred kittens, even though they're not registered/comes with a pedigree. And the parents haven't done the required health tests for that breed... Nope, I'll pass.

 

[smolmaus]

The majority of the adverts where I've seen lately is for purebred kittens, and I can't help that every time I see it, my first thought is What is wrong with it? My second thought is that if you're not breeding purebred cats with future breeding quality, why should I pay so many several thousands more in SEK, for a pet quality purebred cat. Some thousands more, fine, but that much more, meh.

I rather like to see that. If they have kittens that they think will be good enough to be bred from they will usually go to other established breeders in the breed club or showing community. It doesn't make sense to give an active kitten to someone who isn't already involved in the breed. The "public" get a kitten that (ideally) is still a show quality kitten as a pet for someone who just loves the breed, or who would be shown in neuter classes, which is one recommended way to start off in the cat-show world. You build contacts and experience with a neutered animal, maybe find a mentor so you can manage an active queen in the future.

I wouldn't be paying money for a purebred anyway personally but I've been told by several show breeders on other cat-based forums that this is the "correct" way to do things.