Just about fixin' time i think.

My vet apparently likes to wait until cats are six months old to spay neuter them, and my two sibling kittens are six months as of March 4th i believe so they are due for the procedure.
Not a moment too soon i'm afraid because the male is starting to behave in a pretty "adult" manner toward his sister.......in other words fairly amateurish mating behavior, which to be pefectly honest is really creeping me out seeing as how they are siblings. and i really don't want to deal with any kind of pregnancies, inbred or otherwise. now i don't like leaving them unsupervised and feel compelled to constantly check on them whenever they are in the next room.
the female isn't exhibiting any signs of being in heat so i'm hoping the male is just starting to play-act like like an adult and she just happens to be around. it isn't happening all the time either, just twice that i know of, just after they have been play fighting, and it doesn't appear to be a serious attempt at breeding since the female usually stays laying on her side and doesn't seem to understand what is going on. and the male doesn't seem to be following her around with any real intent. i dunno how far it would go though because both times i saw it happen i reacted with no small amount of horror and separated them........

ideally i'd like to get them both fixed at the same time so neither would be in much of a mood to roughouse immedietly after the surgery and would give each other time to heal up but depending on cost and or the vet's schedule i may not be able to do that, but i am going to at least get the female spayed as soon as possible. like hopefully this coming week.
based on what i have been reading on here six months seems like a fairly old age to have the procedures done. my vet seems like a good one, what would the rationale for waiting so long be? letting the cats grow?

Other questions i have.....
what is the likelyhood that she'll go into heat before i can get her to the vet? she is a mixed-breed cat about six months old and i'd guess in the 6-7 pound range? is there a chance she might be in heat now but isn't showing signs?

so after fixing, what are some things o should do around the house to make the healing process easier on them?
and a big question i have is: Will they be able to use the litter box normally following the procedure?

Hi
just want to say congrats on getting them S/N
my cat is a moggy and she went into heat at 5 months old , but showed many signs. some cats can have slient heats. my vets are the same where i live wont do it untill 6 months old , but made an exception with forest.

what you can do , once they come home after there S/N set them up in a quiet room just to recover after there op. they will use the litter tray without any problems after. they may still end up play fighting after a few hours being home , as some kittens tend to make a quicker recovery, if this happens maybe seprate them for a few days just so the female has a bit more of a chance to heal.

some vets isnt all the clued up on early S/N , but i have heard that maybe in the next 2 years it will go down to 4 months old.
some vets dont like putting a young kitten through any op unless they have to.

My vets here won't spay till 6 months, though they will do males earlier. It was the same in Bosnia and Britain - it is fairly common. Get the girl done first if you have to do only one, as the male could still impregnate her for several weeks after his surgery. My Persil went into heat at 5 months, so yours could go that way any time.

I had my male nuetered at age of 3 1/2 months. You do not give your location but I know in some places they do not do this until 6 months. Anyway, I noticed no difference in Persi whatsoever after having him nuetered. Not in the litterbox or anywhere else. I think this is a good move on your part. Many people were horrified when I had Persi nuetered because both his parents are grand champs but I never had any intentions to show or breed him. He is just a pet, just like Alley who was saved from the dumpster but somebody had already fixed her.

Try to find a vet that can get them in asap. That is great you are going to have it done though. She may have went into heat already and it was just a silent one. If they are already displaying mating behavior I would seperate them at all times. Don'tt ake any chances. They could care less that they are siblings. That is too bad your vet makes you wait so long! I have mine done at 8 weeks. Many vets will, the one's who won't are the one's I avoid since they don't seem too up to date with things in the vet world.

nealy every vet in london will only spay once a kitten turns 6 months , imo this does not make them a bad vet .

A young female can have a "silent" heat and not show signs; your male can breed her and she can get prgnant. Till they are taken in to be spayed/neutered you HAVE to separate them. Just pray that she is not pregnant by her brother! Call the vet on Monday and set up appointments now - if you can't do both - then get her done first; a male can still get a cat pregnant for about a month after being neutered!

Males and females as young as 4-5 months old have had kittens or produced kittens!

i really don't have a way of separating them. i live in an apartment where the rooms are set up so that they really can't be closed off from each other. as soon as i find out my days off i'm going to call the vet. i only know my work schedule a week in advance and i want to time the surgery with my days off so that i'll be able to keep an eye on them immedietly after. i guess i could get it done in the morning during my work week but i'd be leery of leaving her with fresh stitches right after her surgery while i go to work.
i'm guessing that the female isn't in heat because the male insn't displaying the interest in her that you normally would expect of a male cat who has detected a female in heat. he isn't like following her around or anything. when he acts up it seems more incidental, like when a dog gets wound up and tries to mount someone's leg.
at least i hope so.
Is 6-7 pounds considered big for a six month old female cat? it does to me, could that have triggered an early heat?
hmm what a little nightmare this has turned into........

How about a bathroom or bedroom? I have used the bathroom/bedroom many times before for strays in heat or not neutered yet

Or you can buy/borrow a dog crate (cage) to keep one of them in. Depending on the body build - 6-7 lbs is about right for a 6 month old (Charlie's 6 months old and a solid 7 lbs of Ocicat).

A quick story of young kitten fathers (told to me by a siamese breeder). She had several females running loose in the house. Had ONE little 5 month old male that liked to play with the adult females. Well two of the females were in heat. She did not put either female in with her stud cats. One of the females turned up pregnant...........guess who the father was? Yep that little 5 month old male who showed NO indication he knew what to do!

Do NOT underestimate cats - you may not catch him doing anything now, but you cannot watch him 24/7 and I'm sure he's mounted her and could have completed the act. Your female stands a 50/50 chance of being pregnant. You can have her spayed even if she is - just get her in as quick as you can!

I'm going to assume she ISN'T pregnant for the sake of my own sanity and call the vet tommorrow and see when the soonest they can get her in is.
I've just got to figure out if i dare leave her unsupervised with fresh stitches right after the procedure.
we'll see when i can get this done. maybe if i can get the procedure done in the next couple days i can take her to stay at my parent's house to let her recuperate or something. how long will it be before there isn't a risk of damage to the stitches?

Perhaps your vet can hold her there at the clinic until you get off from work and can pick her up? That way you won't have to worry about leaving her on her own while you are away.

the soonest i could get her in was 8am wednesday morning.
right now it looks like one cat will be spending some time at my parent's house (about ten minutes away from me) in order to prevent damage to Olga's stitches as that is about the only way i can be sure that they won't try and roughouse with each other. my mother loves my two cats and is more then willing to watch either of them, she has two cats of her own who have been spayed, and she actually has rooms where she can keep my cat quiet and isolated.
now would it be better to have Olga go there right after her surgery, or would it be better to keep her in familiar surroundings and send her brother to my parent's instead?
I'd almost rather send Olga, so that my mom can keep a closer eye on her to make sure she isn't tearing at her own stitches, since there will be times when i won't be able to monitor her. i work at night and regardless of which cat stays in my apartment i will be gone for eight or more hours at a time for several consecutive days.

Her brother is getting fixed too, probably in the next 1 - 3 weeks, but right now i'm just having the spaying done.