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Kitten spay/neuter age

post #1 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:08pm
Thread Starter 
Well.. Tiger and Lily are 3 months old and I have placed a phone call to 2 different vet offices in my area and both will NOT spay/neuter them until at least 6 months I was hoping to get them both done at about 4 months as I've seen on other posts/sites.

I am worried about having a possible "whoopsie" between them ...Is that possible?? Or do they not mature before that age??

I dont want any whoopsies!!!!
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post #2 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:11pm
That's weird, I'm having Storm Neutered tomorrow & he is 3 months old
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post #3 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:11pm
Kittens as young as 4-5 months old can and do breed. If you have opposite sex they have to be separated till spayed/neutered. It can take up to 2 months for a male to be clean of getting a female pregnant.

I would continue to call around and find a vet who will do it at 4 months old (or sooner). Check with the local shelters. Many of their cats/kittens are spayed before 6 months old so they can be sure no one is letting the kitten breed and create more shelter victims.

I know Canadian breeders would be neutering/spaying kittens at 3-4 months old. Perhaps you can find a local breeder that may help you out in which vet will do it.
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post #4 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
BAH!! thats what I was afraid of!!

I guess I'll have to travel quite a ways to get this done before 6 months.

May sound like a stupid question ....but...If i cant find a way to get it done before 6 months will Lily show the signs of heat like my adult cats do....and I can seperate them at that time??
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post #5 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:19pm
Sorry, but young kittens can have "silent" heats which you won't know they are in heat. So its quite possible to be mated by brother and you not know it. Better travel a little further then to risk a 4/5 months old kitten having kittens!
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post #6 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:24pm
Quote:
... the CVMA supports the concept of early (prepubertal, 8 to 16 weeks of age) spay/neuter in male and female cats, and male dogs, in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals of these species.
http://canadianveterinarians.net/Sho...ResourceID=414

You might show that article to the vets.
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post #7 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
Sorry, but young kittens can have "silent" heats which you won't know they are in heat. So its quite possible to be mated by brother and you not know it. Better travel a little further then to risk a 4/5 months old kitten having kittens!

Yeah..silent heat is exactly what I was worried about!

I dont mind travelling expecially to avoid having my babies having babies!! I will probably have to call the closest city to me which is around 2 hours away

When I asked the person on the phone at both vets offices about the risk of pregnancy with them being minimum 6 months before they could do it they both said that "pregnancy at that age in very rare and highly unlikely"..........go figure - You'd think they would be more "educated" as to the possiblity of it??
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post #8 of 15
9/25/08 at 2:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_L View Post
http://canadianveterinarians.net/Sho...ResourceID=414

You might show that article to the vets.
Excellent info - THANKS!
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post #9 of 15
9/25/08 at 6:21pm
When I was breeding my rexes about 15 yrs ago, it WAS rare for a kitten to breed/go in heat before 6 months. My kittens were spayed/neutered by 6-7 months and no one got pregnant or tried anything.

I believe that kittens now are maturing early (don't know the reason) and that is one of the reasons why breeders are getting it done at 3-4 months of age. Maybe the vet needs to have a talk with the local shelter about kittens 4-5 months old who happened to become pregnant!
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post #10 of 15
9/26/08 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
When I was breeding my rexes about 15 yrs ago, it WAS rare for a kitten to breed/go in heat before 6 months. My kittens were spayed/neutered by 6-7 months and no one got pregnant or tried anything.

I believe that kittens now are maturing early (don't know the reason) and that is one of the reasons why breeders are getting it done at 3-4 months of age. Maybe the vet needs to have a talk with the local shelter about kittens 4-5 months old who happened to become pregnant!

Ya know i totally agree with you there, only problem is I cant find a shelter close to here. I havent been here ( Saskatchewan ) very long, we moved here less then a year ago from Manitoba, where there was a humane society right in the town and I could volunteer and spend alot of time there... The closest shelter I can find is in Regina - unless anyone knows different? - and thats over 2 hours away.

I have asked a few people from around here about this issue and they say that this town and surrounding area has a bit of a problem. ALOT of people have strays in their garages, pregnant, and they normally keep them in the garage until they give birth and then send them on their way...or they call the town and the town will come and pick them up .....now i havent figured or found out where exactly they take them....so I can only assume what happens from there!!

There is no vet in my town. The closest is half hour away....and in my opinion is useless....when Buttons gave birth, she was not a good mother and refused to feed them so when I called that vet to try and get some KMR because it was the only place I could get it without driving hours away....They told me that they were "busy" and the were about half an hour away and to just try and give them milk.....interesting? So I ended up calling one that is almost an hour away and she gladly went in after hours to give me some....BUT she wont spay/neuter before 6 months..so I'm still stuck phoning around.

It really saddens my heart to know that there is no shelter or vet in this immediate area and that there are alot of pregnant cats just roaming the street because of lazy owners not willing to take care of their pets and just "shove" them off on the next person to take care of it all...and how many times does it end in disaster for the animals?? unbelievable

I do not know many people here and I do not live right in town, I live on a small farm....And now, because of a "lazy pet owner" we have acquired a beautiful dog - who is half rottie and half bullmastiff who was dropped off at our house in standing heat and mated with our male is now pregnant and due in a week to two weeks. She had not eaten in weeks cause her owner went out of town and left her tied up outside with no food or water and nobody was checking on her. A family member of the owner stepped in but We had NO time to get her spayed, and our male was scheduled to be neutered 3 days after she arrived.........too late

Well that was too long winded.........lol sorry.....anyone want a puppy? lol
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post #11 of 15
9/26/08 at 10:18am
Oh the joys of living on a farm! Sorry we have a lab - no more dogs (and we like them full grown and trained ).

Wonder if there is a "mobile" vet that is in the area. Have you tried to contact any nearby breeders (try siamese/persian breeders first) and see if they can be of help.
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post #12 of 15
10/4/08 at 2:05pm
We also had a male and female kitten about the same age (one was planned, from a breeder, the other was rescued from the alley!) Church and Roxy. They're now almost a year old. The female is a Maine Coon and the breeder recommended spaying between 7-9 months old so it was a little bit of an issue. We planned to have her spayed once she hit 7 months, but she went into heat before that. Luckily my male kitten did not show any signs of "puberty" or any interest in Roxy when she was in heat, but I kept them apart anyway. My vet also prefers waiting until 6 months to neuter, and I think I got Church neutered at around 6 months old. Male cats can still be fertile for quite a long time after they're neutered so that is a concern as well if your female is not spayed yet.

Sorry that's probably not very helpful. I know my vet prefers to wait until 6 months but she will neuter earlier if needed. I just had 5 foster kittens neutered at about 11-12 weeks old because I want to make sure they're fixed before being adopted. There's a shelter/rescue organization that does low cost spay/neuter in my area. I still have two more kittens from that litter that need to be s/n but they would only schedule 5 at a time!
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post #13 of 15
10/5/08 at 3:57am
It might be worth asking to speak to the vet rather than a receptionist - when I wanted one of my foster kittens neutered the other year, I Was told 6 months by the receptionist, but when we went for the follow up with the vet, she said that she will happily do it at 4-5 months, and has known farm cats pregnant by 3-4 months.
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post #14 of 15
10/5/08 at 4:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katch4 View Post
The closest shelter I can find is in Regina - unless anyone knows different? - and thats over 2 hours away.
I found this list of shelters http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/saskrescue.htm I know it says dog rescues, but maybe it will help.
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post #15 of 15
10/6/08 at 2:18pm
Go to google.com and type in " low cost spay CITY STATE " <-- add your city and state where you live and you should find places that may do it earlier.


I got Kissa done at 4 months old.
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