When to Neuter

I did a search here and didn't find much to answer my question. I was wondering when is the right age to neuter.

Wendel has a contract from the shelter to neuter him by Dec. 15. The vet said he was younger than they predicted and that she would feel more comfortable doing it in January. He will be about six months by then (by vets predictions).

I'm wondering if theres benefit to waiting till six months or to do it earlier. I don't want him to develop a spraying behaviour but want him to continue his proper development too.

What are your thoughts?

My Yoshi that I lost in Jan was about 3 months when he was fixed and everything went fine.
Ny new kitten got fixed yesterday at 3.5 months old.
It depends on the vet or clinic.
Some wait 6 months.

My cats were all done prior to coming into my home, at 10 weeks of age. Over here the minimum weight is 1kg (about 2lbs), and 8 weeks of age.

You don't need to worry about his development, studies have actually shown that cats neutered early grow taller, longer and bigger than those neutered later.

I think, the earlier the better. If your vet won't until 6 months, I would consider looking somewhere else. Just my opinion.

I had a litter of foster kittens - 1 female/3 males - neutered not long ago. They were 10 weeks old at the time. IMO, the sooner the better as I've seen 4-5 month old males starting to spray. Cats develop at different rates - so I dislike the general "wait until they're 6 months old" theory.

most vets neuter between 4 to 6 months of age if your vet feels you should wait one more month i would do what he recommands and as for the shelter just get a letter from your vet stating why he chooses to wait and then five the shelter the date as to when the neutering will be done and that should be fine with them thanks good luck

Have both testicles fully lowered? That is one criteria that some will go by when neutering. Aristotle was 4 mos. when he was neutered and I made sure both testicles had descended.

Yes, it does involve getting very familiar with your cat's anatomy.

Originally Posted by rockyzeus

most vets neuter between 4 to 6 months of age if your vet feels you should wait one more month i would do what he recommands and as for the shelter just get a letter from your vet stating why he chooses to wait and then five the shelter the date as to when the neutering will be done and that should be fine with them thanks good luck

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I disagree with this as I would want a vet that is not so old fashioned and won't make you wait until 6 months. That is late enough for the cat to start spraying and for him to get females pregnant. Waiting until 6 months is not very good advice and I would find a new vet.

I brought in a mother and a litter and kept them, I had them spay/neutered when they were between 5 1/2 to 6 months and one of the female kittens was already pregnant when they spayed her.

Our spay/neuter clinic here does them early, they just have to be 2 pounds in weight first.

8 weeks two lbs is slowly getting to be the way to go ...

many vets still wont do this and use 4-6 months as the general standard ...

Most vets in this area will do between the 4 to 6 month age.

Question: Why does the vet want to wait until Jan? That is only 2 weeks. Because if he is guess/estimating age, why 2 weeks.

Can 2 weeks make that much difference?

Some of our smaller vet clinics are postphoning ellective surgeries because of the holidays. They don't have the large staff to come in and take care of the animals so they just will not schedule until they are back from the holiday.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Skimble

Most vets in this area will do between the 4 to 6 month age.

Question: Why does the vet want to wait until Jan? That is only 2 weeks. Because if he is guess/estimating age, why 2 weeks.

Can 2 weeks make that much difference?

Some of our smaller vet clinics are postphoning ellective surgeries because of the holidays. They don't have the large staff to come in and take care of the animals so they just will not schedule until they are back from the holiday.

Good luck.

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Thats interesting. I wouldn't have thought of it.

ReeRee was 8 weeks old when he was neutered. It's not the end of the world that your vet wants to wait till he is 6 months old. He could start to spray though, just be prepared.

I would definately want to know WHY. It helps open up a line of communication also which is very important. You want to know them and they need to know how INVOLVED you want to be in Wendel's healthcare. Some people don't want to know. I am sure it is refreshing when someone WANTS to know.

If this is to be YOUR vet for Wendel it's best to know where he/she is coming from. Are they more conservative? Do they stay up to date on their research? Are they motivated by BUSINESS or the pets health first and foremost? Its all relevant information to have BEFORE something extreme happens and you realize you have a vet that you don't trust. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the all the replies!

I hadn't even thought about the holidays, but they did want to wait a full month... January 15th or so. She said she didn't like doing it on cats under six months but I see on here that it can be done earlier. As far as I can tell both of his testicles are there, from how it looks anyway. I don't really care either way as long as he doesn't start spraying.

If he does take up the habit is there a way to break him of it or is there a chance that I'll be stuck with a cat that sprays all over?