How old before we can neuter?

My mother adopted a kitten out of the same litter we got Trixi from, we took him in for a checkup and the vet said we'd have to wait til he was 9 or 10 months old before he could be neutered, or his testicles and kidneys and bladder wouldn't work quite right. He would need the testosterone to develop a good urinary system.

I've never heard this train of thought before. We can get Trixi spayed in November when she's 4 months old. Which, again sounds so young. I thought about 6 months for both males and females was OK.

Wow I had no clue I was so out of touch with kittens.

A cat CAN be neutered/spayed as soon as he/she weighs 2 pounds. Many vets have their own opinions, though. There have been many studies done on the subject, and no drawbacks have been found to early spay/neuter in cats. I like to have it done between 3-4 months old.

Personally, I would never wait 9 or 10 months, unless there's something wrong with him that might be corrected by sexual maturity. That runs a very real risk of him realizing that he's a tom, and starting to spray. I wouldn't wait past 7 months, if that long.

But if you have both a male and a female, definitely spay her at/before 4 months. They can get pregnant that young. And males can still impregnate females for a while after being neutered.

Yes ,It can be done at 2lb and 2 months... though in many areas finding a vet who will can be an issue... In my area most will do 4 months, Which I agree with Willowy is time to be done... I had a girl go into heat over 20 yrs ago a 14 weeks... So far no issues with cats and early spay / nueter ... dogs are another story

I feel that at 3-4 months old is ideal. Kittens as young as 4 months can breed and there is no legit reason to wait till later. The only exceptions would be if the cat was in poor health and you needed time to get him in shape or if the cat is a purebred and in a legit breeding program.

Most all purebred breeders will neuter/spay before you get a kitten and that is at 3-4 months old.

Look around for another vet to have him neutered. Some vets just don't want to do early spay/neuter but its been done for more then 25 yrs now with no problems. I'm not sure where your vet is getting his information, but he's not correct.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Look around for another vet to have him neutered. Some vets just don't want to do early spay/neuter but its been done for more then 25 yrs now with no problems. I'm not sure where your vet is getting his information, but he's not correct.

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My vet wanted to wait until Tumbles was a full 6 mos old to "get some hormones in him". I convinced her to neuter him at about 5.5 months old since he was healthy, current on his shots, and she'd seen him 3 times already and knew he was in good shape.

I called around to two other vets I've used previously and one would do it at 4 lbs. and the other one would do it at 8 weeks. Due to finances, we decided to just wait since we already had Tumbles' appointment scheduled. So call around to other vets in your area and see what they say.

Thanks for all the replies. I was hesitating on saying we'd wait til 9 months old to neuter him. I have no problem with neutering him earlier than that myself, but in all my cat experience I've only had 2 males and they were adults when they were fixed.

I know girl cat stuff far better than boy cat stuff.

You're right, I was worried about the spraying and I don't want him to get started in my mom's teeny little apartment and ruin her nice furniture.

When their testicles have dropped completely is when you can get it done, generally. Linus was done at 4.5 months. He started smelling weird and I didn't want him spraying and knowing he was a man-cat. I just wanted for him to have as little stress in his life as possible, so I got him fixed earlier than 6 months like was suggested.

I got my kitten from the shelter neutered, he was somewhere between 2 and 3 months

Lynxx was neutered at 8 weeks old when he was 2lbs 3oz. Midnight the vet told me has to be 4lbs, which I think he is now.

Find another vet, this one has antiquated opinions and is certainly not current on research.

Our vet is familiar with the early neuter studies and sees nothing wrong with early spay neuter (as soon as cat weighs 2 pounds), but prefers to wait until their first baby tooth falls out (usually around 4 months). He's just used to performing the procedures on slightly larger animals.

I have both males and females and alway 'fix' them at 6 months of age and have never had any problems with either. My little female is going in next week for her operation, she is just six months and about five pounds...compared to my last male who was neutered at 6 months and 10 pounds...*L