Vet will neuter our cat at 8-9 months old... Isn't that too late?

Thanks for the response.  It sounds like you have all the bases covered.  I didn't know about brushing my first cat's teeth and he never really accepted it.  Hang in there, dental care and grooming will grow on Fletcher since you've started both while he is still young.  I think Fletcher is one very lucky cat to have found such a caring person to call his.  In what part of Italy do you live?

As I'm typing this my Red Tabby is lounging across both of my forearms.  Any suggestions on how to prevent my keyboard from developing fur balls?    I vacuum it every few days. 

It is always hard to tell if a cat is part purebred because often many of the traits are not passed on. People on the breed thread often are very wary of proclaiming any cat a pure bred because the bast majority of cats are not any particular breed.

The modern Persian's distinctive face does not pass on with mix breeding. Fletcher does not have the modern Persian face but his head shape and eyes do look similar to a Persian. If you do a google image search for black Persian kitten he has some similarities. Domestic longhairs sometimes do look like Persians so he may just be a bit of a look a like.

If you send me his father's picture I can tell you a bit more. Did his father have papers? If he was a proper pure bred he should have had papers proving his breed. He may also have been a mix or just a look a like.

CountlessCats said:

Thanks for the response.  It sounds like you have all the bases covered.  I didn't know about brushing my first cat's teeth and he never really accepted it.  Hang in there, dental care and grooming will grow on Fletcher since you've started both while he is still young.  I think Fletcher is one very lucky cat to have found such a caring person to call his.  In what part of Italy do you live?

As I'm typing this my Red Tabby is lounging across both of my forearms. 

Any suggestions on how to prevent my keyboard from developing fur balls? 

  I vacuum it every few days. 

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aw, thanks! Fletcher is one strong willed kitten. Luckily he's also a very heavy sleeper, so we do a bit of that stuff while he is asleep. I swear an atomic bomb could go off behind his ears and he wouldn't wake up!

Franksmom said:

If you send me his father's picture I can tell you a bit more. Did his father have papers? If he was a proper pure bred he should have had papers proving his breed. He may also have been a mix or just a look a like.

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No, he had no papers as far as I know nor he has an extreme persian face, so it's hard to tell. I'm sending you the pictures right now, thanks for your willingness to help satisfying my curiosity!

Regarding flowers:  roses are one of the few flowers that are not toxic to cats.  I dry flowers and make potpourri and dried flower wreaths from them.  I'm lucky in that Ritz has shown no interest in flowers--or electrical cords.  That said, I dry the flowers behind a closed door where Ritz can't get to them.

Have you thought about what to feed your precious furball?  What foods are available to  you in Italy.  (I visited Northern Italy (Alps) years ago and right after 9--11, southern Italy.  Wonderful people, scenery.)

Oh, and I've trapped-neutered-spayed-returned 35 cats in 2.5 years.  Where I live, the rule of thumb is the vet will s/n if the cat weighs two pounds (roughly 4.4 kilos) or two months old.  The vets realize that the trapper probably only has once chance to trap a cat and the vet realizes they probably only have one chance to spay/neuter the cat; they aren't going to say to me, sorry, bring him/her back in four months when he's older

And your vet sounds like a keeper!

Ritz: 2.2 pounds is one kilo, so other way around .

I think 6 months is fine for males. I would even be comfortable waiting until 8 months for most males, but 9 months would be pushing it. From what I've seen, most young males start acting "tomcat-ish" around 9-10 months.

Ritz said:

Have you thought about what to feed your precious furball?  What foods are available to  you in Italy. 

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Oh yes, I did all the research! Right now we are feed him high quality kitten canned food as the two main meals of the day, and we leave him some high quality kitten dry food to snack on during the day. We are rotating between a few brands since we want him to try different flavours and textures. So far he ate everything. As soon as he is neutered we plan on transitioning him to an all wet diet, and to save some money I read around that Bozita should be good. It's a swedish brand, I don't know if you have it available but I researched it everywhere including TCS, read the label and everything seems super fine according to everyone. It is a complete food, comes in various flavours, it's very low in carbs (I don't remember well right now, but it should have none) and it doesn't cost too much.

At first we were feeding him Royal Canin but after doing some research I figured that it wasn't worth the cost. Here we have a brand that is called Almo Nature and it is pretty good. Even if he is still a kitten his meals are scheduled and weighted. He is a big boy (already 2 kilos! That's about 4.4 pounds, and he just turned 3 months old!) but the vet seemed concerned about his weght... apparently he should weight a little bit more given his size. So we increased the size of his meals a bit. Oh, he also gets a little tip of plain yogurt once a day, of course without sugar of fruits added! 

I will not feed him raw because honestly as much as I can study and inform myself I'd rather have some more experience before getting into that. Also, my boyfriend (and Fletcher's daddy) is a vegetarian and he doesn't like handling raw meat... Canned food is easier for us  

Sorry I talk so much!! I like talking about my little kitten and not being a native speaker I'm always using a thousand words to explain every little concept... 

I'm happy you enjoyed Italy! My bf's parents live on the Alps, we are going there for part of our holidays Such a wonderful place, I have to agree. I live in Milan by the way.

Willowy said:

Ritz: 2.2 pounds is one kilo, so other way around 

.

I think 6 months is fine for males. I would even be comfortable waiting until 8 months for most males, but 9 months would be pushing it. From what I've seen, most young males start acting "tomcat-ish" around 9-10 months.

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Thank you so much for your help!

Congratulations on adopting such a handsome boy! I'm from the USA but live in the UK now so understand the differing attitudes in cat care. I've had several male cats over the years. A vet in Scotland recommended having Pugsley done at 4 months, which I thought was young, but agreed to. During the procedure, the vet phoned to say that he could only remove one testicle safely, as the other one was too high up and there was a danger of 'ripping' him. So we decided to wait a few months in order to allow time for his testicle to descend naturally. My husband, who was NOT an experienced cat owner (this was his first) elected NOT to finish his neutering, despite all my attempts to make him see reason. Long story short, five months later we lost Pugsley-as he roamed off one night and never returned, even after months of searching and posting notices everywhere! Intact male cats WILL roam and fight over territory and females, and attempt to get out of your home daily as the need to mate is very strong. Please speak to your vet, and have your boy neutered as soon as SAFELY possible. I now have two cats, one male, one female, both neutered/spayed, and they are very affectionate and healthy. I adopted them both as adults, at one year of age, on the same day, from different homes. Neither cat had EVER had any vet care. They both have been neutered/spayed, get routine flea/worming care, are microchipped and have current vaccinations even though it is not a legal requirement where I live. I think you should stick with the vet you have for many of the reasons other posters have listed-just ensure that you get your boy neutered-as you and he will be much happier for it.

I would stay with your current vet who sounds very good ,  and  get the cat neutered around 6 or 7 months, as soon as your vet agrees.  As long as you can keep Fletcher safely confined indoors or with an outdoor cat-proof enclosure ,  and you don't have any female cats he could get pregnant,  it should be fine.   

  You were asking about signs a male cat is reaching puberty  ( or specifically you asked if there is a way to see it coming that he will start spraying.     I agree with Stefan that usually does not happen before 8 months and often over a year.   and is less likely to start early if he is not in close proximity to mature intact cats ( of either sex -- they spray to attract females and to warn off males) .     

 but re puberty signs  that usually will happen in the months before he actually starts spraying.... in case it will help,  I can mention some things.    It is a bit difficult because some of them can be signs of other things besides puberty.   but for what it's worth.... 

Most obvious physical sign is his testicles getting larger.  

As time goes by they also get  "jowls" ,  thicker skin on the neck , etc.   but  that part usually would not happen to a great extent before he is 8 months anyway. 

You may see him licking his penis more often ( but that is certainly not always sexual; it can be just normal hygiene,  or if done frequently it can sometimes be a sign of some urinary tract health problem.) 

  and ( if you ever even have seen it before! ) you may see it has got larger than before and also has little raised "spines" on it.   (  I am not suggesting you stalk around trying to look at your cat's privates,  but some cats are exhibitionists! )

 It's not only the females who "call"',     If there are female cats in heat somewhere in the area ,   a male cat is likely to call to them.     It's often a sort of crooning trilling sound  that he repeats over and over.     like the sound in this:  
or this        I have seen some boy kittens  start this behavior even around 5 months if he smells or hears a queen.  

  May start humping other pets or objects or human arms or legs.   ( if it's other pets,  sometimes that is a dominance thing and does not necessarily mean he is ready to mate)

 Another sign is he might get more aggressive with other cats and even with humans -- for example he might start a habit of grabbing peoples arm and even lightly bite as if practicing the mating act. 

 If he does start the above behavior ,  you could talk to the vet  about it.  

It's not always true that if a cat starts spraying,  he will never stop.     I know it is awful for people who ARE in that situation with their cats.  but  most cats do stop.  I know of former studs who sprayed when they were intact toms,  but after neutering stopped and live in homes as pets and never spray.  

And there have been  studies that found that 80-90% of cats who sprayed stopped after being neutered,  most stopped almost right away,  the rest within a few months.   It's been a while since I read those, but  I think one study found 90% stopped and the other was over 80%.    And  I think it was an even higher rate of success for cats who had not been spraying a  long time.  

   Hopefully you will not have him even start it at all.    IF  he  sprays even once , try to get the vet to go ahead and neuter him.   ( Keep in mind it is not the same thing as urinating out of the box.  In spraying it is aimed at a vertical surface.   They back up to it and quiver their tail .)

re food ,  I have heard people in Europe say Bozita and Almo Natur are good. 

Hi redordead, thank you for your answer! Don't worry, we didn't consider even for a moment not to neuter him. Aside from spraying, we want him to be a happy indoor cat, and we know that in order to achieve that neutering is essential we will try to get him fixed when he's about six months old.
Anyway I wanted to reassure you that is really unlikely that he could escape from our home! So until then I feel pretty safe at least about that.

Wow maewkaew, what a detailed and informative post! Thank you very much! I will watch out for those signs!
Now that we are on topic, do you think there's any link between the size of the kitten and the age at which he will reach sexual maturity? Fletcher is growing really fast!

  I'm not really sure about whether there is a link.   I've heard conflicting info on that.  

 Some of the bigger more stocky , heavy boned cat breeds are actually often slower to mature,     and in general longhairs are later maturing.     while the lithe, slender shorthair breeds  tend to be early maturing,  even if they weigh less. 

It's possible that within each breed ,  there might be some  link to size with the heavier ones maturing sooner.    but it may be more that it runs in lines / families. 

   If he IS part Persian,  that could possibly make it later.   Persian males are one of the breeds known as often being "late bloomers"  ( an expression comparing to a flower that blossoms late in the year) .  

Really I'm afraid it is hard to even make a guess.   You'll just have to wait.    Just  be observant,  and vigilant to make sure he does not get out .  ( I saw you said it is very unlikely.) 

I LOVE the pics.  ( Glad to hear he did not eat the lilies!)   He is an adorable kitten and is going to turn out to be a stunning cat!  .

One note about the cat food brands you've chosen, which are good ones: While Bozita is a complete cat food, Almo Nature is a supplemental one and should only be fed occasionally. The producer of Almo claims it can be fed regularly if given in conjunction with Almo dry, which is high in grains.
Other grain-free complete foods you could look into are Animonda Carny and Grau. Carny is cheaper than Grau but usually better accepted.
Applaws is very similar to Almo, i.e., supplemental.

Hi jcat! I know about Almo and I am so pissed about that, because the fact that is a supplemental food is written VERY little on the side of the can. I wish that premium brand could be a little more honest about their products, I'm paying for that. Anyway we are giving him some dry, but we are planning to stop that in about 15 days because my boyfriend will be starting to work from home and he could give him more wet meals during the day. So to answer your question, we are paying attention to give him a complete diet. Actually we rotate between almo and bozita kitten. Animonda is another one that I plan to try as soon as he can switch to adult food. The fact is that we don't find Bozita or Animonda in local stores, I have to order it online, and for these first few weeks of life with Fletcher we experimented a bit with different brands and combinations and we couldn't order the big quantities needed online. Good news: he eats literally every wet food you put in front oh him. We tried a little of the Bozita kitten and he loved it so much that we are planning a big order in the next few days.
I know that I'm really going out of topic here, so please forgive me, but how often can/should I rotate different brands and tastes? I don't want him to get used to eat only one brand because, as I explained, when or if we run out of the brands we find online we would have to resort to the (high quality) ones we find in stores, so I'd like to maintain his "easyness" when it comes to switching food (read: he eats everything, this little pig). At the same time I'd like to notice if an eventual health problem could be related to his food! So... How often should I switch?

Do you think I should move this post to the feline nutrition forum and continue there?

Sorry for the poor english!

We can leave it here for the time being, I think.

How much you can rotate really depends on how he reacts to variety. Our last cat had a "cast-iron stomach" and loved to have a lot of different foods. He ate 1/2 dry (his choice) and 1/2 wet (mine), and I rotated three different dry foods and two or three brands of wet, including Almo, every week. Every two or three months I'd "retire" one brand and add another. Almo was always in the mix, because he really loved that brand. Our current cat has digestive problems and is getting just one brand of prescription canned food in three different flavors right now.

You could try to introduce a new brand a bit slowly (15 - 20% new mixed with a brand he's already done well on over the course of a few days) and see how his body reacts. If there's no diarrhea or vomiting, everything should be okay. Usually it's easier to introduce a new canned food than a new dry food. Some cats, like our old one, have no trouble at all with switches.

Your English is just fine. I teach English as a foreign language in Germany and wish some of my students could express themselves and spell as well as you do!

Thank you very much jcat! what do you do when you give Almo, do you integrate with almo dry food, with yet another dry brand or do you add another wet? Just curious, since you pointed out that Almo is a supplemental food!

I usually gave a dry food other than Almo as the other meal of the day, generally grain-free or one with less grain than Almo. Almo was the only canned food I could count on Jamie eating.

He is a very beautiful boy! He looks a lot like my little Pickle!

I know nothing about male cats - but P. C.'s kitten my gran daughter adopted is only about four or five months old, and our Vet who has taken care of our dogs for many years is going to do the job next week.  After examining him when we brought him in for his booster shots, he said he was ready.  I don't know about any other vet in the area, just ours.  About all anyone can do is what his own vet says.  After all,  he's the one spent years studying, not me!

My vet doesn't go by age of a cat, he goes by the weight. As long as they are 2 pounds or over he will spay or neuter.

"When Is the Best Time To Spay or Neuter My Cat?

It is generally considered safe for kittens as young as eight weeks old to be spayed or neutered. In animal shelters, surgery is often performed at this time so that kittens can be sterilized prior to adoption. In an effort to avoid the start of urine spraying and eliminate the chance for pregnancy, it’s advisable to schedule the surgery before your own cat reaches six months of age. It’s possible to spay a female cat while she’s in heat, but not always recommended since she’s susceptible to increased blood loss. Although older cats can be good candidates, your vet can best determine if the procedure can be safely performed."

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/spay-neuter
 

I guess the best thing you can do is just ask your vet.