spay & neuter

I have 2 cats with the first breeder spaying my sweet girl at 12 weeks.  The second cat is a 6m male slated for neutering next week.  In the meantime, I am getting messages from the breeder suggesting that we keep him intact until he is a year.  The breeder sites the marcola web site of Dr Becker.  I have noticed some controversy over this issue.  My cats are pedigreed and indoor pets not for breeding.  Any comments?

Thanks

What she has on the web site is referring to dogs.  There has been controversy about neutering dogs before they are a year old because of increased metabolic disease.  That controversy has been around for awhile and the people on the side of waiting until they are a year old have some good points. It is easier to wait with a dog because females only come into heat twice a year whereas there is always a female cat in heat somewhere where the male can smell her.  As far as I know there hasn't been the same controversy about cats.

All kitties can be spayed/neutered as early as 2 pounds, which is about 2 months.  Most vets now do pediatric spays & neuters routinely.  I had my boy neutered when he was about 5.5 months old only because we had to wait for an opening at the lower cost vet's office.

I do think male dogs should be at least a year old before being neutered. But cats aren't dogs, and no ill effects have been noted in early neutering of cats. Cats are far more fertile than dogs are, and are better at escaping. Plus intact tomcats have a nasty habit of spraying smelly urine everywhere. The very latest I'd wait for a cat would be 9 months, and even that would be risky. You definitely do not want him to start spraying!