Neutering Questions

Its been a while since my last kitten. Actually.. its been a while since the last time I got a cat fixed (my two adult indoor cats were already spayed when I adopted them).

My little guy, Soren is now 13 weeks old. He weighs 5 to 6 pounds. I'm wondering, when is a good time to neuter him? Is it too soon? Should I wait a few more weeks?

Also, I was reading up on my local humane society info on how to care for cats after a neuter and it says to use newspaper instead of cat litter for 7 days with neutered males... I have never heard of this before. I'm pretty sure we didn't do this with my past male cats, and I don't recall ever having any issues. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Is this something I should do?

Also, Soren is 25% bobcat. Would it be necessary to mention this to the vet? Or is it unimportant as far as shots and other medical things?

Not sure about where you live, but in my area vets will not spay/neuter an animal until they are 6 months old (unless they are at a shelter, then the animal must be at least 2lbs). I would ask your vet for advice.

The reason for using newspaper instead of litter is the wound itself. Litter can stick to a wound if it's a bit sticky (especially the clumping kind) and cause irritation.  A little prevention goes a very long way.

A cat is a cat when it comes to neutering, but it's a good idea to describe the cat before bringing him in so they can update their files as well.

I think it is a fine time to neuter your male cat, especially if he has shown any signs of being sexually mature (yowling, spraying).  You want to nip those behaviors in the bud, before they become a habit.

I agree with Faery about using newspaper, you can shred it yourself or buy it in PetCo/PetSmart type of store (Yesterday's News).  Two weeks sounds like a long time, though.  I think I used it for Ritz (female) for one day.

I'd mention to the vet about the heritage of your cat, though down play it in case your vet is leery of 'wild' cats.  Some vets have no experience in dealing with feral cats--of course, not that your cat is feral or a Tasmanian devil, but just word of warning for you.

I've never changed litter for spays/neuters, and I think a lot of the vet's after-care papers assume you'll de-claw the cat at the same time .

Now would be a fine time to have him neutered, but you have a couple months before he really gets to be sexually mature. Talk to your vet about what age they prefer. I think it's better to get it out of the way as soon as your vet will do it .

What everyone above me said, yes!  The new "standard" in the USA is to begin spay/neutering at 2lbs (which is usually 2 months of age) or later.  Most young kittens reliably put on 1 pound per month for the first few months of life so you can reliably age a kitten by its weight, ie, 1 pound= 1 month, etc.

Paper litter is a precaution as described above, and as someone else mentioned Yesterday's News is a commercial brand of newspaper "pellets" that won't get into the surgical site.  Whether you use newspaper or similar or not, I would avoid clumping litter during the recovery as this is a very sticky type of litter.

Stephen

Normally you can neuter after about 2# or 4 months old whichever comes first.  Most of the times males recover very easily from this surgery.  I have never changed my cats litter after a neuter and have never had a problem, but you could do that.